On the longest day of the year, people all over the world gather to celebrate. This tradition has taken place since ancient times, and even now, people flock to the great solar temples of the ancient world to mark the occassion: Karnak in Egypt, Giants’ Churches in Finland, Newgrange in Ireland, Casa Malpais in the United States, and perhaps the best known of all, Stonehenge in England. Known as Midsummer to some, St. John’s Day to others, almost all solstice celebrations involve the lighting of a bonfire (a word that comes from the English tradition of building a fire of bones on St. John’s Day), dancing, and enjoying the warmth of the solstice sun.

The Sunlight of Solstice shawl was inspired by these celebrations. Worked from the top down, it features an arrow-like lace for the body and a more open lace for the border. The pattern includes three sizes, along with row-by-row written instructions, charts for the entire pattern, and row-by-row stitch counts.

The sample shawl was worked with Crooked Kitchen Yarn’s Bluebella (80% BFL/20% silk) fingering weight yarn in the “Saffron’s Mad about You” colourway. It is a size small.

Skill Level
Intermediate

Sizes (see schematic for letter references)
Small - A: 64”/163 cm B: 15”/38 cm C: 72”/183 cmSize
Medium - A: 71”/180 cm B: 17”/43 cm C: 82”/208 cm
Large - A: 80”/203 cm B: 20”/51 cm C: 90”/229 cm

Gauge
Sunlight Lace Pattern: 22 sts and 30 rows = 4 x 4” (10 x 10 cm), aggressively blocked.
Evening Star Pattern: 22 sts and 24 rows = 4 x 4” (10 x 10 cm), aggressively blocked.

Yarn Requirements
Small: 425-450 yards/389-411 metres of fingering weight yarn
Medium: 625-650 yards/572-594 metres of fingering weight yarn
Large: 775-825 yards/709-754 metres of fingering weight yarn

Needles

• 3.75 mm (US 5) knitting needles, straight (at least 14”/36 cm long) or circular
• 4 mm (US 6) knitting needles, straight (at least 14”/36 cm long) or circular

Notions

• pins, wires, and a mat for blocking
• tapestry needle for weaving in the ends
• optional: 2 st markers for marking edge/increase sts