Free Spirit Shawls

Free Spirit Shawls
Gifted by Interweave
www.interweave.com
Reviewed by Jeanette Benoit, Editor, AllFreeKnitting.com

Treat yourself to some of the prettiest knit shawl patterns ever. Inside Free Spirit Shawls by Lisa Shroyer, you will find 20 stunning designs that you will love wearing. There's no need to ever step foot inside a shopping mall again when you have these homemade shawls hanging in your closet.

The book is divided into six chapters; the first two include general information such as Size, Style, and Yarn, and Shawl Techniques. These first two chapters might not always be the most fun and exciting chapters to read, but without them, you may have a hard time completing the pretty patterns. It's important to take the time to read the helpful hints and techniques that are needed to perfect your lovely knit shawl. So much quality time and effort is put into each design, you want to always ensure you can make it the best it can be, which includes everything from selecting your yarn, to weaving in your ends, blocking, and more.

Once you get past the technical aspects that are needed to knit these designs, it's time to move onto the fun stuff: the patterns! The remaining five chapters divide the patterns into themes: Shawl Techniques, Color, Lace, Simplicity, and Texture. Color focuses on creating beautiful colorwork, Lace displays the number of possibilities that can be achieved by simple yarnovers, Simplicity shows how something as simple as variegated yarn and easy stitches can create stunning designs, and Texture shows the lovely combinations that are created with cables and knit-purl stitches.

Although all the patterns inside Free Spirit Shawls are stunning, a few of my personal favorites are "Brome" by Alexandra Beck (pg. 47), "Heath" by Amy Gunderson (pg. 73), and "Euclid" by Carol Feller (pg. 103).