Inspiration
My Airy Albers Shawl
Dear Kay,
Mohair? In the summer? Have I lost my mind?
Yes, it may seem crazy to knit with such a fuzzy yarn during the Great MDK Ease-along.
I am here to tell you that I absolutely adored making a mohair-and-silk Albers Shawl from Field Guide No. 6: Transparency. Neighborhood Fiber Co.’s exquisite Loft is gossamer stuff, prone to being lifted by the breeze from a ceiling fan as you knit. It makes for a translucent, ease-y project.
I began this at the Knitting Getaway, and I had in my possession a batch of the leftover balls of Loft from various sample-making efforts. This design, the result of the fertile imagination of Amy Christoffers, allows for all sorts of playfulness for the curious knitter.
I wanted to make this using Loft because, years ago, I saw a scarf at the Tennessee State Fair that was nothing more than a piece of stockinette, worked in this laceweight silk/mohair yarn, on fairly small needles. The fabric was so delicate that it took my breath away—particularly when seen next to the five-foot-high crocheted wedding cake that somebody else had entered in the competition.
I didn’t have a plan for what colors to use for the marled rectangles, but I knew that the golden Mt. Vernon would be the background.
The shifting warmth of this shade looks like a pot of melted gold.
I began with Druid Hill. Such a brown!
Next came Belair, a chartreuse lime zinger.
As I worked the rectangles, I got more and more obsessed with the color choices. Shaw seemed right for the next color, a deep eggplant.
Next came Canton, an aqua.
The final orange is the only shade that is not Loft. This discontinued Crystal Palace Kid Merino in Copper shifts from blood orange to creamsicle. I think the Loft orange shade would be too much for the palette shown here. But then again, it might calm down enough when knitted and marled. I sort of doubt it, though.
You can see all our shades of Loft here. And Shibui Silk Cloud here—same mohair/silk blend, more colors.
Details to Note
- The thing to remember with Loft is that the rich saturation of the color dissipates when you knit it. And it softens even more when you marl it as the pattern directs. I can imagine this looking great with even the most vibrant Loft shades.
- I went up to a size 7 needle. Pattern calls for a size 6.
- My finished size, making 30 rectangles rather than the 36 specified in the pattern: 15″ x 55″. Would be 67″ long with the additional 6 rectangles.
- The only change I’d make is to be sure to use a lace cast on. I did a long-tail cast on, and I wish that edge were stretchier.
- The blocking is incredibly simple: I steamed it with my Rowenta, and within seconds, the stitches relaxed and aligned and took on a beautiful, impossible order. So delicate!
I cannot overstate how much fun this was to make. I would gladly make another one—the marling technique is so simple and clever, and there’s a whole nother sort of fun to have with changing the size of the rectangles and the placement of the colors. Triple marling? Reverse stockinette for the rectangles? Why not?
Love,
Ann
Beautiful!
This is stunning! It is exactly what is missing in my wardrobe. Nicely done, Ann!
Love it!!
Loving this and wanting to knit my own- would find it really helpful to know how much total yardage of background and stripe coloours was used for planning mine- thank you
Hi Cheryl–The background uses two skeins of Loft (350 yards each). I don’t know how much the six rectangles of each color use, but it’s a fraction of a skein. This Albers Shawl uses five colors for the rectangles, but I think this would be lovely with just one or two colors for the rectangles. It’s kind of hard to imagine a bad version, really. The yarn is so special.
Thank you Ann, that’s really helpful
Stunning! Great combination of colors. Wow!
It’s gorgeous! I would love to know what type of steamer you have. I think I need one!
Hi Cathryn! I just use my trusty Rowenta iron–it cranks a ton of steam. I don’t know about dedicated steamers, so I just fill up my iron and let it rip.
Ann, thank you for sharing this with us. I really really love what you’ve done here with different colors. Pure genius!
THIS takes MY breath away! It is so incredibly gorgeous!!! I absolutely LOVE it!!!!!!
Just beautiful.
Beautiful!!
This did it for me. Just love your shawl, beautiful and ethereal. I had to have Field Guide No.6. Done and done. Thanks for the inspiration.
You had me at mohair/silk. However, I need to know what is considered a “lace cast-on”. Also need a picture of that crocheted wedding cake.
