Cool Construction Shawl
A bold, graphic two-color design, made without sewing, picking up stitches, or intarsia… How can this be? Let your curiosity lead the way with our Cool Construction Shawl pattern, so fun to knit in our classic Good Wool!

You’ll start by knitting the two garter-stitch triangles, one then the other. They are the blue wingtips of our sample and are easy peasy to knit… Just start with a few stitches and increase along one side. You’ll keep the stitches of both finished triangles live, and then knit all the way across both triangles to join them.

Here’s where the magic of that cool construction comes in! With a new color, you’ll just continue on those same stitches, now knitting what’s known as a mitered square (the berry-color part of our sample). Easy Centered Double Decreases (we have a great tutorial!) along the spine of the shawl shape the mitered square, ending with just one remaining stitch at the point.

A super cool shawl deserves a super cool yarn, and our Good Wool is just right, a real pleasure to knit and to wear. 100% Andean highland wool, this buoyant, hardy, and toasty yarn can be knit anywhere from a sport to a light worsted/DK weight. We opted for the latter for the Cool Construction Shawl, using larger needles to give the garter stitch fabric plenty of room to breathe and drape.

Each shade of Good Wool is mesmerizing, with five colors grown by the sheep themselves and 32 complex heathers dyed over those natural fleece colors. Pick two that say “cool” to you, like our version in deep Teal Twilight and Fresh Loganberry.

With plenty of yardage per skein of Good Wool, you’ll only need two of each color… Affordable, surprising, easy to knit, and fun to style, cast on for your own Cool Construction Shawl and experience the magic of the mitered square!
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. See even more of Hiromi’s work on her Instagram!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoCoolConstructionShawl, and #PurlSohoGoodWool. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials

- Purl Soho’s Good Wool, 100% Andean highland wool yarn. Each skein of this sport- to light worsted/DK-weight yarn is approximately 383 yards/ 100 grams.
- Color A: 2 skeins; approximately 690 total yards required. We used Teal Twilight.
- Color B: 2 skeins; approximately 670 total yards required. We used Fresh Loganberry.
- US 6 (4 mm), 32-inch circular needles
- Removable stitch markers
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
GAUGE
22 stitches and 44 rows (22 ridges) = 4 inches in garter stitch
SIZE
- Finished Length of Wingspan: 64 inches
- Finished Length of Each Short Side: 46 inches
- Finished Height from Center of Wingspan to Bottom Tip of Triangle: 32 inches
NOTES
CONSTRUCTION
You will begin by knitting two garter-stitch Corner Triangles in Color A, placing the First Triangle stitches on hold while you work the Second Triangle, then you will knit across both Corner Triangles to join them. Next, with Color B, you’ll work a double decrease every other row in the middle of these stitches, forming a Mitered Square between the two Corner Triangles.
SLIP STITCHES
Slip all slipped stitches knitwise with yarn in back.
S2KP (SLIP 2, KNIT 1, PSSO)
Slip 2 stitches together knitwise with yarn in back, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over knit stitch and off right needle. [2 stitches decreased]
For additional help, please visit our S2kp Tutorial.
PATTERN
WORK FIRST CORNER TRIANGLE
*With Color A, cast on 3 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
NOTE: Place a removable stitch marker or scrap yarn on first row to indicate wrong side.
Set-Up Rows 1–3: Slip 1 (see Notes), knit to end of row.
Row 1 (right side): Slip 1, knit front and back (kfb), knit to end of row. [1 stitch increased]
Row 2 (wrong side): Slip 1, knit to end of row. **
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until you have 126 total stitches, ending with Row 2. [Piece measures 23 inches along left selvage edge from cast-on point]
Cut Color A.
Place stitches on scrap yarn and set aside.
WORK SECOND CORNER TRIANGLE
Work from * to ** of First Corner Triangle section.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 one more time. [5 total stitches]
Increase Row (right side): Slip 1, knit to last 3 stitches, kfb, k2. [1 stitch increased]
Next Row (wrong side): Slip 1, knit to end of row.
Repeat last two rows until you have 126 total stitches, ending with a wrong-side row. [Piece measures 23 inches along right selvage edge from cast-on point]
Do not cut yarn.
JOIN CORNER TRIANGLES
NOTE: You will now join Corner Triangles, working across Second Triangle stitches first, then across First Triangle stitches.
With right side of Second Triangle facing you at left end of needles, return First Triangle stitches, with right side facing you, to right end of needles.
Set-Up Row (right side): Slip 1, knit to end of Second Triangle stitches; then, continuing across First Triangle stitches, kfb, place marker (pm), knit to end of row. [253 total stitches]
Next Row (wrong side): Slip 1, knit to end of row.
Cut Color A.
WORK MITERED SQUARE
Join Color B.
Row 1 (right side): Knit to 3 stitches before marker, s2kp (see Notes), remove marker, k1, pm, knit to end of row. [251 stitches remain]
Row 2 (wrong side): Slip 1, knit to end of row, slipping marker as you come to it.
Row 3: Slip 1, knit to 3 stitches before marker, s2kp, remove marker, k1, pm, knit to end of row. [2 stitches decreased]
Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until 5 stitches remain, ending with Row 2.
Next Row (right side): Slip 1, s2kp, remove marker, k1. [3 stitches remain]
Next Row (wrong side): Repeat Row 2.
Next Row: S2kp.
Weave in the ends and gently wet block.


