The Mermaid's Gift

In Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, mermaids live a long time, but they have no immortal soul, so upon their death they are turned into the foam and spray upon the waves. Still, the mermaid sacrifices herself for the Prince and her reward is being turned into a spirit and she may earn a soul by doing good deeds.

This half-circle shawl is also quite dramatic like the story! Beads glisten along the edge like the sun on the waves. Three different mesh patterns, in a soft and light yarn, float over your shoulders like sea foam.

The shawl begins with a provisionally cast on garter stitch tab and is worked from the neck down. Increase rows are worked at varying intervals using a method based on Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Pi Shawl. The beaded edging is worked sideways and attached to the live stitches of the shawl body. Both written and charted instructions are included. A photo tutorial for the edging and beading is linkedin the Edging section.