Friday, July 03, 2015

Bigger Begonia Swirl

Some knitters have been asking how I made the Begonia Swirl bigger, so my project tips are below.


I decided to enlarge the shawl, and added one begonia per each section (went from 22 to 33 begonias). I used 1,980 glass Miyuki seed beads, rose bronze color, size 8/0.

The delightful yarn from Violet Lynx was hand-dyed in Russia and shipped to the US quickly (about two weeks).  She has some great colors and lots of yardage for bigger shawls. The gradient is all from one skein.


 
I would recommend about 1,200 yards of laceweight, if you decide to increase the size like I did.  I ran out of yarn on the last four rows, so I used a similar yarn to finish. I think it outlines the flowers.   I’m happy with the result.

Overall, it's lovely work for when you are relaxing, until the flowers! Then much concentration is required -- especially if you are adding beads. It’s not difficult for a lace project, and the gradient yarn produces spectacular results.

PROJECT TIPS:

The construction is a little different than you might expect. You start out with 11 repeats. Then, when you get to the edging, each repeat splits into two begonias - so you have 22 edging repeats (begonias). This is the way it’s written, but I wanted it larger.

To get the larger size, three begonias per repeat, I had to have more stitches at the start of the edging chart. This took some calculating, but it’s not so bad. What you need is 20 sts per begonia at the start of the edging chart. Don’t count the selvage stitches.

To add that extra 20 sts per repeat, you need to keep increasing at the same rate (yo, k1, yo, k2, yo, kxx, k2tog). It gets a little tedious with all that stockinette, but it’s worth it.

When the stockinette (the kxx) is equal to 60 sts, you have enough for three begonias per repeat (33 begonias total). Then start the edging chart.

I would not recommend increasing faster, as this would make the spiral twist too much. I don’t think it would hang right.

I highlighted the stitches on the chart to make adding the beads easier.  These I added with a  size 10 steel crochet hook.

6 comments:

zippiknits...sometimes said...

That is unbelievably Gorgeous! Wow! Congratulations on finishing it. You should be very proud. Take care!

kbsalazar said...

Very nice. I like your longer variant, and your finish makes both the color and lace structure really pop. A prime project! Thank you for sharing the production hints. -k.

Unknown said...

Were is the pattern please

ajoe said...

I love your project, got the pattern but don't understand the SETUP, help please, how do I cast on 3 sts and end up with 88 stitch, actual I don't understand the whole setup, help please

Anna

Unknown said...

Your casting on 3 stitches and knitting those 3 for 176 rows (88 garter ridges). You then knit another 3 stitch row and after the 3 stitches turn the work and pick up and purl 88 stitches along what was the side of your work (picking up 1 stitch from each garter ridge) and then pick up and knit 3 more stitches. You now have your actual work row - 3 stitches knit selvedge edge, 88 stitches to start the body of the shawl and then 3 knit stitches for your ending selvedge. You the start the body pattern.

Unknown said...

I absolutely love this pattern, i was looking into getting into knitting, but currently my strong suit is crocheting, is it possible to attempt to convert this pattern to a crocheting pattern? I want to make sure im not getting into a lost hope project hah