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A night-time walk through a city during the holiday season is one of my favourite things to do. There is something so magical about holiday lights that glitter in the the shop windows and light up the streets. I love the surprise of turning a corner and getting my first glimpse of a big, sparkling tree standing in the centre of the square. The tree not only lights up the sky, it lights up my heart.

Sparkling Spruce was designed to capture that magic. The body of this top-down crescent shawl is worked in reverse stockinette, making this good social or TV knitting. Triangles of beaded lace are then worked along the bottom. Go traditional and use all white or clear beads, or be merry and choose several colours. With a touch of ribbing and eyelets, stout trunks are added to the final rows, revealing that these triangles are indeed decorated trees. To celebrate the season with this cheery shawl, choose a 100-gram skein of 4-ply yarn in a solid colour to let the lace and beads stand out.

The pattern is written to match the sample pictures, with a 3-colour bead pattern. However, if you want to try out some different combinations for your tree, there is a blank chart provided in the pattern that you can use to create your own beaded colour scheme.

A video tutorial on how to add beads with a crochet hook is provided in the pattern.

Stitches Used – Knit, purl, slipped stitches, kyok, k2tog, ssk, yo, beading

Sizes – One size

Measurements – The finished blocked item measures 65” (165cm) wingspan and 15” (38cm) depth

Materials

• 437yd / 400m, 3.5 oz / 100g, 4-ply or fingering weight yarn. The yarn used in the pattern pictures is Under the Olive Tree 4ply Sparkle Yarn - 75% Superwash merino / 20% nylon / 5% Silver Stellina, in the Forest Green colour (1 skein)
• US size 5 (3.75mm) 32” (80cm) circular needle
• 387 size 6 beads. The pattern sample uses:
o 9 x colour A – Gold (placed at the top of the tree)
o 189 x colour B - Red
o 189 x colour C – Silver
• 10 stitch markers
• 1 x 0.75mm crochet hook for adding the beads
• 1 tapestry needle for weaving in the ends

Gauge

23 stitches and 32 rows to 4” / 10cm in stockinette stitch after blocking