Deux Côtés by Lara Neel Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Alpaca Sox, 3 skeins (see notes about this, 2 skeins might be plenty), 60% alpaca, 20% merino wool, 20% nylon, 100 grams/450 yards. Color 1857 (mine was lot 8196) Needles: Size 6 Gauge: 6 stitches to the inch in Deux Côtés stitch, after blocking Size: 65” wide and 29” deep, at the triangle’s point. Sizing can be adjusted by working more or fewer repeats. This is a top-down triangular shawl made to be lovely on both sides, hence the name, which means “two sides” in French. My sister, in part, inspired me to try for a shawl that looks great either way. I made her a shawl several years ago. I’m very pleased that she wears it almost constantly. But, about half of the time she puts it on, well, backwards. So, I wanted to make a shawl that would work either way. Do you ever get 90% through a project and start to worry that you will run out of yarn? I bought that third skein for insurance and ended up needing it. The final piece weighed 212 grams, which means that I used about 12% of the third skein. I estimated how large the shawl would be after blocking by working about 4 repeats of the pattern, then wetting and pinning out the work while it was still on the needles. Once it was dry, I measured how long across the top of the work was and used that to determine how many repeats I would need for my desired width of about 64 inches. I repeated the chart until I had 40 squares across the top of the shawl. Amazingly, the shawl actually dressed out at 65 inches. My math was correct, but I forgot to add in the width of the shawl’s border. If I had stopped at 38 squares across, the shawl might be a bit smaller than I wanted, but I feel pretty safe in saying that I would not have needed any of the third skein of yarn. So, you can save a little cash if you make the shawl 38 squares across the top (I think it would end up between 61 and 62 inches wide), because two skeins would probably be enough yarn. That said, I haven’t actually tried it, so maybe go ahead and get that third skein, just to be safe. Also, if your gauge is even slightly different from mine, a third skein is a good idea, anyway, since it might be needed for that reason. Only half of the stitches are represented on the chart, so repeat the chart twice, placing a marker between the first time and second time you work the chart, to show the central point. For the second and all even—numbered rows, purl the purls and knit the knits. A note about the yarn: I love, love, love it. It is soft, warm and lovely. The alpaca content makes it especially warm and luxurious. But, just like my darling gray cat, it sheds a little. It might grow out of it. I really don’t care if it sheds on me, though. At least the shawl won’t puke on my shoes when I’m sleeping. Want More? Math4Knitters, Crafty Living can be found just about anywhere: journalgazette.net/craftyliving Email: craftyliving@jg.net Facebook: www.facebook.com/jgcraftyliving Twitter: twitter.com/JGCraftyLiving Ravelry: Math4Knitters and Math4Knitters Group iTunes: Math4Knitters Journal Gazette ©2011, Lara Neel and journalgazette.net, All Rights Reserved. . Deux Côtés by Lara Neel Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Alpaca Sox, 3 skeins (see notes about. stitches to the inch in Deux Côtés stitch, after blocking Size: 65” wide and 29” deep, at the triangle’s point. Sizing can be adjusted by working more or