Screen Porch Shawl
It’s spring! Time to swap snowy walks for crisp evenings on the porch. Time to cast on for our simply beautiful Screen Porch Shawl pattern in our gorgeous merino and suri alpaca yarn, Quartz.
You cast on this easy triangular shawl along one side and knit your way to the opposite tip, decreasing one stitch each right-side row. The beginner-friendly lace pattern is a 4-line repeat with alternating yarn-overs and decreases… Easy to memorize, so it hits the sweet spot between ease and interest.
When you’re done, the lace nestles into the bottom point of the triangle… A placement that takes center stage when you wear your beautiful shawl!
Our fingering-weight Quartz knits up into a nice, light spring layer, but its 65% merino wool and 35% suri alpaca have the warmth you need if your screen porch is a bit breezy.
And this lovely single-color knit is a fitting canvas for Quartz’s gorgeous depth of color. Its lustrous glow from the glossy suri alpaca means each hue is rich and radiant. In Autumn Oak like ours, or in another beauty from Quartz’s palette, your Screen Porch Shawl will be a stunner in any color and on any porch swing!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Hiromi Glover. Click here to see even more of Hiromi’s work!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoScreenPorchShawl, and #PurlSohoQuartz. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 2 (4) skeins of Purl Soho’s Quartz, 65% merino wool and 35% suri alpaca yarn. Each skein of this fingering weight yarn is 420 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 625 (1595) total yards required. We used the color Autumn Oak.
- US 3 (3.25 mm), 32- or 47-inch circular needles, depending on size you are making
- A stitch marker
GAUGE
26 stitches and 52 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch
SIZES
Bandana (Shawl)
- Finished Length of Wingspan: 42½ (68) inches
- Finished Length of Each Short Side: 30 (48) inches
- Finished Depth: 21 (34) inches
Sample: We knit the Shawl size.
NOTES
CONSTRUCTION
You will work this piece by casting on along one short side and working toward the opposite tip, decreasing 1 stitch at every right-side edge as you go.
SLIP STITCHES
Slip all slipped stitches knitwise with yarn in back.
PATTERN
Cast on 196 (312) stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
TIP: When you’re casting on so many stitches, it really helps to place a marker or piece of scrap yarn every 50 stitches. That way, when you lose count (which you will!), you won’t have to recount all the stitches. Just remember to remove these markers when you place your marker for the Set-Up Row.
Set-Up Row (wrong side): Slip 1 (see Notes), k95 (153), place marker (pm), knit to end of row.
Row 1 (right side): Slip 1, knit to last 3 stitches, slipping marker as you come to it, knit 2 together (k2tog), k1. [1 stitch decreased]
Row 2 (wrong side): Slip 1, knit to end of row, slipping marker as you come to it.
Row 3: Repeat Row 1. [1 stitch decreased]
Row 4: Slip 1, knit to marker, remove marker, k2, pm, *yarn over (yo), purl 2 together (p2tog), repeat from * to last 2 stitches, k2.
Repeat Rows 1–4 forty-seven (76) more times (at the end of the final Row 4 you should have 4 stitches remaining to the left of the marker). [100 (158) stitches remain]
Decrease Row (right side): Slip 1, knit to last 3 stitches, removing marker when you come to it, k2tog, k1. [1 stitch decreased]
Continuing in garter stitch and maintaining slip stitch selvage, repeat Decrease Row every right-side row until 3 stitches remain, ending with a wrong-side row.
Next Row (right side): Slip 1, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over, cut yarn and pull through remaining stitch.
FINISHING
Weave in the ends and gently wet block.
LEARN ABOUT QUARTZ + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Quartz brings a special glow to this project! A wonderful mix of 65% merino wool and 35% suri alpaca, this fingering-weight yarn is lustrous, radiant, and sumptuously soft. The addition of suri gives this yarn a lovely halo and subtle luminosity, while merino brings strength, elasticity, and of course, beauty. Choose from nearly 30 gorgeous colors you’ll only find at Purl Soho!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of (mostly free!) Quartz knitting patterns and cast on!
More Fingering-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of fingering-weight yarns
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fibers
- Shop merino wool yarn
- Shop suri alpaca yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
Can use Linen Quill yarn for this pattern?
Also, when decreasing at the end of the pattern what is the instructions for the wrong side row?
