Sempervivum, a free shawl pattern

I have a free pattern in tomorrow’s Knotions.com magazine, Sempervivum.

Sempervivum are those adorable succulents that fill in garden spaces between rocks. They are beautiful all year, even in winter, though their flowers do look like Martian invaders. Hexagons have similar space filling properties.

Each motif is made in the round from the center out, cast off, blocked, then mattress stitched to it’s friends. The pattern includes a construction chart showing the order and arrangement of bind off tails, which are then hid in the seams. You still have to sew (a lot) but it’s orderly.

Sempervivrum Shawl. — I recruited my daughter’s reading tutor for the photos, what a good sport! I still owe her a thank you gift. It was raining, cold, and February when we took the photos outside the library where they usually work together.

If you want a different shawl shape, just draw it on hexagonal graph paper, and allow enough yarn; I got 5 hexagons out of each skein of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport (color 135 Hurricane Seas) If you make a whole lot of hexagons, you can use the motif for a baby blanket or even an entire couch afghan, though I might go up in size to Prairie spun or Lamb’s Pride Superwash-Worsted if I were making an afghan.

I hope these little motifs fill in the odd spaces in your knitting.