Knitting faith, knitting love
FIBER ARTS
by Michele Goldman
As a shop owner I know people knit for many different reasons — for the enjoyment of the craft, for profit and, not least, for the very practical reason that it’s cold up here and wool is warm. But underlying all of that knitting is another reason, sometimes hidden — love.
Knitting has always been the first response for many people, but with the introduction of prayer shawls it has become a loving gesture of concern for friends and family facing a life crisis. Quietly knitting your prayers into a shawl that will warm someone through difficult times is a way to literally wrap a friend with your faith and with your love.
A simple prayer shawl
This shawl is worked using Trinity Stitch, so called because you create small bumps of three stitches followed by decreases of three. Repeating the number three over and over reminds Christians of the Trinity.
Using a worsted weight yarn (preferably washable) cast on a multiple of four stitches onto a size 10 needle. Your gauge should be around 4st/inch. I like a shawl to be roughly 24 inches wide, so to figure out the number of stitches to cast on multiply the width you would like by the gauge. For example, 24 x 4 = 96. Just be sure the number you cast on is a multiple of six.
Row 1 – (right side) – Purl.
Row 2 – *(Knit 1, purl 1, knit 1 all in the same stitch), purl the next 3 stitches together. Repeat from * to the end.
Row 3 – Purl.
Row 4 – *Purl 3 together, (knit 1, purl 1, knit 1 all in the same stitch). Repeat from * to the end.
Repeat these 4 rows for the pattern until you have the length you would like. I make my shawls at least 48 inches long.
Knit your love!
Michele Goldman owns Fiberphilia yarn shop in Presque Isle.