Thank you
Hi Julie,
Thank you for writing in! You can absolutely use Linen Quill for this pattern! You will need 2 skeins for the bandana and 4 skeins for the full-size shawl. For the the decrease at the end, you will continue working the wrong side as you have for row 2. Row 2 (wrong side): Slip 1, knit to end of row, slipping marker as you come to it. I hope this helps but please let me know if you have any other questions and I would be happy to take a look!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
I would like to purchase this yarn and make this shawl but I am not sure how much yarn to purchase. The instructions said 2 (4) skeins… I ususally wear a medium/ large…would I purchase 2?
Hi Leigh,
That’s a great question! If you would like to make the bandana size, you will need 2 skeins of Quartz. If you would like to make the full-size shawl, you will need 4 skeins. I hope this helps!
Happy making,
Gavriella
Can this be knit in Linen Quill? If so, what modifications would be needed?
Hi Teresa,
Thank you for reaching out! You can definitely make this pattern with Linen Quill without the need for any modifications.
Warmly,
Gavriella
Thank you for the lovely pattern!
Hello! Just to double check, because I have such a hard time with yarn overs – in order to yo, purl, I have to wrap the yarn twice, correct? Once for the ‘yo’ and then again for the ‘purl’ stitch. I don’t want to lay the foundation work just to find I did row 4 wrong, especially on the shawl.
Hi Vicki,
That’s a great question! You’re actually wrapping the working yarn once, and here’s a breakdown of how to maneuver the yarn for the YO and p2tog:
To do the YO, you would move your working yarn from the back (where it’s already positioned, since you’ve been working knit stitches) to the front by passing it in between your two needles. Then, bring the working yarn over the top of the right needle so that it’s positioned at the back of your work again. You’ve completed the YO! Then, since your next step is a P2Tog, you would move the working yarn from the back of the work to the front again by passing it in between your two needles. Once you’ve done that, you are ready to do the p2tog!
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
Thank you! Can’t wait to get started 🙂
Hi:
Would I need 2 or 4 skeins for this pattern for a size large? (I’m still learning how to read patterns.)
Thank you so much!
Hi Judy,
Thank you for asking! To make the larger shawl size, you would need 4 skeins of Quartz. We’ve noted the two project sizes as “Bandana (Shawl),” so if you see this convention in other places in the pattern, it means that what’s listed outside of the parentheses refers to the bandana and what’s inside the parentheses refers to the shawl! I hope this helps, and can’t wait for you to cast on this project!
All the best,
Cat
I want to make this shawl and buy the yarn from you. Is there a way to print up just the pattern. In the past when I have printed up your patterns, I get 20 pages on the print out with pictures of the yarn, the Q and A from your emails, etc.
Hi Nancy,
Thank you for reaching out! Here’s how we recommend printing this free pattern!
If you’re on your computer, you’ll find a “print” icon in the right column just below the “Save To Favorites” button. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find the “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.
Click on this button, and a window will pop up where you can delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print (when you hover over an image or a text block, it will be highlighted in yellow and a “trash” icon will appear). Then, just click on the printer icon in the upper left-hand corner of the pop-up window to print the pattern!
I hope this helps, and please feel free to let us know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Cat
I’m confused. On row 4, why do you knit to marker, remove marker, K2, then replace the marker? Why not just knit to the marker? Is something missing there? Am I missing something?
Hi Charlotte,
Thank you for writing in! For this set of instructions, you will be shifting the eyelets as you decrease so it is important to move the marker each time to make sure that the eyelets align evenly. I hope this helps but please let me know if you have any more questions!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
I am considering making the Screen Porch Shawl completely in the yarn over/P2tog pattern (with no garter stitch section). Would the yarn requirements be the same?
Thank you!
Hi Judy,
That sounds like a great idea! You can definitely modify this pattern to be made without the garter stitch section by adjusting your cast on stitches to be an odd number instead! I would recommend starting with the required yardage and winding your skeins as you need them. That way you can return any unwound skeins if you end up not using/needing them. I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Can this already generous-sized shawl be made even larger? Also, is the recommended yarn the best choice for a summer shawl? (The intended wearer only wears shawls on cool summer evenings in out northern clime.) Finally, I see Linen Quill is already green-lighted as a substitute yarn. Would it make for a heavy shawl, which I want to avoid doing? Too many questions, I know, but I want to get it right!
