Hexley

Hexley Shawl by Brian Smith Designs

What is Being Made

Hexley is a downloadable knitting pattern for an intermediate-level triangular shawl featuring a geometric hexagon motif. This shawl is designed to showcase colorwork and stitch definition through strategic yarn choices and blocking. The finished shawl expands significantly during the blocking process, growing approximately 25% in size, which opens and defines the hexagon pattern structure.

Finished Measurements

After blocking, Hexley measures 160cm in wingspan and 78cm in depth at the widest point. Before blocking, the shawl measures 112cm in wingspan and 56cm in depth, demonstrating the dramatic transformation that blocking achieves in this design.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Colorwork: The pattern incorporates five distinct yarn shades to create visual interest and definition within the hexagon motif
• Stitch manipulation: Multiple decrease techniques including K2togtbl (knit two stitches together through the back loop) and K4tog (knit four stitches together) create the geometric shaping
• Slip stitches: Sl3 purlwise, Sl2wyib (slip two stitches purlwise with yarn in back), and Sl2wyif (slip two stitches purlwise with yarn in front) are used for edge definition and stitch management
• Yarn forward increases: Yf (yarn forward) techniques add stitches to expand the triangular shape
• Increases: Kfb (knit into front and back of next stitch) creates additional stitch counts where needed
• Blocking: Blocking is essential to this design, as it opens the hexagon pattern and allows the garment to reach its full finished dimensions

Primary Stitches

The foundation of Hexley is stocking stitch (knit on right side, purl on wrong side), which provides a smooth fabric base that showcases the colorwork and stitch definition. The pattern uses standard knitting abbreviations including K (knit), P (purl), and various slip and decrease combinations to create the hexagonal geometric design.

Yarn and Materials

Hexley uses two premium yarn brands in a five-shade colorway:

• Cascade Heritage 1: Two skeins in shades (A) Herb and (D) Mossy Rock. Shade A requires approximately 50g and 200m; Shade D requires approximately 75g and 300m
• Garn Stories Merino: Three skeins in shades (B) Balzac, (C) Coachella, and (E) Pacemaker. Shade B requires approximately 17g and 80m; Shade C requires approximately 50g and 200m; Shade E requires approximately 65g and 260m
• Needles: One 120cm circular needle in UK size 3.75mm (US size 5)
• Notions: A tapestry needle for weaving in ends and a blocking kit to achieve the final shawl dimensions

Gauge

The pattern is worked to a blocked gauge of 20 stitches and 24 rows over 10 centimeters in stocking stitch. Achieving accurate gauge is important for obtaining the correct finished measurements after blocking.

Difficulty Level

Hexley is rated as an intermediate knitting project. Knitters should be comfortable with colorwork techniques, various decrease methods, slip stitch variations, and the blocking process before beginning this pattern. The geometric hexagon design requires attention to stitch counts and pattern repeats.