handspun ribbed shawl cuff

Completely on a whim one evening, I decided to make a shawl cuff for my recent handspun shawl. The shawl is quite over-sized and I thought it would be nice to have something to fastened the shawl with, keeping it in place to wear. Shawl cuffs were everywhere at Fibres West this year and I hope more people begin designing them with interesting ribbed cable patterns so that there are lots to chose from over the coming months/years. They are such a cool accessory and great for using up bits of leftovers.

I dug into my stash and found some 3-ply that I’d spun for my Lemongrass, which I don’t wear much because it just isn’t really my style, even though I want to love it. The yarn, though, was some of my most favourite I’ve ever spun. I just love it so much! It was a local-to-me crossbreed from a local carding show, Birkeland Bros. Wool, and they’d done a really nice job with it.

I think I spun this long draw with quite a bit of ply twist to finish and honestly, it has stood up beautiful in the sweater — I just wear it when we go camping, when it’s cooooold.

From Katrina and my new book, I knit another Looking Glass Shawl and made it significantly bigger to showcase what you can do with the pattern. The shawl is large and while pretty easy to wear, it was nice to be able to ‘tie’ or cuff it. Not having to play around with the shawl while wearing it, managing the kids and dealing with my purse, is really nice.

Handspun Ribbed Shawl Cuff

The pattern for this little cuff is pretty straightforward – you will need some Worsted- or Aran-weight handspun yarn (roughly 7-9WPI). Needles: 3.5 – 4.00mm needles. Gauge should be tight and create a firm, dense fabric.

Cast on 32 stitches.

Row 1 (WS): K5, (P2, K2) 5x, P2, K5

Row 2 (RS): K7, (P2, K2) 5x, K5

Repeat rows 1 & 2 until piece measures 1 inch from cast on edge. Work buttonhole as follows (RS): K2, YO, SSK, K1, (P2, K2) 5x, K5

Repeat rows 1 & 2 for another 0.75 inches, repeat buttonhole row.

Continue rows 1 & 2 for 1 inch more. Cast off loosely in rib. Weave in ends. Wash in lukewarm water with gentle soap (I used Eucalan) and block to rectangle.

Sew on 2 toggle buttons. Enjoy!

So far, I’ve really enjoyed wearing the shawl with the cuff and I plan to make some more cuffs with different yarns from my stash. I think it will be very useful to have several to chose from! What will you chose to make yours out of?!