Hi Susan,
Thank you for writing in! Quartz is a quite soft yarn and is just as light in knitted form. Sweet Grass, Cattail Silk, or Santolina would be great options for a summer shawl! All of these yarns are both wonderfully soft and lightweight making them ideal for warmer days ahead. I hope this helps but please let me know if you have any other questions!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Hello!
Can you use cotton pure for this pattern?
Thank-you very much!
Sincerely, Annie
Hi Annie,
Thank you for writing in! Cotton Pure is just a tad too thick for this pattern but if you are looking to knit it up in a cotton yarn, I’d highly recommend Santolina which is 70% organically grown cotton, 20% rayon from bamboo, 10% hemp making it great for warmer climates!
Warmly,
Gavriella
Thank-you so very much!
In the pattern it says “Repeat Rows 1–4 forty-seven (76) more times”. Is that 47 or 76??
Kind regards Marianne, Denmark
Hi Marianne,
Thank you for writing in! This pattern is written in two sizes and each step includes instructions for each size. The first number is the instruction for the bandana size and the number in (parenthesis) is for the full-size shawl. If you’d like to learn more about this process, you can check out our quick Reading a Knitting Pattern tutorial here which goes more in-depth on this topic. I hope this helps but please let me know if you have any other questions!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
What does the Bandana version look like?
Hi Gretchen,
Thank you for writing in! The bandana version will have the same look as the shawl but is made on a smaller scale. It is kind of like a ‘mini’ version of the full-size shawl and was designed to tie comfortably around your neck. The dimensions for the bandana size are:
Finished Length of Wingspan: 42½ inches
Finished Length of Each Short Side: 30 inches
Finished Depth: 21 inches
I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Thanks!
Thank you!
Could this be knit in Echo Cashmere?
Hi Gretchen,
You can absolutely use Echo Cashmere for this pattern! I think that would be a lovely choice!
Great!
I am starting this shawl, but am confused by the pattern. The photos show garter stitch for the top longer edges of the shawl and the lace part is pictured on the bottom third towards the tip. I don’t see this in the pattern, as the yarn overs begin in row four already. Can you straighten me out?
Thank you for the beautiful pattern and quartz yarn suggestion.
Hi Laura,
Thank you for writing in! For this pattern, you will work by casting on along one short side and working toward the opposite tip, decreasing 1 stitch at every right-side edge as you go. This will allow you to get the triangular shape with both garter stitch and the lace section as you move your marker over further and further each row. I hope this helps but please let us know if you have any other questions!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
How could I knit this in a size larger than bandana but smaller then shawl? How many stitches to cast on and how many repeats? I am making this as a prayer shawl and the bandana seems too small but the shawl is too large.
Hi Sharlene,
Thank you for writing in! Although we think that sounds like a lovely idea, we would not recommend altering the pattern due to the construction of the decreases. One thing you could do is knit the bandana size in a larger gauge than the one in the pattern using thicker yarn. This could result in an in between size of both the bandana and the full-size shawl! I hope this helps but please let me know if you have any other questions!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
I did think of using larger needles and thicker yarn but I wanted to keep it light-weight. Thank you for your prompt response to my question. I love your patterns and web site!
I’m currently knitting this pattern with the suggested Quartz yarn. I understand the pattern, but I’m having a hard time doing the purl two together. I can get the first stitch onto the needle easily, but it is very difficult to get the second stitch onto the needle. Any suggestions? Thank you.
Hi Kelly,
Thank you for writing in! For the purl two together stitches, I always find it helpful to really relax my hands on these stitches. Sometimes we tend to grip the working yarn a little too harshly making these stitches more difficult. You could also try completely letting go of your working yarn as you insert your needle into the stitches allowing your hands to control the needles entirely. If that doesn’t work, you could also try working these with a needle size smaller just to insert into the stitches and then continuing with the correct size needle. I hope these tips help make the process a little easier but please let me know if you have any questions!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Thank you for your quick response with suggestions.
Hi! I think I am missing something in these instructions. I start by casting on 312 stitches. In the set up, I put a marker after I knit stich 153. So I have 153 stitches on one side of the marker and 159 on the other side. In both row 1 and row 3 I decrease by 1 stitch. I think, if I am following correctly, when starting Row 4 I have 152 stitches at beginning of the row and 159 after the marker. Is that right? I slip 1, leaving 151 to knit to marker and then I remove the marker, knit 2 and place the marker again. I think I then have 157 to do the lace pattern, which is all YO and p2tog, until the last 2 stitches which I am supposed to knit. If that is all correct, then how do I have 2 stitches at the end? The (YO, p2tog) would be sets of 2 stitches going across but I am starting with an odd number of stitches so I keep ending with 3 stitches at the end. I am so confused. Where am I missing something? Thank you!
