The Silk Elegance Shawl is a stunning rectangular shawl with a curved, motif border. Made with a luxurious and eco-friendly reclaimed silk yarn in beautiful, herbal dyed colors, it’s the perfect accessory for any outfit. This pattern uses simple stitches, making it a great project for beginners, or for more advanced crocheters looking for a relaxing project.
This post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation (at no added cost to you) if you make a purchase using these links. This post is sponsored by Darn Good Yarn, but the opinions and thoughts are my own.
Earlier this year, I became an affiliate of Darn Good Yarn, an indie yarn company that combines a social mission with some awesome yarn. It was founded in 2008 by a U.S. Air Force veteran. Darn Good Yarn focuses on yarns made from upcycled and reclaimed fibers. Darn Good Yarn also works with women in India and Nepal to provide a sustainable income. You can watch the story of Darn Good Yarn below.
Since it started, Darn Good Yarn has expanded beyond yarn. They also sell yarn bowls, yarn swifts, beads, skirts made from the same upcycled materials, and more.
I originally heard about Darn Good Yarn from my friend Rhondda at Oombawka Design. (You can get Rhondda’s latest pattern in Darn Good Yarn Roving Silk yarn, the Itsy Bitsy Tiered Air Plant Holder, here.) Though I completely trust Rhondda, I didn’t feel comfortable endorsing Darn Good Yarn (even with their awesome mission!) until I, you know, actually used the yarn.
I was so excited when the Herbal Dyed Recycled Silk DK yarn in Maine Coastline (at top) and Vintage Rose (at bottom) arrived in the mail. The yarn was beautifully packaged and included a card that tells the story of the Darn Good Yarn.
As the name suggests, Darn Good Yarn Herbal Dyed Recycled Silk DK yarn is handmade and hand dyed. The silk is upcycled Anamika silk that is fairly traded. It’s dyed with natural herbs, flowers, and plants so its a completely sustainable product. The colors are soft and beautiful and the yarn is so so so soft. It was a lot of fun to work with.
Are you ready to hear about the shawl?
I wanted to design something simple that would let the colors tell the story of this yarn, but I didn’t want the shawl to be too plain. I mean, the yarn is a show-stopper, so the shawl should be, too, right?
I’ll confess that I started and stopped this shawl a few times with a few different stitch patterns. I was a bit worried about unraveling the silk but it didn’t pill and it didn’t rip, so that was a great relief. (In other words, while you do need to hand wash and dry flat, this yarn is not wimpy.)
The Silk Elegance Shawl actually starts with the bottom border, made of simple, one round circle motifs that are joined-as-you-go. Once you have the border set up, you’ll create a joining row that lays the foundation for the rectangular body of the shawl. Then, you’ll use a simple mesh pattern with stripes to finish up. Just to give you an idea of how this shawl looks when stretched out, I took a picture of it over the couch.
I used all 10 colors in both packs, but I rearranged the order. You could follow my colors, work through each skein until it is finished, or choose another color combination.
I hope you enjoy the Silk Elegance Shawl! I’m looking forward to wearing mine the next time I’ll be in some overly air conditioned place.
And, if you’re not quite ready yet to get two packs of Herbal Dyed Recycled Silk DK yarn as your first sample of Darn Good Yarn, try their Yarn of the Month subscription. You can choose from $10/month or $29/month options. They also have a great clearance section that has deals on yarn, yarn bowls, swifts, and other related products.
If you make your own Silk Elegance Shawl, I’d love to see it! Share your progress and questions by tagging me on Facebook as @Underground Crafter, Instragram as @ucrafter, or Twitter as @ucrafter. You can also share a picture in the Underground Crafters Facebook group. Sign up for my weekly newsletter and get a coupon code for your choice of one of my premium patterns and other subscriber goodies. Plus, you’ll never miss one of my free patterns again!
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If you want an easy print format, you can buy an ad-free PDF version on Craftsy.
Silk Elegance Shawl
Crochet Pattern by Underground Crafter
Beautiful colors and a smooth, silky drape combine in this rectangular shawl with a curved motif border.
Finished Size
- Adult: 61” (156 cm) wingspan x 14.25” (36 cm) spine.
Materials
- Darn Good Yarn Herbal Dyed Recycled Silk DK yarn (100% reclaimed silk, 1.75 oz/50 g/150 yd/137 m) – 1 pack each (including 5 balls of yarn) in Maine Coastline and Vintage Rose, or approximately 105 yd (96 m) in each of 10 colors in any light weight silk yarn.