LEARN ABOUT GOOD WOOL + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Good Wool adds loads of character, beauty, and integrity to this knit! A sport-weight yarn whose lofty 2-ply spin can also bloom into a light worsted/DK-weight yarn, Good Wool is made from 100% Andean highland wool, a toothy fiber with a deeply natural appeal. This yarn has a spectacular palette of complex and subtly varied colors, including 5 undyed shades. Very close to the hearts of our customers, Good Wool is a true knitter’s yarn!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our vast collection of (mostly free!) Good Wool knitting patterns and cast on!
More Sport-Weight Yarns + Light Worsted/DK-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of sport-weight yarn
- Shop our entire collection of light worsted/DK-weight yarn
- 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 Fiber
- Shop wool 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!
Slip 1 for the first triangles, with yarn in front or back? Purlwise or knitwise?
Hi AK,
Thanks for writing in! In this pattern, you will slip all slipped stitches knitwise with yarn in back.
All the best,
Lili
Si beautiful pattern. I’ll try it in 3 colors.
Hi Ana,
That’s such a great idea! We’d love to see a photo of your finished project in three colors!
All the best,
Lili
Hi there! I really like the look of this wrap and have started knitting it. The instructions for joining the triangles make no sense to me, though. I admit that my spatial thinking is not the best at all, the following bit only confuses me:
You will now join Corner Triangles, working across Second Triangle stitches first, then across First Triangle stitches.
With right side of Second Triangle facing you at left end of needles, return First Triangle stitches, with right side facing you, to right end of needles.
I had the first triangle on a separate set of needles and knitted along the second one, then continued knitting from the second set of needles (=first triangle). Is that correct or will I end up with a wonky shape?
Sorry if I am not grasping the obvious! 🤣
Hi Julia,
Never fear, it sounds like you’re doing it exactly right! As you work the MITERED SQUARE section, the decreased stitches will gradually re-orient the triangles so that the overall shape is accurate!
All the best,
Lili
can you recommend some more nice Good Wool color combos for this pattern, maybe using the undyed colors?
Hi Marykate,
For sure! Do you have any particular color families you’re interested in? It would be incredibly helpful to know if you’re hoping for a color palette with warm colors, or cool colors, or neutrals, or something with a lot of contrast, for example.
All the best,
Lili
I’m thinking of Driftwood Gray or Winter Grass with a blue? Or maybe two purples?
Thanks for letting me know! I think that Driftwood Gray would look great with Well Water or Ocean Wave, and I like Winter Grass with Teal Abyss or Teal Twilight. For purples, I think that Wild Violet and Wild Heath pair really nicely together!
All the best,
Lili
Could this work with Linen Quill? Also, at the end of the Mitered Square section it doesn’t say when to join in for the next skein. Thanks!
Hi Anna,
You could absolutely use Linen Quill for this pattern, but as a heads up, it’s a thinner yarn than Good Wool so you’d likely be knitting at a smaller gauge! Because that’s the case, I would recommend going by the measurements, rather than the stitch count, to decide how long to knit the corners for.
I also wanted to point you towards the WORK MITERED SQUARE section! This section begins with “Join Color B,” which is when you’ll start working with the new color.
All the best,
Lili
Where do I initially join with the first skein of Yarn B? So I just add the second Yarn B skein when I run low on the first skein? I’m having trouble understanding this last part. Thank you.
Hi Anna,
You begin knitting with Color B on Row 1 of the WORK MITERED SQUARE section! When you run out of yarn on any of the skeins of each color, just begin knitting with a new skein of the same color wherever you run out.
All the best,
Lili