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Freebie Fridays! Old Shale Baby Blanket Knit Pattern!

// October 5th, 2012 // Knitting

 

 

It’s Freebie Friday! Today, I have for you a FREE “Old Shale Baby Blanket!” It is another very easy lace pattern that becomes almost mindless, also similiar to ”Feather and Fan”. What’s the difference? Sometimes one person’s slip can cause decades of error.  This is definitely the case with the two separate and different Shetland patterns. Feather and Fan is NOT the same as Old Shale. It never was and never will be.  Someone, somewhere, about WWII made the slip and it went to the States to be handed down from generation to generation.

 

 

If you look at the two patterns, you can see they are not very much alike at all. The left hand one gives a very definite VVV shape, while the right hand one gives a wavy line, with no sharp changes.  The left hand one has more holey rows and has definite columns of holes and solids, whereas the right hand one is more diffuse.

Now the names – the left hand one is Feather and Fan, the right Old Shale (which is really called old SHELL – shale is how the Shetlanders pronounce shell – the dialect form is probably shael)  The wavy lines of Old Shale look a bit like the pattern on a clam shell, while in F&F the solid decreases look like a feather and the open bits like a fan.

 

 

 

Although there are many free patterns on the web for it in variations. I designed  my own personal pattern  because only one row in each 4 row repeat is a little complicated, the rest are just purl and knit. It is a fast knit and looks elegant! You can find the free pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elegant–easy-old-shale-baby-blanket

Happy Knitting! Come and take a peek at my Designs!    http://www.ravelry.com/stores/mary-ann-hoth-designs