Biston Shrug

During the summer months some air conditioned buildings are so cold. I usually carry a pashmina or scarf in my hand bag to wear if a waiting room or restaurant is too cold. I was sitting in a waiting room recently that was so cold that I was still shivering even after I put my pashmina on. I was searching Brooklyn Tweed's patterns for a project and came across Biston, an attractive cocoon shrug with a textured band. The shrug is knit in fingering weight yarn in a reverse stockinette stitch.

Biston shrug knit in Madeline Tosh Lace-Stargazer color.

I discovered Madeline Tosh Lace (100% super wash Merino) while searching yarn.com. (WEBS) for a suitable yarn for my shrug. I really like all of the colors and had a hard time choosing just one, but in the end Stargazer (a combination of blues, green, and purple) won out. This is my first experience knitting with Madeline Tosh yarns but it won't be my last. The yarn has a beautiful sheen and is soft and silky. It's a joy to knit with and has great yardage (975 yards/skein).

Brooklyn Tweed's Biston shrug is good project for a beginner who wants to work with fingering weight yarn. The entire shrug is knit in one piece-starting with the left sleeve, the body and the right sleeve. There are simple increases on the left sleeve and decreases on the right sleeve. The sweater is blocked and then the sleeves are sewn together before picking up stitches around the body to make the front band. The pattern is available as a PDF from Brooklyn Tweed.