You know those fascinators the British royals have made amazingly popular these days? This is not one of those. This is it yarn-y cousin. The knitted (and crocheted) fascinators may not be as well known or as fashionable but I promise you, they are much warmer.

(I wrote a guest post for The Woolery! Its almost like I’m a professional blogger now! Except I did it for fun and not money. Its a post on sharing the joy of handspinning yarn. So after you grab the pattern below, maybe you could head on over there, give it a read, make a nice little comment. You know, make me look good! Maybe they will invite to guest post again. Ha!) 

Today most people would call this strip of lace a head scarf. But I’m in a vintage-y mood so I’ve dubbed it a fascinator. It sounds so much more elegant. Also I get the opportunity to make clever puns like A Fascinating Fascinator, and A Fascination in Knitting. How could I resist that?

Really its leaf-lace, aka fern-lace, worked up in the shape of a large trapezoid. I’m not the maker of this lace motif; its been around forever. Like any artistic design that has been in use for a century (or longer) there are more varieties than you can shake a stick at. I was inspired by these:

• Leaf Sampler Shawl by Sally Bode
• Leaf Lace Scarf by Cayli Malone
• Woodland Shawl by Nikol Lohr (This one especially! Trust me, its worth a click.)

For my fascinator, I made the cast on the longest edge. As each repeat is worked, the number of stitches is reduced, resulting in a trapezoid shape.

At the end of each repeat, the leaves on the very outermost edges are reduced to three stitches wide. Then they are bound off. It gives the piece the nice scalloped edge that I was looking for.

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 A Knitted Fascination

Yarn used:

I used 500 yds of handspun Dorset Down in sportweight.  Use a good quality sportweight wool or wool blend. The pattern is flexible and can be adapted to greater/lesser yardage.

Needle used:

Size 4 circulars (about 40 inches long)

Gauge:

• Before blocking – 30 stitches in pattern = 4 inches (10 cm)
• After blocking – 24 stitches in pattern = 4 inches (10 cm)

Finished Size: After blocking, mine is about 77 inches (196 cm) long and 11 inches (28 cm) wide.

Stitch Key:

• k – knit
• p – purl
• YO – yarn over (an increase)
• ssk – slip two stitches as if to knit, knit them together (a decrease)
• k2tog – knit 2 stitches together (a decrease)
• sk2togp – slip a stitch as if to knit, knit next two stitches together, pass slipped stitch over (a double decrease)
• B – bind off

The pattern:

Cast on 361 stitches

Knit 2 rows

Work the following repeat 9 times (or until you are almost out of yarn):

Row 1: k2, p1, k7, p1, *p4, k7, p1*, repeat from * until 2 stitches remain, k2

Row 2: k2, *k1, p7, k4*, repeat from * until 11 stitches remain, k1, p7, k3

Row 3: k2, p1, ssk, k3, k2tog, p1, *p1, YO, k1, YO, p2, ssk, k3, k2tog, p1*, repeat from * until 2 stitches remain, k2

Row 4: k2, *k1, p5, k2, p3, k1*, repeat from * until 9 stitches remain, k1, p5, k3

Row 5: k2, p1, ssk, k1, k2tog, p1, *p1, k1, YO, k1, YO, k1, p2, ssk, k1, k2tog, p1*, repeat from * until 2 stitches remain, k2

Row 6: k2, *k1, p3, k2, p5, k1*, repeat from * until 7 stitches remain, k1, p3, k3

Row 7: k2, p1, sk2togp, p1, *p1, k2, YO, k1, YO, k2, p2, sk2togp, p1*, repeat from * until 2 stitches remain, k2

Row 8: B3, k2, *k1, p7, k2, p1, k1*, repeat from * until 5 stitches remain, k1, p1, k3

Turn & B3.  ←  (don’t forget this! its easy to miss in the pattern but you’re gonna need it!)

Begin next repeat.

Knit 2 rows

Bind off all remaining stitches

 

A chart….

I love charts. If you’re not a regular chart user, I’ve included some extra explanations and tips to encourage you to give this one a try. Also, I wrote a whole series of posts on how to read charts a while back. I really love charts.

Some help

– Every row starts and ends with a “k2”. That’s shown by the pink boxes on each edge.

– The repeated stitches are shown in purple. Do those as a set over and over.

– The stitches that are only worked once are shown in white.

– Don’t forget those “b’s” at the top right. Turn, bind off 3 stitches, then start over again at Row 1.

I hope you enjoy your Fascinator as much as I enjoy mine. If you are looking for a way to take this pattern with you, check out the handy “Print & PDF” button down there on the left. And check out our other free patterns. You might find something else you like.