My latest knitting project. This was done with 4 oz (1260 yards) of Jaggerspun Zephyr laceweight yarn. It will be gifted to my eldest sister.
More pics here if you’re interested!
Oh, wow! That’s really lovely, Tyghress! So delicate!
Tyghress, that is just stupendously lovely. Congratulations on being able to do it and on actually finishing it. I think this must be the type of shawl I’ve read about that can be pulled through a wedding ring. It is really impossible to imagine only 4 ounces of yarn spread so finely. It is like a feather. What an accomplishment and how lucky your sister is! I’m sure it will be in your family for years and years.
Holy cow! That rocks!
But seriously (though I was being serious in a rather funky vernacular), it’s quite beautiful.
Cynth, the wedding ring shawls are another category entirely! Maybe sometime in my life I will be able to do that level of work, but this isn’t a shawl of that caliber.
This is knit in fine, two-ply laceweight yarn (50% silk, 50% merino I believe). The next level down is called cobweb. It’s single ply and makes incredible, airy lace. But true wedding ring shawls are made from even finer yarn called gossamer, that can be only a few hairs plied together.
Also, the wedding ring shawls are ‘true’ lace – patterning on every row. The Peacock Feathers Shawl has a pattern row, then a row that is just purled. It doesn’t sound like a big difference, but it is much harder to knit lace patterns on every row!
This is the site that made me want to learn to knit.
Tyg! That is absolutely gorgeous! How long did it take for you to make it?
That is a very interesting website. I saw a pattern called Wedding Ring Shawl that is for ultra-experienced knitters! You know, I should think it could almost be a problem with yarn so fine actually catching on rough places on your fingers and the like. I wonder what a pure silk shawl would feel like? I’ve never handled any knitted item made of silk. Thank you for clarifying the levels of shawls. It just goes to show what your eye doesn’t see if you haven’t learned about something and tried to make it yourself. I think I’ve got a book on Shetland Shawls. I don’t know if you are familiar with those Interweave Press books—I like them a lot even though I don’t knit much from them. They have nice histories and pictures. I am sort of an arm chair knitter as with everything else. 
Stunningly elegant. To think that a shawl of that size and complexity is made with just 4 oz of yarn! I can only imagine the skill and patience and love that went into it. You have every right to be proud.
Nice. 
That is unbelieveably beautiful. I can only imagine the skill and patience needed to complete such a work of art.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
Lovely. An heirloom, to be sure. How long did it take to make it? Izz and I want to know.
About six months. I’m a pretty slow knitter, and I took a break in there to finish a scarf. I’ve known skilled knitters who could do this project in a month of concentrated knitting.
Of the really fine yarns and the knitters of Shetland who produced shawls and stockings, gloves and veils and such, the knitters brought in ‘real money’ and were therefore exempted from farm labor in order to keep their hands smooth and able to handle gossamer without snagging it.
I use ‘Glove in a Bottle’ to minimize rough spots, and cuticle nippers to remove problems.
Lovely! I’d love to work on something like that, as soon as I knit my first sweater. I have gauge issues. sigh Is that yarn as wispy as it looks? I’m trying to spin my yarns a little finer on the wheel. They’re pretty bulky yet. 
Knitted? I thought it had been crocheted.
Well, they do both use yarn and besides, you’re a guy. Actually, if a person didn’t knit or crochet there would be no reason you should be able to tell the difference. At this distance, I’m not truly sure I could tell. And I know, some fellows do knit or crochet.
I had not heard of Gloves in a Bottle. It sounds like quite a nice product:
CLICK—>
I like the color.
That shawl is gorgeous! I have great admiration for people who can knit & sew. I think I would manage to injure myself somehow if I tried…
J.
Wow!!
(I know just enough about knitting to know that’s an appropriate response.)
Wow!
Tyg, that is quite lovely!