Hi Cory,
You will actually be slipping the first stitch AND THEN knitting 153 stitches. Then you will place your marker and knit to the end. At the end of your setup row you should have 154 stitches on one side, and 158 on the other. This will help even things out once your work the two decrease rows before working row 4. I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Hello! I am about 1/4 of the way through the shawl version of this pattern using lavender Quartz and it is turning out beautifully. However, even though I am a fairly experienced knitter, I am struggling with the end of each row 4. When I get to the final P2, I end up with 3 stitches instead of the 2 I am supposed to knit or the 4 I would need to do another YO P2. I at first tried to “fix” it by doing a K2 together then knitting the last stitch (as on rows 1 and 3) but then of course that caused a decrease making a slant instead of keeping the line straight. I then tried to do a YO after the P2 together before knitting the final 2, thinking that would add a stitch where I needed it so that the next Row 4 would have the right number of stitches to end up with 2 to knit at the end of the row, but at the next Row 4 I still ended up with 3 stitches after the final P2 together. I am sure this is simple math (I need an even or odd number of stitches after the marker), but I can’t figure out how to fix it so it works out right for each Row 4. Can you help?
Hi Monica,
We are so sorry to hear you are running into issues on your stitch count! It sounds like you may have started with your marker in the wrong place at the start of the pattern. You will want to make sure to always have an even number on each side of the marker before working row 4. I’d recommend adding a life line in your current work if you’d prefer not to start over and then at the end of the row 4, knit to last 3 stitches, p1, k2. This will help your stitch count get back on track but may offset your eyelets. I hope this helps!
All the best,
Gavriella
Seem to be having a problem with row 4 – cast on, did set up row, placed marker after 153 st. First 2 sets of 4 row pattern worked out correctly for row 4 with k2 at end. Third set of pattern row 4 has ended with 3 sts at end of row. When this happens do I yo P1, k2 or just k3. What am I doing wrong. Have already frogged once.
Thank you.
Hi Camille,
Thank you for writing in! You will actually be slipping the first stitch AND THEN knitting 153 stitches. Then you will place your marker and knit to the end. At the end of your setup row you should have 154 stitches on one side, and 158 on the other. This will help even things out once your work the two decrease rows before working row 4. I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Thank you for replying so quickly. I did follow those instructions both times and it seems that somewhere I am making a mistake and I cannot seem to find where it is. Will frog one more time and hope it works out= this is a lovely pattern .
Ahh okay! Good luck and please let us know if you have any other questions along the way!
I am knitting this shawl in a larger yarn that shows the gauge has 21stitches for 27 rows. Is the shawl going to come out a lot bigger?
Hi Freda,
Thank you for writing in! Yes, if your gauge is looser than the suggested tension, your project will be larger!
All the best,
Gavriella
Hello. Is Quartz an itchy yarn for someone with sensitive skin?
Thank you!
Hi Anna,
We don’t think Quartz is itchy at all! Its very soft compared to our more rustic yarns! I hope this helps but please let us know if you have any other questions.
All the best,
Gavriella
Thank you!
I understand that 196 stitches to cast on is a lot, but would it be possible to knit the scarf on straight needles? I’m not comfortable knitting in the round.
Hi Maryjane,
Thank you for writing in! If you are more comfortable using straight needles, you could absolutely do so! I just wanted to let you know that although we used circular needles for this pattern, we still knit the entire pattern flat!
All the best,
Gavriella
Could you please provide suggestions to modify this pattern to work in Cashmere Merino Bloom? I have 5 beautiful skeins – not enough to make the Bas Relief shawl…
Hi Danielle,
The only change you will need to make is the needle size and gauge. I’d recommend using a US 5 – 7 (3.75 – 4.5 mm) needle for this yarn!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Help! I’ve read through this pattern 4 times. I can tell where the eyelet lace should start but I don’t see any yarn overs other than in the middle. Usually you would yo k2 together. But I can’t find that in the instructions.
Hi Cheryl,
Thank you for writing in! The eyelets are worked after the marker on row 4 of the pattern. Could you let me know if you are having trouble accessing that row of the pattern? I’d be happy to help further trouble shoot from there.
