This shawl was something of an experiment. I had several balls of Stylecraft’s Senses Lace in three different colours and wanted to do something with it. I didn’t know what. I knew I wanted to challenge myself a bit, use a combination of interesting stitches and make something beautiful.

I’d never knitted anything with drop stitches before so these were my starting point. But I couldn’t knit a whole shawl using drop stitches. So I combined them with a simple lace pattern of my own devising and a garter stitch section. Three colours, three very different stitch patterns, finished with a lace border.

The shawl is knitted from the top down, but it’s constructed in such a way that it grows along the top and out to the sides, finishing at a point. The colour stripes form diagonal rows upwards. It sounds confusing, but it works. Just start knitting and you’ll soon see.

I did much of the knitting for this shawl on holiday in Whitley Bay, Northumberland, and revisiting it to write the pattern reminded me of that time. Walks along the seafront and out to St Mary’s Lighthouse, a trip to the priory in Tynemouth, ice creams and sun rises over the sea.

This is an advanced pattern, with several techniques to master. But it’s not as hard as you might think. It’s also good fun to knit, with plenty to keep you occupied. Make it your own with different colours or any laceweight yarn of your choice.

If you knit the shawl, I’d love to hear about it. Let me know on Twitter or Instagram.