Accessibility statement: This pattern has 24 point font, all black text, no italics, sans serif font, and fully written out directions.
The three textures of Prairie Path shawl evoke the meeting of meadow, prairie, and woodland that characterize a unique project of ecological restoration in the heart of central Illinois. With some planning, human interests can exist side by side with native plants and wild animals, and city children can grow up playing in the wildlands next door.
Prairie Path is an asymmetrical triangular shawl knit in three main sections with a garter stitch border. The first section, “Field”, is composed of shadow cables. For “Forest” the garter stitch border expands, enclosing “Field” before it opens into “Meadow.” “Meadow” is a simple lace pattern reminiscent of both the waves of tallgrass prairie as well as the fire ecology that supports it. As the shawl grows, pattern repeats are added or taken away from each side, which means each row contains partial pattern repeats. The stitch pattern for each section is both written and charted. It is possible to create a much larger shawl by adding on more repeats of the lace chart.