Big Outcome

The little string and big hook of my previous post resulted in this big success.  The Magnificent Mantle from here and all over Ravelry.  The pattern was created to be crochet version of the very popular Aestlight Shawl that hit the yarn community last year.  From afar, the Mantle bears a strong resemblance to Aestlight.  Kudos to CrochetKitten!  Well done.

A few modifications from the original were made in my version.  First, I lost track of the number of rows on the triangle section, so I just went with the look of it.  Remember, the original pattern call for worsted and this Sekku is lace weight.  That makes for a huge difference and adjustments are required.   My goal was to have a shawlette size suitable for covering my neck without causing excessive body "glow" in this dessert.

Another modification was deleting two rows of the open mesh work that is the bird's eye lace of the Aestlight.  It would be wonderful if I could tell you that I deleted those rows out of some aesthetic or visual appeal or personal belief system.  The real reason that the two rows went away - - fear of running out of yarn!  As simple as that.  Crochet really chews up the yardage and I am out of practice in looking at what is left to accomplish vs what is left on the ball.  It is important to note that this size Magnificent Mantle was completed with one ball of Noro Sekku.

Also, I did not work the very last row of the pattern.  No particular reason as enough yarn was still on the ball.  Maybe I got tired and did not want another UFO in the closet.

The Sekku blocks out well.   But then I tend to really soak the fiber for a good fifteen minutes and then stretch a lot.  This resulted in a very lacy shawl that bears little visual relation to the original worsted weight shawl.  Using this method of well wet yarn and sturdy blocking pins, the center triangle - extended single crochet - opened up quite a bit and is not a solid mass of stitches.  Very flexible, light and interesting.  

 Yep, this is a big successful outcome.  Enough color to add zip to any day and big enough to block the late afternoon breeze.