I made another Fantastitch shawl! This is my third time working the Fantastitch pattern by Stephen West. Keep reading for details on the yarn I used, why I love the Fantastitch, and some updates on what other projects I’m excited about.
Knitting the Fantastitch is so much fun. With my first Fantastitch, a lot of my colors were similar and I switched around the color placement to get the best contrast. For my second Fantastitch, I loved my color choices, but I ran out of yarn sooner than I expected. This time around, I wanted to knit the entire shawl using the color placement recommendations from the pattern.
YARN
I wanted to choose a color palette that was different from my usual pinks/oranges. Recently, I was able to knit up my entire stash, so I bought a ton of new yarns that I was so excited to work with. For this Fantastitch, my husband helped me come up with this pastel green dream palette.
Here are the colors I used:
- A – Moon Drake Co., Merino HT Fingering: Mint
- B – La Bien Aimee, Kumo: Vespa
- C – Moon Drake Co., Merino HT Fingering: Sea Glass
- D – Qing Fibre, Melted Baby Suri: Acid Apple
- E – Moon Drake Co., Merino HT Fingering: Frozen
- F – Qing Fibre, Melted Baby Suri: Holographic
- G – La Bien Aimee, Kumo: Hyacinth
I’d used the Kumo colors before, but the other colorways were new to me. Some of the colors are similar, so I expected a more monochromatic/subtle vibe. Even though this wasn’t my typical color palette, I was really happy for this shawl.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT FANTASTITCH
The Fantastitch is one of my favorite knits of all time. I love knitting every stitch. It’s so much fun starting out with a small little cast on, and then working a new stitch pattern every few rows and watching it grow. Seeing the different color combinations and working until the next pattern is so exciting to me.
Even after making my third shawl, it’s still a super interesting knit. Functionally, it’s great for me too since the Fantastitch is thin/light. I can throw it in my bag and then grab it if I need a little extra layer. Shawl knitting is perfect for me because I get to work on fun, colorful projects that I’ll actually wear and they don’t take up much room to store.
Pastel Green Fantastitch Dream
I cast on this Fantastitch looking for a familiar knit that I knew would be fun to work on. I have the chaiogoo interchangeable needles set in the 4″ size, but for this shawl I bought a single pair of 5″ needles to try out. Buying single needles and a cable is a great way to test out if you like the interchangeables before committing to buy the entire set.
I like how the interchangeable needles all work together. I started out with my US 5/5″ needles on a 14″ cable, and then moved them over to a 22″ cable, a 30″ cable, and ultimately a 50″ cable as the shawl grew. I liked using the 5″ needles for this shawl because I had a little more room to grip and control my stitches.
I saw that later this year, chiaogoo is coming out with a new 5″ interchangeable needle set that looks really high quality. They have a new type of swivel cord and the needles are wood with metal tips. This set would also work with the original interchangeable set too. If they sell the needles and cables separately, I think I would buy a pair of US 5 to see how I like them.
I love the texture of the fluffy yarns in this shawl. I used two of Qing Fibre’s Melted Baby Suri which is a thicker fluff than the La Bien Aimee, Kumo. The textures really pop, especially the Holographic color which ties everything together.
I took this shawl to the beach and really enjoyed knitting for a couple hours until the sun set.
Each section of my Pastel Green Fantastitch Dream was so much fun to knit. I love all of the color combinations.
At the end of the Fantastitch shawl, there is an i-cord border. The pattern suggests using color E or any new color. My color E wasn’t giving the contrast I wanted for the border, so I decided to use my color G.
Because my color G was a thinner/lace weight yarn, I held it double for the i-cord. I also switched to a US 6 on my regular 4″ needles because I didn’t want the i-cord to be too tight, especially since the Kumo has less stretch than my other fingering weight yarns.
Blocking the Fantastitch really transforms it. All of the stitch definition can really shine and the chevron points come to life.
I am so happy with how my Pastel Green Fantastitch Dream turned out.
WIPs + KNIT PLANS
As much as I enjoyed knitting this Fantastitch and would love to knit another (or at least another Combination Shawl), I want to focus on my current WIPs so I can be ready for the next WestKnits Mystery Knit Along.
Current WIPs
I have a few projects on the needles that I am determined to focus on this next month and a half.
- Honeycomb Aran (modified for my niece)
- Overthrow Wrap
- Nightshift Shawl
This mini Honeycomb Aran is a new project for me and I’m really enjoying it. I’m modifying it to make it fit my little niece and it’s coming along pretty fast. UPDATE: The mini Honeycomb Aran was more difficult to modifiy than I thought, but I finished it *and* a Rainbow Pengweeno for my niece — all before the MKAL starts!
The Overthrow Wrap is a fun knit. I’m maybe a quarter of the way through, but I’ve been taking breaks whenever a new project comes along. I just need to focus and finish it. UPDATE: My Overthrow Wrap is officially complete!
The Nightshift shawl has been a WIP for me for almost a year. :/ I am tempted to frog it and just forget about it, but I bought Spincycle yarn specifically for it and I’m not sure what else I could use it for. I just want to finish it and be done with it. UPDATE: I finished my Nightshift Shawl!
WestKnits Mystery Knit Along
I want to clear off all my projects so I can solely focus on the next Westknits mystery knit along (MKAL). Last year was the first time I’d ever participated in a MKAL and it was so much fun. I loved watching the shawl unfold and learning some new techniques. It was really cool to knit the same project with so many other people and trying to keep up with the new clues each week. The MKAL is usually in October, so I expect we will be getting information about yarn/kits in a few weeks.
If you want to see more pictures of my pastel green Fantastitch dream or my other finished projects, check out my Ravelry page. And sign up for my Newsletter for my knitting progress and other updates.
