Sample Knitting – Bestitched Shawl

A bright knit shawl in pinks, yellows, and greens wrapped around the neck and shoulders of a green adjustable dress form

I recently (as in just this weekend) had the chance to knit a sample of the Bestitched Shawl by Witching Hour Knits in yarn by Rebel Yarn Co for my LYS, The Altered Stitch, for the LA Yarn Crawl. I had three and a half days to finish it, including blocking time. So it was really more like two and a half.
A knit shawl in pink, green, and yellow, being held at a diagonal

I picked up the yarn on Saturday afternoon, and cast off Monday afternoon. Probably would’ve had it done Sunday, but I was working with slightly less yarn than the pattern called for and had to rework the end a few times to win yarn chicken.
A close up of a knit shawl in pink, green, and yellow wrapped around the neck and shoulders of a white woman looking toward the camera

So my advice is, if you want to make this shawl in this yarn, go for 2 skeins and you will have a nice bit left for a matching headband, mitts, or possibly even short socks.

Project Details:

400 yards of Fingering Weight Yarn

Size 8 knitting needles


Finished Object – Waterfall Scarf

A green, blue, orange, and red knit scarf with dropped stitch details draped around the neck of a green, adjustable dress form.

And here is the first finished object of 2023 – a Waterfall Scarf. I found this pattern in my 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders book, and it is designed by Linda O’Leary.

A green, orange, red, and blue knit scarf with dropped stitch details hanging over a white door.

Despite it being from a book specifically designed for projects that use a single skein of yarn, I still bought 2 of the Caron Cotton Cakes to make sure I had enough yarn. Obviously it was not only enough, but probably enough for 5 of these. I’m turning the rest into a hat… or two (or three).

Close up of a blue section of the scarf to show the detail of the knit stitches.

Since the details are created by lines of dropped stitches, it made for a quick knit because it was just knitting every row. Even though it didn’t really, dropping the stitches at the end almost felt like it took as along as the knitting.

Full Details:

-Yarn: 120 grams of Caron Cotton Cakes in Peach Blossom

-Needle: Size US10 (6mm)

-Finished dimensions: 6 inches wide, 101 inches long


Finished Object – Lined Up Vest

A white woman with short brown hair and blue glasses models a gray and purple crocheted vest over a purple, long-sleeved dress with her right hand in the pocket of the vest.

I’m going to start by saying I did not make any holiday gifts this season. I gave gifts that I had previously made, but I did not make any gifts. But my mom’s birthday is in December, and I did make her a birthday gift. This birthday gift, to be exact.

The front of a gray and purple striped crochet vest laying flat.

This is the Lined Up Vest by Ila Quinn Designs. Now, right off the bat I’m going to point out that I made some modifications. The most obvious being that I didn’t add buttons. You may be able to see the other modification if you are looking at the individual vertical rows.

The front of a gray and purple striped crochet vest with a purple collar laying flat.

I actually made the upper portion and lower portion two different sizes by utilizing short rows. It’s slightly more obvious on the back because there are more in a row. Not only did I combine two sizes, the sizes themselves were two sizes apart. With a little extra math, it worked out quite well.

A purple and gray striped crochet vest laying flat wth one side open, showing off the gray pocket.

I also tacked down the corners of the pockets so they wouldn’t hang down, since I didnt add a closure.

A white woman with short brown hair models a purple and gray striped crochet vest, facing away from the camera to show off the back and the purple collar.

And now for the details:

Size: M/XL, created by adding short rows at the top and using the cast on numbers from the XL size.

Yarn (held double):

– Purple- 539.72 yards/309 grams (4.12 balls) Capri Eco Cotton by Loops and Threads in Eggplant

– Gray- 613.08 yards/351 grams (4.68 balls) Capri Eco Cotton by Loops and Threads in Pewter

Hook: 9mm (M/N)