Nepal Easy Shawl

a top-down garter shawl tailored for Chris — one size, one glorious counter

🧶 On the needles · Drops Nepal, Purple Mix · finishes ≈ 64″ × 24″ blocked

The plan

This shawl starts as a tiny tab at the center of the top edge and grows downward into a wide, shallow triangle. Every right-side row adds 4 stitches — two at the edges, two beside the center spine — and every wrong-side row is just knit. That's the entire pattern: two rows, repeated 58 times, in squishy garter stitch. Perfect television knitting.

Yarn: Drops Nepal, Purple Mix — 5 balls needed (≈250 g / 410 yd); you have 7, so 2 spare for a matching accessory.
Needles: 6 mm (US 10) circular with a 40″ cable — worked flat; the cable just holds the crowd of stitches. Optional 6.5–7 mm needle for a relaxed bind-off.
Notions: 4 stitch markers, yarn needle.
Gauge: ≈15 sts × 20 rows = 4″ in garter after washing — flexible; it only changes the finished size and yarn use.

My gauge check

Knit your swatch, wash it, lay it flat and relaxed, and measure over 4 in. Enter what you actually get — it saves with the project, and the verdict updates live.

Stitches I get
Rows I get (optional)

The increase-row counter — the whole project lives here

One number matters on this shawl: how many right-side increase rows you've completed (counting Increase Row 1 as the first). Tap + after each right-side row. The target is 58.

Lost count? Garter shawls forgive: count your stitches instead (spread them on the cable), then work backwards — stitches = 9 + 4 × increase rows. Or just check the readout above after setting the counter to what the stitches say.

Step by step

The garter tab (the invisible start)

Cast on 3 stitches. Knit 6 rows. Don't turn after the last row. Rotate the strip a quarter-turn and pick up and knit 3 stitches along its long edge (one in each garter ridge bump), then rotate again and pick up 3 more along the cast-on edge. 9 stitches — the tab wraps the start so there's no visible beginning. Increase Row 1 (right side): K2 · place marker · yarn over (yo) · K2 · yo · place marker · K1 (the center spine) · place marker · yo · K2 · yo · place marker · K2 13 stitches The markers now frame: 2 edge stitches — wing — spine stitch — wing — 2 edge stitches. Row 2 (wrong side): knit to the end, slipping markers as you come to them.

The two-row rhythm (repeat until done)

Right side (increase row): K2 · slip marker · yo · knit to next marker · yo · slip marker · K1 · slip marker · yo · knit to next marker · yo · slip marker · K2 Wrong side: knit everything, slipping markers. Repeat this pair until the counter above reads 58 — you'll have 241 stitches after the final right-side row. The yarn over (yo) is just: bring the yarn over the top of the needle and carry on — it makes the neat eyelet lines along the edges and spine. Work the final wrong-side knit row.

Finishing

Bind off loosely, knitwise. If your bind-offs run firm, do it with the 6.5–7 mm needle in your right hand — the top edge of a shawl must stretch when worn. Weave in the ends. Soak gently in lukewarm water, press out in a towel, and lay flat — shape the top edge straight to about 64″ and let the point hang true. Nepal blooms and drapes beautifully after its bath. Dry flat, try on, photograph below. 🎉

Fit flexibility: gauge is relaxed on this one — denser fabric finishes smaller, looser finishes larger and drinks more yarn. With 2 spare balls you can also simply keep repeating past 58 rows for a bigger shawl, or stop a few earlier for a smaller one. Stop when it pleases you; adjust the counter target in your head accordingly.

Project photos

Progress shots and the finished shawl — photos upload straight from your phone and stay with the project.

Page settings

Checking sync…

Clears every checkbox and counter — for the next shawl. Photos are kept (delete those individually with the ✕).

Nepal Easy Shawl — a pattern tailored for Chris, knit in Drops Nepal, Purple Mix.

← all of Chris's projects