Samara

Knitting
July 2025
both are used in this pattern
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
14 stitches and 26 rows = 4 inches
in two-color brioche stitch pattern (taken after blocking)
US 4 - 3.5 mm
800 yards (732 m)
One Size: 68'' / 173 cm wingspan x 18'' / 46 cm depth, measured after blocking
English
This pattern is available from missbabs.com for $73.00.

Inspired Adventures Club Kits!! The price you see above includes both the yarn and the pattern.

This shawl was designed in collaboration with Miss Babs for their 2025 Inspired Adventures Club! Grab your pattern and yarn through Miss Babs ONLY as part of their Inspired Adventures Club kits HERE!

https://www.missbabs.com/collections/inspired-adventures-...

Inspired by my favorite place in the world, my family cottage, I wanted to go back to my roots with this shape and stitch pattern featured in this shawl. These colors were custom dyed to represent my cottage during the autumn season. You can find alternate color combos that the team at Miss Babs has put together, as well as samples made in these kits!

The Samara pattern and the Miss Babs themed yarn colorways will be exclusive to club members through November 18, 2025. After November 18 they’ll be available for individual purchase.


Samara : A crescent-shaped shawl inspired by my family cottage with leafy fall colors and quilt-like angles, knit using the two-color brioche stitch.

Inspired Adventures. This shawl is inspired by all of my childhood adventures at my favorite place in the entire world: The Hart Family Cottage in Michigan. This lovely place nestled neatly on a hill in the woods overlooking a gorgeous lake, is owned by my entire extended family on my mother’s side. Every summer, we would spend weeks there, swimming with cousins, playing in the giant loft upstairs filled with dozens of beds, making s’mores by the campfire at night and even shooting fireworks over the lake. One of my favorite memories is fishing with my dad and brother, catching Perch and other lake fish, then frying them up that night with my dad’s famous fish fry. Wow, there is nothing like eating fish that fresh! “Samara” refers to a type of dry, winged fruit that can be found in Birch trees, which surround the lake and woods around the cottage. I chose this name because of the cottage name, “Hukilau” which means “pull leaves” in Hawaiian. Photos of my cottage taken by my mom, Ruth Mowry.

See photos here of my yarn in skein form, custom dyed by the folks at Miss Babs.

This pattern has both written instructions as well as charts for all sections. I recommend following the charts for the best knitting experience.

Skill Level:
Intermediate. This is a fantastic pattern if you want to learn the brioche increases and decreases! I recommend previous brioche experience. If you’re feeling unsure, I have an online course on my website, knitgraffiti.com!

Online Course:
Mastering Brioche with Knit Graffiti

Techniques Used:
Twisted German Cast On, knit, purl, brioche knit (brk), brioche purl (brp), sl1yo, brioche increases and decreases (no br4st dec!!), top-down crescent shawl shaping, Elastic Bind Off.

Video Tutorials:

Twisted German Cast On:
http://bit.ly/TwistedGermanCO

Brkyobrk & BrLsl dec:
https://youtu.be/kQTNm3EY8xw

Elastic Bind Off:
http://bit.ly/ElasticBO

Construction Notes:
When designing this shawl, I wanted to go back to my roots with the crescent shape, but have the stitch pattern mimic quilted patterns found in old blankets and handmade quilts that adorn the sofas and beds inside the cottage. I imagine wrapping this shawl around my shoulders in the autumn, sitting outside next to the campfire while sipping on hot tea and knitting. You will begin at the very top of the shawl, casting on few stitches, and increasing 2 stitches at each edge for the entire length of the shawl. This will create a triangle shape, and the real crescent shape is created in the blocking process. The stitch pattern, which was inspired by Pendleton blankets, will be continued throughout the shawl until binding off.

I wear this shawl with the top edge around my neck, and the bind-off edge at the bottom, with the arms wrapped around kerchief-style. You can also wear it wrapped around your shoulders to keep you warm on cool autumn nights.

» One Size:
68’’ / 173 cm wingspan x 18’’ / 46 cm depth, measured after blocking.

» Gauge:
14 sts x 26 rows = 4’’ / 10cm; measured in two-color brioche stitch pattern (taken after blocking). Swatch pattern included.

MATERIALS:

» Yarn: Fingering / sock weight
800 yds / 732 m
Main Color (MC): 400 yds / 366 m
Contrast Color (CC): 400 yds / 366 m

» Shown in:
MC: 1 skein Miss Babs Estrellita (92% Superwash Merino Wool, 8% Lurex; 400 yds / 366 m per 115 g) in Wildcraft (light green speckled)
CC: 1 skein Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply (100% Superwash Merino Wool; 400 yds / 366 m per 110 g) in Foraging (dark green variegated)

» Needles:
40’’ / 101.5 cm US 4 / 3.5 mm circular needles
Circular needles are used for brioche knitting, and to accommodate a large number of stitches. Adjust needle size as needed to obtain proper gauge.

» Tools:
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends, row counter or preferred method for keeping track of pattern, stitch markers for noting center stitch and pattern repeats, locking stitch marker for noting MS of work (optional)

» Credits:
Many thanks to Babs, Helen, Veronica and all the folks at Miss Babs for their amazing yarn support, test knitting and pattern inspiration!! It was a blast to work together to create the perfect colorways to represent my favorite place. Thank you to my tech editor Chaitanya Muralidhara (@beginswithac) for all her help in editing my pattern!!