Knitted cast-on … lace-style … knit the next stitch out of the previous stitch instead of from between the stitches. Yup … definitely a more generous cast on especially for kidsilk haze type yarns … or in this case LOFT and the SHIBUI one!
Simply gorgeous
This is taking my breath away. It’s perfection.
So gorgeous….
Lace cast on? What is this?
Oops. I just looked it up on ‘Google’. It is a knitted cast on, loosely.
Knitted cast-on … lace-style … knit the next stitch out of the previous stitch instead of from between the stitches.
This really is beautiful! I’ve read about the estimated yardage, but can you guesstimate the cost?? Just curious
From the looks of this, I bet it is named after Anni Albers.
Yes! My Visual Art student daughter loves Albers, and this might be the one scarf she would ever wear.
It’s so pretty, and reminds me of this whole obsession: https://fringeassociation.com/2013/08/22/i-feel-a-scarf-obsession-coming-on/
I insist you wear it that way!
It’s absolutely beautiful, Ann, and I bet it will be surprisingly warm too. What a delicate use of brigh-ish colors!
I’d love suggestions for possible background / main color to pair with the Loft “Red/Pink” colorway designed originally for the Sommerfeld Shawl. I purchased it whilst at the MDK retreat, unsure of its destiny when I bought it. Ann, you were working on your Albers Shawl, and now that I see it completed in the Loft yarn, it is simply inspirational. What do you – or anyone else good with colors – think might pair well with those vivid pinky/reds as a background color? I’d like something that allows or enhances the natural vividness of those colors to shine through, as if floating in the air in an ethereal light. (Okay, I got carried away with that last bit!)
Wow, how cool an idea! I love the Red/Pink Sommerfeld colorway, and I think you could make it a beautiful Albers Shawl. There are two gray Loft shades that I think would really let the vibrant colors shine: Charles Centre and Federal Hill. Federal Hill is a warmer gray, almost pale taupe, and Charles Centre is more of a clear, silvery gray. As I look at them, I think Charles Centre has a subtle luster to it that would be so pretty when knitted.
You can see the shades here:
https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/shop/loft/
Done! excellent suggestion – thank you Ann. I just ordered two skeins of the Charles Centre.
I went up a needle size simply because I was hoping for an airier fabric than I’d get with a size 6 needle. I didn’t swatch this or do anything scientific (LOL), so if you’re curious about how needle size affects the fabric, a bit of swatching will give you the answer on that.
The edge is simply the stockinette fabric rolling slightly.
Ann – I couldn’t find a way to reply to your last note. I am wondering if you made another other mods – did you do an icord edging? or are the edges rolling slightly? And did you go up a needle size because your tension is typically tight? Mine tends to be lose. Background color arrived today – fast!
I can’t wait to see what yours looks like!
Stunning!!
So, so beautiful. Thanks for brightening my week with this!
Oh my gosh…this is fantastic….please please please make a kit for this version!
I would love to add this project to my Ravelry favorites, as I love this pattern made with mohair / silk. I don’t see it with the finished projects. Will you add it?
You’ve inspired me. In looking at the pattern on ravelry knit in fingering wt it didn’t draw me in or entice me but yours knit in lace wt and looking marlef and light as a feather has the WOW FACTOR. This will be my next project to knit and with Loft for sure. Now to just choose my colors.
Thank you so very much for taking a pattern and taking it up another notch to a whole new level.
One question please.
What is the order of colors and all the colors you knit this in?
Ronni
What is the marling technique?
I seen store bought sweaters with marled colors, but I have no idea how it’s done. I’m relearning knitting and haven’t made it past Afghans, prayer shawls, baby blankets and scarves and one messy bun hat. The hat was messier than the bun. I was using Red Heart Unforgivable and I had trouble using such fine yarn. So I’m not ready for mohair.
Where do I go online to learn about marling?
My imagination is running in a million directions!
This has inspired me to knit a second Albers wrap in a mohair yarn. If you see this comment, would you be so kind as to list the number of blocks in each sequence ad color that you used.
I’m toying with a Fibonacci type sequence- but can’t decide if I start off the sequence with 1 block of first color, then 2 blocks of second color, and then 3 blocks, then 5 blocks, or start sequence in a different way.
Many thanks!