All the best,
Gavriella
So this is knit from the side? Is there any way to show a graph of the pattern? Or even just a picture of the finished pattern showing the starting edge to finished point? I used to be able to picture things in my head. But since I turned 65 the skill has escaped me. Thanks for your patience!
You will work this piece by casting on along one short side and working toward the opposite tip, decreasing 1 stitch at every right-side edge as you go. I’m afraid we don’t have a graph for this pattern but you can see the full shawl on the very last image of the project page. We’d also be happy to assist you anytime through one of our free 1-on-1 Zoom sessions as well!
I just bought the required yarn for the bandana from the website. Is it possible to download this pattern? If so, how?
Hi Lisa,
If you’re on a desktop version of the site, you will find a “print” icon in the right column just below the “Save To Favorites” button. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find a “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.
Click on this button, and a window will pop up where you can delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print. When you hover over any image or a text block, it will be highlighted in yellow and a “trash” icon will appear. Just click on this icon to delete anything that’s not necessary to the pattern! For example, you may decide to shorten the pattern by omitting certain images or the list of materials. Then, click on the “PDF” button in the upper left-hand corner of the pop-up window. Once your PDF has finished downloading, just click the “Download PDF” button, and it will be saved to your computer! (You can also just click the “Print” button if you’d like to print the pattern.)
All the best,
Gavriella
hello,
i tend to be a tight knitter. how much of a difference would a size 4 needle be rather than the 3 so that it will have the same drape etc
as the pattern should have? thank you.
Hi Patrice,
Your needle size really all depends on your gauge. I’d recommend starting with a US 3 and if you have way too many stitches per inch in your swatch, I’d recommend trying a size US 5 next!
I hope this helps but please let us know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Gavriella
Good morning, I have 4 skeins of your lovely Quartz in my stash and love the mixture of eyelet an garter. Planned to make a shawl for my daughter but she does not like Triangle shape. Could this be modified to be a rectangle. What is the pattern repeat for the eyelet? I have a few ideas of design but hoping you might have some ideas to share. love your sight – your yarns and your patterns. My go to knitting site – also love the store in NY
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for writing in! I’m afraid we haven’t written modifications for this pattern to be a rectangle shape but you maybe interested in our Dotty Wrap which has all the goodness of both eyelets and garter stitch! Alternatively, you would also always incorporate eyelets into any wrap by pairing yarn overs with k2togs!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
I love the pattern and the yarn. Is there a way to make this into a baby blanket?
Hi Edda,
To turn this pattern into a square instead of a triangle, then all you’ll need to do is omit the k2tog’s on Rows 1 and 3. Can you also let me know how large (length and width, in inches) you’d like the blanket to be? Then I can help you calculate how much yarn you would need!
All the best,
Lili
This has really been a great project. I have learned a lot and am really enjoying the knit. Even with my errors it’s beautiful. I’m a little confused though. I have just finished the lace part of the shawl and now have 150ish stitches on my needle and my gauge and the length of my one completed short side are pretty close to target. I am mid way through my 4th skein of yarn. I can’t imagine that I won’t need another one. I think I would need more than one as it is still a little of stitches to slowly decrease. How do I tell? Although I could order them one by one it seems as if I should know what I’ll need. (And ordering what I’ll need I think will cost less if ordered in December instead of January 😀). Thank you!
Hi Cory,
I’m glad to hear that you’ve enjoyed working on this project so far! Can you please let me know exactly what your gauge measurements are (both stitch and row)? It sounds like it is close to accurate, but it’s always helpful for me to know the exact numbers!
You might be perfectly fine in terms of yardage though. As you knit in a triangle that’s getting smaller, you use less yarn per row, and it’s often surprising just how much of a difference the decreases cause!
I’ll keep an eye out for your reply, and then we can proceed from there.
All the best,
Lili
Hi Lily, thank you for responding. My gauge is 25 stitches and 48 rows = 4 inches of garter. That’s pretty good for me 😀
Thanks for letting me know! Your gauge is a little bit loose, and that can actually add up over a lot of stitches. Each stitch is taking up a little bit more yarn than it’s supposed to which contributes to the overall yardage. I still think that you’ll be fine with the yarn you have (we purposefully add a 10% buffer to our yardage recommendation in case people’s gauge is a bit off!), but if you want to order another skein, we’re happy to check to see if we still have the same dye lot on hand. Just send an email to [email protected] with the color and dye lot number, and we’ll see if it’s still available!
All the best,
Lili