Patterns Archives - Sharon J Mondragon

The Scraps of Beauty Lap Robe Pattern

Sharon Mondragon — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 02:10:54 +0000

Last week, I introduced you to Jeannie Taylor and the lap robe she created using the strips of crochet she found in a bag of donated yarn. I promised to share her pattern with you. I hope it will encourage you to listen to those nudges and ideas from God. I hope it will inspire you to create lovely and comforting patterns with the “scraps of beauty” in your own or your prayer shawl group’s yarn stash.

Here is the pattern and the story of the lap robe, in Jeannie’s own words:

“This is what I found in a bag of yarn that was donated to the Prayer Shawl Ministry of Grace Lutheran Church in Pensacola, FL.
I looked at these 10 pieces, all in different lengths, and laid them out on the table. God’s still, small voice said to me: “Those would make a neat abstract lap robe, Jeanie.” So, I listened.
I knew I’d need to make all the strips the same length, so I counted the number of shell stitches in the longest strip. Then I made a hand-written spreadsheet, listing the color of the strips and the number of shell stitches in each strip. I did the math to see how many shells I’d have to crochet at the top and bottom of each strip to make them as long as the longest strip.
Thinking I’d like to use a cream-colored yarn to do this, I brought out the cream yarn, but didn’t like it. White yarn was the best in the end.
Adding onto the bottom of the strip meant crocheting shells in white to a given point, with the challenge of how to attach it to the colored strip being an issue. But I did it, after a few tests. Adding onto the top of each strip was easy.
As each strip was made to the proper length, it was bordered, making sure that each strip had the same number of stitches lengthwise. Then, I laid the strips out in several ways to determine the best abstract design.
I placed paper markers numbered from 1-10 on the bottom end of each strip to make sure I’d keep the strips in the correct abstract design order. Then I placed two markers at the top and the bottom of each strip to designate the 6-stitches that would be considered the top and bottom of each strip. Then I crocheted the strips together, placing a Double Picot Single Crochet & Granule Stitch (DPSC&GS) in every sixth stitch down the length of each strip. The DPSC&GS is like a popcorn stitch, but it stands up straight. Each strip had to have the same number of DPSC&GS stitches, and they needed to be in the same place as the previous strip and across the lap robe.
Once all the strips were attached, I crocheted and extra border of white then five more complementary borders around the entire lap robe from leftover yarns I had in another bag.”

In a later email, Jeannie passed on some helpful information on the stitch she used to join the strips, the Double Picot Single Crochet and Granule Stitch. She found instructions (both photo and video) for the Single Crochet and Granule Stitch on Moogly in the Tutorial section under Advanced Stitches. She says, “I changed the Picot Single Crochet and Granule Stich to a Double Picot Single Crochet and Granule Stitch by making 2 Ch3s and pulling through 2 loops on the hook, then slip stitching in the same stitch.”
And here is the result of Jeannie’s creativity and innovation:

I would love to see how other prayer shawl makers have used “scraps of beauty” to make unique and beautiful shawls and lap robes. As one of my readers, Pam Briden, says, “Usually they are the ones that turn out best.”

The post The Scraps of Beauty Lap Robe Pattern appeared first on Sharon J Mondragon.

Listening to the Yarn

Sharon Mondragon — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 12:37:34 +0000

This past summer, I bought some yarn in lovely, smokey fall colors, thinking to make another version of the simple asymmetrical shawl I had just finished. Several rows into the project, however, it was clear that this yarn and that pattern were not meant for each other. I loved the yarn, so I tucked it away and hoped I could find something else to make with it. From time to time, I would scroll through knitting sites and thumb through my patterns in search of something that would work with the yarn. The arrival of fall reminded me of a pattern I’d printed out several years ago from Lion Brand, an afghan with a lacy pattern of leaves worked into it. I pored over the pattern. Yes, I decided, I could adapt it to make a shawl. I could use smaller needles, since the yarn I wanted to use was worsted rather than chunky weight and work fewer repeats of the leaf motif, since it wouldn’t have to be as wide as an afghan. The result was wonderful. I had a sense of joy and rightness as I knitted and watched the colors and pattern come together. As I worked, I thought about how making prayer shawls has taught me to listen–to the yarn about what it wants to be, to God about the state of my own heart as I work. The time it took to find the right pattern for this yarn was one more lesson in patience and trust that things come together in God’s time.
The very day this particular shawl was blessed at church, it went home with my friend, Laurie. Several months later, her eyes still sparkle when she talks about it.

