If you’ve followed my blog, you know that I have been enjoying knitting shawls lately. I cast on this shawl to combine my favorite elements from the Brioband shawl and the Fantastitch shawl. Keep reading for more details on my Brioband + Fantastitch Combination Shawl!
BRIOBAND + FANTASTITCH
I knit the Brioband Shawl last year using some of my left over/stash yarns and I really enjoyed working on it. I wanted to try and combine the Brioband with elements of the Fantastitch shawl. The Fantastitch was the first shawl I knit and it’s probably my most favorite project. I recently knit a second Fantastitch and I love it because there are so many stitch patterns and sections that make it really exciting. Brioche is one of my favorite stitches, and knitting shawl patterns that have multiple sections is great because it never feels repetitive or slow. I was excited to try to combine the Fantastitch with the Brioband.
PLANNING MY NEW SHAWL
I started planning out my Brioband/Fantastitch shawl by using the Brioband pattern as a foundation. I went through the pattern and made a few notes about which stitches I wanted to change/swap. For example, I didn’t want to use any of the Syncopated Brioche sections so I swapped them with the Slipped Stitch Bricks or Slipped Stitch Dots techniques from the Fantastitch pattern. Once I had a rough idea of how I wanted the shawl patterns to go, I was ready to cast on.
YARN + NEEDLES
Yarn
I used all left over yarns for this Brioband/Fantastitch shawl. At first, I just wanted to knit a project that could use up the scraps I had been holding on to, and I wasn’t really focused on color combinations. But as the shawl grew, I tried to at least pick more complimentary colors — overall my Brioband/Fantastitch is very “scrappy” looking.
I don’t mind the scrappy look, but the random colors take away a little from the beautiful fabric and design. If I make this shawl again, or something similar in the future, I would choose a more intentional color palette.
Needles
I knit this shawl using my US 5 Chaiogoo interchangeable needles on a 50″ cable. I definitely recommend the Chaiogoo interchangeable set because you can create so many combinations of needles + cables. If you aren’t ready to invest in the full set, you could always just buy the needles and cable separately — that way they could integrate with the full set later and it’s less of an investment up front. When I first started knitting, I bought a lot of different fixed needles for each project, and I never use those now that I have my interchangeable set — just something to keep in mind if you’re just getting into knitting.
BRIOBAND + FANTASTITCH NOTES
I started the shawl using the cast on instructions for the Brioband, and I continued the brioche until I liked the look. I took a lot of specific notes in case I want to knit this exact shawl again, but I won’t post all the details since it’s based on paid patterns. Both the Brioband and the Fantastitch are by Stephen West.
After the initial brioche section, I knit a two-row stripe. I love the two-row stripes in the Fantastitch because they give a fun pop of color and help to add increases to the shawl.
In my third section, I knit Twisted Rib, followed by Slipped Stitch Dots — both in the Fantastitch. Throughout the entire shawl, I maintained the edge in the Brioband Shawl pattern.
I knit another stripe and then a two-color brioche section. Working on this shawl was especially nice because I didn’t feel any pressure or obligation to knit it according to the “pattern”. I knit each section until I was happy with the look or ready to move on. And since I was using my left over yarn, I didn’t feel like it needed to be super perfect.
In my next sections, I knit a few garter rows, a stripe, and the Slipped Stitch Bricks from the Fantastitch. I also loved using my left over yarns because they are still colors I love, and I was finally giving them a new purpose. I knit another stripe and another brioche section, followed by a few garter rows.
At this point, my shawl was starting to come together and I was happy with how things were going. But then I knit a two-row stripe with increases, and I could tell right away that I was increasing too much/too fast. But I didn’t want to tink back all those stitches, so I finished the row. My finished shawl has an overall swoopy crescent (vs half circle) look since my stitch count jumped up so fast.
After that stripe, I knit Slipped Stitch Dots, a few garter rows, a brioche section, and another few garter rows before starting the border.
I used the Brioband shawl border but I had a few more crescents since my stitch count was so much higher, and I made some of the stripes a little thicker. I ended my shawl with a lime green icord border with over 950 stitches.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT
This shawl is huge! I love how the fabric feels so nice, and it’s basically a blanket. It was even larger than my two blocking mat sets together.
I loved working on this Brioband/Fantastitch shawl and I’m super happy with how it turned out. Combining two of my favorite patterns together and knitting each section until I was ready to move on was really low-pressure and enjoyable. And I’m happy I got to use up so much of my stash yarns in a fun project.
This shawl is beautiful and I would love to knit something similar — whether it’s another combination shawl or something more freestyled. Check out my Ravelry to see the other projects I’m working on!
UPDATE: I knit another Combination Shawl in pinks, purples, and oranges. Read about my experience knitting the Pretty In Pink Combination Shawl!