- US Size I-9/5.5 mm crochet hook, or size needed to obtain gauge.
- Yarn needle.
Gauge
- Motif = 1.5” (4 cm) diameter in pattern. Exact gauge is not critical for this pattern.
Abbreviations Used in This Pattern
- C1 – Color
- C2 – Color 2
- C3 – Color 3
- C4 – Color 4
- C5 – Color 5
- C6 – Color 6
- C7 – Color 7
- C8 – Color 8
- C9 – Color 9
- C10 – Color 10
- ch – chain
- dc – double crochet
- hdc – half double crochet
- rep – repeat
- Rnd(s) – Round(s)
- RS – right (front) side
- sc – single crochet
- sk – skip
- sl st – slip stitch
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- tr – treble (triple) crochet
- *Repeat instructions after asterisk as indicated.
Pattern Notes
- Shawl is crocheted from bottom to top starting with motif border. Motif border is crocheted in the round with the RS facing.
- Motifs are connected using a join-as-you-go method. (You can find a join-as-you-go tutorial here.)
- Ch 2 at beginning of motifs do NOT count as stitches.
- Shawl body is crocheted flat in rows.
- For more stability, insert hook under both loops when working dc stitches on shawl body.
- For shawl body, change color in last yarn over of final st of Rnd.
- The following color sequence was used for this pattern:
- Motifs 1-7: C1
- Motifs 8-14: C2
- Motifs 15-21: C3
- Motifs 22-28: C4
- Motifs 29-35: C5
- Joining Row-Row 1: C6
- Rows 2-3: C7
- Rows 4-5: C8
- Rows 6-7: C9
- Rows 8-9: C10
- Rows 10-11: C1
- Rows 12-13: C2
- Rows 14-15: C3
- Rows 16-17: C4
- Rows 18-21: C5
- Rows 22-23: C4
- Rows 24-25: C3
- Rows 26-27: C2
- Rows 28-29: C1
- Rows 30-31: C10
- Rows 32-33: C9
- Rows 34-35: C8
- Rows 36-37: C7
- Rows 38-39: C6
Pattern Instructions
Shawl
Motif Border
Motif 1
- Ch 4, sk 3 ch, join with sl st to next ch to form ring.
- Rnd 1: (RS) Ch 2, 12 dc in ring, join with sl st to first dc. Fasten off. (12 sts)
Motif 2
- Ch 4, sk 3 ch, join with sl st to next ch to form ring.
- Rnd 1: (RS) Ch 2, dc in ring, sl st to any dc on RS of previous Motif, 11 dc in ring, join with sl st to first dc. Fasten off. (12 sts)
Motif 3
- Ch 4, sk 3 ch, join with sl st to next ch to form ring.
- Rnd 1: (RS) Ch 2, dc in ring, sl st to sixth st from join on RS of previous Motif, 11 dc in ring, join with sl st to first dc. Fasten off. (12 sts)
Motifs 4-35
- Rep Motif 3 – 32 more times, or until desired length is reached, ending with an odd number of Motifs.
- Joining Row: With RS facing, join with sl st to sixth st from bottom of first sl st join, ch 4 (counts as tr), working along top of Motif, *dc in next st, hdc in next st, sc in next 2 sts, hdc in next st, dc in next st,** tr in sl st between Motifs; rep from * across to last Motif, rep from * to ** once. Do not fasten off. (245 sts, or odd multiple of 7 sts)
Shawl Body
- Row 1: Turn, ch 1, sc in same st and in each st across. (245 sts)
- Row 2: Turn, ch 4 (counts as dc + ch-1 sp), sk 1 st, dc in next st, *ch 1, sk 1 st, dc in next st; rep from * across. (123 sts + 122 ch-1 sp)
- Row 3: Turn, ch 1, sc in same st, *sc in ch-1 sp, sc in next st; rep from * across. (245 sts)
- Rows 4-39: Rep Rows 2-3 – 18 more times, or until desired width is reached. Fasten off.
Finishing
- With yarn needle, weave in yarn tails. Spray block if desired.
Marie,
This is absolutely gorgeous! I know no other words to describe it.
Such beautiful muted colors. Anyone would have to be elated to
have such a splendid accessory.
Thank You for sharing.
Be still my heart ❤❤
I appreciate all the wonderful projects and thank you! for sharing