“I can’t put it away in the closet because it makes me so happy to look at it,” she tells me. It fills my own heart with joy to think of the lift this shawl gives my friend on a daily basis.
I’m including my shawl-sized version of the Autumn Leaves Afghan. The original pattern is available for free at www.lionbrand.com.

You will need:
3 cakes of Lion Brand Ferris Wheel in Buttercup
Size 10 1/2 needles (I used my favorite 24″ bamboo circulars)
Stitch markers

Stitch explanations:
tbl=through the back loop. Check on YouTube for videos that demonstrate this if you’ve never done it before
sk2p=slip 1 stitch as if to knit, k2tog, pass the slipped stitch over. You have decreased 2 stitches

Autumn Leaves Pattern Stitch

Row 1 (WS): Purl
Row 2 (RS): *K1, yo,k1,k2tog tbl, p1, k2tog, k1, p1 k2, p1,k2tog, k1, p1, k1; repeat from * across
Row 3 *P4, (k1, p2) twice, k1, p4, repeat from * across
Row 4 *(K1, yo) twice, k2tog tbl, p1, k2tog, p1, k2tog tbl, p1, k2tog, (yo, k1) twice; repeat from * across
Row 5 *P5, (k1,p1) twice, k1, p5; repeat from * across
Row 6 *K1, yo, k3, yo, sk2p, p1, k3tog, yo, k3, yo, k1; repeat from * across
Row 7 *P7, k1, p7; repeat from *across
Row 8 *K1, yo, k5, yo, sk2p, yo, k5, yo, k1; repeat from * across

Cast on 80 stitches
Work the bottom border in seed stitch for 2 inches. The last row of the bottom border should be a right side row.
Work 6 stitches in seed stitch for side border, place marker, purl across for Row 1, placing a marker every 17 stitches, work 6 stitches in seed stitch for side border.
Continue working in the pattern. There will be 6 border stitches on each side and 4 repeats of the Autumn Leaves. Placing markers between each repeat of the pattern will make it easier to check your work and find mistakes.
Work until two inches from the desired length. I make my shawls anywhere between 60″ and 72″ inches long.
Work two inches of seed stich for top border. Bind off. Weave in ends.

Ferris Wheel is a cake yarn; it works up in graduated stripes. I really enjoyed watching the colors come up as I worked this shawl. The pattern and the yarn really were made for each other!

The post Listening to the Yarn appeared first on Sharon J Mondragon.

Pocket Prayer Shawl Pattern

Sharon Mondragon — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 17:30:48 +0000

A while back I posted a blog entitled “A Pocketful of Prayer,” about the tiny, portable versions of prayer shawls that my prayer shawl group makes. I recently had yet another request for the pocket prayer shawl pattern, so I’m posting it here for everyone who would like to make these small but mighty reminders of God’s love:

You will need: fingering weight yarn (one skein will make many, many pocket prayer shawls)
Size 2 or size 3 needles (size 2 is just too small for some knitters. Size 3 needles will produce a slightly larger shawl, but lovely, nonetheless)
Scissors
Tapestry needle
A prayerful heart

Begin with prayer, asking God to bless your work, that it will comfort and encourage the person who will receive it.
This pocket prayer shawl is worked in garter stitch–which simply means you will work every row in the knit stitch.
Cast on 3 stitches
Knit 1, yarn over, knit to the end.
Knit every row this way until you have 35 stitches. The yarn over increases your work by 1 stitch every row, forming an ever-widening triangle. It also makes a pretty, lacy edge on the shawl.
When you have 35 stitches, you can simply bind off and weave in the ends. Thread a tapestry needle with 5 or 6 inches of yarn. Fold down the 2 “arms” of the shawl to meet at the bottom point. Insert the tapestry needle halfway down the front on the right edge, from front to back. Bring the needle up on the left edge. Remove the needle, tie the yarn in little bow and trim the ends as needed.
If you would like to have the rolled collar effect like the one on the shawl pictured below, you can use the I-cord bind off.

I-cord bind off: At the end of the last row, cast on 3 stitches. Knit 2, then slip 1 stitch to the right-hand needle. Knit 1, then pull the slipped stitch over the knit stitch. There are 3 stitches on the right-hand needle. Transfer these 3 stitches back onto the left-hand needle. When you have the last 3 stitches on the left-hand needle, slip 1 stitch to the right-hand needle, knit 2 together, then pull the slipped stitch over the knit 2 together. Cut the yarn, leaving enough of a tail to weave in, and pull the end through as in a regular bind off.
Help is at your fingertips if you need a visual tutorial. Simply Google “I-Cord Bind Off” and you will find many YouTube videos on this technique.

There it is, the pocket prayer shawl. May you have many happy hours of knitting and prayer as you make them!

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