Saunton Sands Shawl by Laura Penrose | Annual (issue 5) Pattern Previews
Welcome back to the next pattern introduction for our Annual (issue five), “Seaside Kitsch”! This next issue of the Annual takes place at one of our favourite spots on earth: the beach. Think vintage scenes, rainy days, seaside fairgrounds and ice creams on the pier – a warm summer day turned a little bit gloomy so that you need cosy shawls and garments to wrap yourself up in. The Annual (issue five) will be available for preorder mid August.
Meet: The Saunton Sands Shawl by Laura Penrose
Laura Penrose’s Saunton Sands Shawl is inspired by the classic striped beach umbrellas we all love! It fully embraces the fun and whimsical aesthetic of a vintage seaside holiday and is super fun to knit with its sideways construction. Go full kitsch with a fringe edging or keep it modern with a simple i-cord!
This pattern is fabulous for Sport and DK weight yarns, so we whipped up samples in both our Yarnadelic Sport and Devonia DK:
Cream-raspberry sample with fringe: Devonia DK in Broken Flower and Devonia Cream | Grey-blue sample without fringe: Yarnadelic Sport in Hey Moon and The Beautiful Ones
For the Annual (issue five), we thought it’d be fun to introduce you to our designers and patterns one by one, and ask them a few questions about the inspiration behind the design, what they liked about the yarn they worked with, and their favourite beach memory. Without further ado – meet Laura Penrose, the designer of the Saunton Sands Shawl!
Hi Laura! Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Let’s start with the idea of your submission for the Annual (issue five):
What’s the main inspiration behind your Saunton Sands Shawl?
The inspiration for the Saunton Sands Shawl is quite literal, as soon as I saw the vintage style parasols in the mood board for annual 5 I instantly thought, “that could be a shawl!” I have always liked stripes and bold colour blocking, so the idea formed very quickly in my head!
What’s your favourite element of the design?
My favourite element of the Saunton Sands Shawl is the construction, there is something so satisfying about sideways garter! It feels like it would be difficult but it’s actually very simple and moreish to knit. The rows don’t ever get too long which isn’t usually the case for a shawl of this size, and the fact it’s worked in sections means you keep getting those little moments of reward. I also really love the fringe, it’s so kitsch and fun and really finishes the shawl off nicely!
What makes Devonia DK and your Saunton Sands Shawl such a great combination?
The Devonia was such a good choice for the Saunton Sands Shawl because not only are the colours so fun and bright, but it is beautifully soft, so perfect for something you want to wrap yourself up in. It also creates a lovely drape which works really nicely with sideways garter stitch.
What’s your favourite beach memory?
My favourite beach memory is playing cricket with my Dad on Croyde beach in Devon, though it was more a case of my dad hitting the ball so hard it would go for what felt like miles, then my siblings and I would have to run after it, so basically a game of fetch but we loved it! Now I have my own children I can see it was all an attempt to wear us all out! I also have fond memories of my Dad digging huge holes with seats built in the walls for us all to sit in!
Thank you so much, Laura, for taking the time to answer our questions! You can find more about Laura over on Instagram, Ravelry and her website.
The Annual (issue five) will be available for preorder mid August. Keep your eyes peeled on the blog for more pattern intros, and on our newsletter for the preorder release!