Light & Lacy (aka Penhale) Crochet Shawl Pattern Tips
One of my most loved designs is the Light and Lacy Crochet Shawl; (aka the Penhale Shawl) a crochet project to use one skein of laceweight Perran Yarn.
I class it as a project for a confident beginner. By that I mean a crocheter who has mastered the basic stitches and wants to make something a little more challenging than a granny square. There’s nothing wrong with a good granny square project though!
Despite the main stitch repeat being simple to master, knowing how to work the initial setup rows correctly can be tricky. In this post I’ll show you exactly how to enjoy completing your shawl with confidence.
Shawl Construction
I always find it easier to work on projects when I understand the construction, so I’ll talk a little about this first. The shawl is worked as an irregular triangular shape from one point; the lengths of the sides will depend on the amount and type of yarn that you use.
The construction is similar to a Corner-To-Corner (C2C) design but not the same. In this shawl pattern you work one side straight and increase one cluster on the other side, continuing in this way until the yarn is all used.
There’s no border or other finishing to work. Once you sew in the ends and block the shawl, it’s done!
Yarn Choices
The minimum amount of laceweight yarn you’ll need for a wearable size is 450metres. This is what I first designed the Light and Lacy Crochet Shawl for, which was one 50gram skein of pure Yak Lace yarn.
This yarn base is no longer available, so I have adapted the pattern to use my other laceweight yarns. My lovely sampler team have crocheted the shawl in various laceweight yarn bases that I stock, giving different size shawls.
The most popular is the use of one skein of heavy laceweight yarn such as the Decadence Lace or Egyptian Lace.
Both of these yarns have 600metres per 100gram skein rather than 800metres per 100gram skein in a standard 2ply laceweight.
The difference between them is the fibre blend:
- Decadence Lace is 80% superwash-treated British Bluefaced Leicester Wool, 20% Silk
- Egyptian Lace is 50% Baby Alpaca, 25% Linen, 25% Silk
Both of these yarns feel beautifully soft to wear, making them perfect choices for an item you will wear against the delicate skin of your neck. They also both have fabulous drape, which is essential for this type of design.
Decadence Lace has more of a sheen and feels slightly heavier, whereas Egyptian Lace appears more matte and feels lighter. They both result in the same size shawl, so the final choice is down to your preference of fibre blend.
For a larger, more open finish…
You can also use our Bright Lace yarn to make the Light and Lacy Crochet Shawl. This is a standard 2ply laceweight yarn made from 50% Merino and 50% Tencel. Use the same size crochet hook to give a larger, finished shawl with a more airy stitch pattern.
Note – the kit is sold with either Lace Egyptian or Lace Decadence yarn. If you wish to use Lace Bright or another standard laceweight yarn you will need to buy this and the crochet shawl pattern separately.
Starting the Light and Lacy Crochet Shawl pattern
The setup rows of the Light and Lacy Crochet Shawl pattern are crucial. You will create the first point here, then go on to establish the main stitch pattern.
It can be tricky to explain in words exactly where to place the hook in these first stitches. This makes all the difference, so I have included multiple pictures for each of the rows.
You can see in the pictures what your row will look like before turning for the next row.
Setup
Row 1: Ch8 [you will work the first cluster into these stitches], 4tr into 4th ch from hook, skip 3ch, 1dc into last ch, turn (1 cluster)
This creates the bottom point of your shawl. The pictures show what your work will look like before you turn for the next row.
Turn to continue with the next step.
Row 2: 5ch [you will work the first cluster into these stitches], 4tr into 4th ch from hook, skip 4tr, dc into space between last tr skipped and chains at end of block, 2ch, 4tr into same space, turn (2 clusters)
You have increased one cluster at the end of this row.
Row 3: 5ch [you will work the first cluster into these stitches], 4tr into 4th ch from hook, skip 4tr, dc into space between last tr skipped and chains at end of block, 2ch, 4tr into same space, turn (2 clusters)
You have maintained 2 clusters on this row.
You will now switch to working rows 1 and 2 of the main Cluster pattern for the remainder of the shawl.
Main Cluster pattern
Row 1 (increase 1 cluster at end): 5ch, 4tr into 4th ch from hook, * skip 4tr, (dc, 2ch, 4tr) into next 2ch space; repeat from * to last 2ch space, (dc, 2ch, 4tr) into last 2ch space, turn
You have increased one cluster at the end of this row.
Row 2 (work straight): 5ch, 4tr into 4th ch from hook, * skip 4tr, (dc, 2ch, 4tr) into next 2ch space; repeat from * to last 2ch space, dc into last 2ch space, turn
You have maintained the same number of clusters as the previous row.
You will continue with these 2 rows of the main Cluster pattern for the remainder of the pattern.
This will increase the shawl width on one side only, keeping the other side straight.
I hope this helps you get started on this lovely project.
If you have any other questions about it, let me know and I’ll add them to this post!
