Magrathea Shawl Pattern Review

Last Updated on August 8, 2018 by lydiaf1963

Will you find the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything while you knit this beautiful Magrathea Shawl? Probably not. But you will learn to read a knitting chart while creating it.

I bought this gorgeous skein of Malabrigo Indiecita merino sock yarn two summers ago and it sat in my stash waiting for the perfect project. I also bought Martina Behm’s set of patterns inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy before that, and had only knit the Trillian shawl for my sister. The two came together to make something I will be able to wear for all but the hottest days of Summer.

You’ll need these skills to make the Magrathea Shawl:

• knit
• purl
• yarn over
• knit front and back
• knit two together
• knit three together
• slip, slip, knit
• make one left
• bind off in purl
• Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off in purl

You’ll need these materials:

• 100 grams fingering or sock weight yarn (I used this one)
• 3 (US Size 2.5) or 3.25mm (US Size 3) circular needles with a long cable (lace tips would be helpful, but aren’t necessary)
• stitch markers
• Paid Pattern by Martina Behm, available through Ravelry
• materials for blocking (mat, wires, pins)

Pattern Notes

As mentioned, Magrathea is worked from several charts rather than row by row directions, but don’t let that intimidate you if you don’t have a lot of experience with them. The bulk of the shawl is garter stitch. The lace details are worked up one side of the shawl as you go and over the last 30 rows before you cast off. Once the set up rows are complete you’ll place a marker to indicate the lace section and work your way up the body of the widening shawl. The lace section varies from 24 to 29 stitches has an 8 row repeat. Knowing how many stitches were supposed to be in the section helped me reorient myself and find mistakes.

After a few repetitions of the body pattern you’ll get a feel for when you’ve made a mistake and if you thread a life line through your project at regular intervals you’ll avoid much of the heartache of frogging (ask me how I know!)

The shawl was my companion for several weeks. I had to put it away for a bit when I hurt my elbow, but it’s not a huge project in size. I was even able to work on it at the beach without any problems. I did make several mistakes along the way. The life line helped quite a bit. Later on I grew bold enough to only repair the section with the error, thanks to this video from Suzanne Bryan.

Of course I found some errors after I was finished, but at that point they’d become “design elements” and reminders of the experience of knitting the shawl.

When the shawl has reached the size you want you’ll begin making the lace on the long edge over the last 29 rows. The pattern is similar, with lots of repeats. I made sure to put a lifeline in and to place evenly spaced markers to help me keep my place. To bind off, the designer recommends Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off in purl so you can really stretch the lace and make the points when blocking. Wait until the piece is blocked before weaving in the ends.

I wet blocked my Magrathea shawl and used a combination of blocking wires, bulb pins and straight pins to get the effect I wanted. It took five blocking wires, all the bulb pins and most of the straight pins I had. One blocking wire was threaded through the plain edge. Then I wove two more wires through the first row of yarn overs on the lacy sides. This allowed me avoid stretching the garter stitch section out of shape as I pulled to open up the lace. The bulb pins were put into position on the shawl and two more wires were threaded through them to help pull and open up the lace. The straight pins helped hold the wires in place and formed a few points when I ran out of bulb pins.

I absolutely love this shawl. An advanced beginner or intermediate knitter will challenge their skill set, while a more advanced knitter will have an enjoyable knit. I had such a feeling of accomplishment when I finished it and even more so after I blocked it and saw it in its glory.

Do you have a skein of light weight yarn in your stash that’s waiting for the right project? The Magrathea shawl may be just the ticket!