The Rock Art Shawl uses the garter tab cast-on to blend seamlessly with the garter stitch edging and form a smooth finish to the center top line of the shawl. The initial instructions can be confusing, but it is well worth the extra effort!
Once you understand the basic plan, the process is simple. I took pictures of a recent sample shawl as I worked and below I walk you through my process. Like many other top-down triangle shawls, the Rock Art Shawl starts at the center top with just a few stitches.
For the initial cast-on the first lines of the pattern read “Garter Tab cast-on: Loosely cast on 2 sts. Knit 7 rows. After the last row, gently stretch your rectangle up to form a line with your 2 live sts. Pick up and knit 3 sts in the garter ridges along the edge of your rectangle. Pick up and knit 2 sts from the cast-on edge. (7 sts)” See photos below for the steps.
Voila! You’ve finished the garter tab cast-on.
You can see here how it forms a smooth top horizontal line for the tiny sample shawl. From here the Rock Art Shawl shawl grows down the body with garter stitch edges, yarn over increases and two sides separated by the center stitch.
You can skip the garter tab and cast on your first 7 stitches however you like best. But do be aware of the center dip and break in the top horizontal edge of the shawl that will result.
You can see here what I mean. It really is hard to miss that center dip.
The Rock Art Shawl is in test knitting and will be available as part of my Arizona Collection along with the Grand Canyon Scarf and Sedona Cowl later this Fall.
