Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene
Alpine Aster Shawlette knitting pattern by Briana Arlene

Alpine Aster Shawlette

Alpine aster (Aster alpinus) is a flowering plant that grows in open spaces and rocky, well-drained soils. In Estes Park, Colorado, it can often be found in the company of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and its vibrant, purple-rayed flowers dot the subalpine landscape in May and June.

I have always loved these harbingers of high-country summer, but I’ve gained even more appreciation for them after reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s musings on why we are drawn to the combination of its purple petals and golden-orange center:

“Why are they beautiful together? It is a phenomenon simultaneously material and spiritual, for which we need all wavelengths, for which we need depth perception. When I stare too long at the world with science eyes, I see an afterimage of traditional knowledge. Might science and traditional knowledge be purple and yellow to one another, might they be goldenrod and asters? We see the world more fully when we use both.

The question of goldenrod and asters was of course just emblematic of what I really wanted to know. It was an architecture of relationships, of connections that I yearned to understand. I wanted to see the shimmering threads that hold it all together. And I wanted to know why we love the world, why the most ordinary scrap of meadow can rock us back on our heels in awe.”

~Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

May you, like Kimmerer, find small scraps of beauty that rock you back on your heels in awe.

  • Design: The Alpine Aster Shawlette is a small shawl that features a textured lace stitch reminiscent of alpine aster, one of the Rocky Mountains’ emblematic early summer wildflowers. Drape it over your shoulders on breezy summer nights or wrap it around your neck like a scarf on frosty winter days.

    Construction: This shawlette is knit sideways. First, the left side is worked beginning at the bottom edge and increasing towards the center. Stitches are put on hold while the right side is worked separately. Stitches from the left side are then returned to the needles and the two sides are grafted together at the center.

    Stitch Patterns: Written and charted instructions are included for stitch patterns so you can choose your preferred method of instructions for knitting these sections!

  • SIZES
    One size

    FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
    67 in. wide x 11.25 in. deep
    167.5 cm wide x 28 cm deep

  • YARN
    Light fingering weight – wool or wool blend
    100 g/400 yds (366 m)

    SUGGESTED YARN
    Makerwool Non-superwash Fingering (100 g/ 400 yds (366 m)) – 100% organic merino
    1 skein

    The sample shawl is knit in the colorway Alpine Aster.

  • US 4 (3.5 mm)

    For your chosen needle size, you will need 14 in. (35 cm) circular needles.

  • Measure gauge knit flat, after blocking.

    1 Alpine Aster stitch pattern repeat = 11 sts and 22 rows = 1.5 in. (4 cm) wide x 2.5 in. (6 cm) tall

  • German twisted cast-on, knit increases, knit decreases, cable knitting, chart reading, grafting stitches together