A Love Letter to the Bennet Sister Shawl

Somehow, even though this knit was one of my all-time favourites in terms of the process of knitting, it didn’t rate highly in my priority list to write a blog post for. Considering just how much time has passed since I finished knitting my Bennet Sister Shawl, you would think there would be no point in writing this, but the joy that knitting this shawl, my first, brought me is still pretty vivid, and on this, the anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, I thought this pattern deserved a little love letter.

Why is this pattern so great?

As I mentioned above, I had never knit a shawl before. I did take part in one of Aroha Knits’ 5 Days of Shawls, and quite enjoyed it. Choosing an actual shawl to make didn’t end up being a priority though. I think the first problem is that the word shawl conjures images of little old ladies in wheelchairs. The second problem was hearing from some who wouldn’t consider themselves “shawl knitters” that it takes an eternity to finish a shawl. You get to a point where there are hundreds and hundreds of stitches in a row, and then you probably have to bind ALL of those stitches off too. The avoidance of this is one of the things that makes knitting the Bennet Sister Shawl so enjoyable! Because it is not constructed quite like any of the 5 shawl shapes that I had tried before, you never get to a point with an unbearable number of stitches. 

This pattern is not particularly complex, and it’s simplicity without being tedious is one of its main assets. You get to knit quite a lot! But the subtle diamond or triangles made from the switch to purls some of the time added in just enough variation for what I wanted at the time.

Aside from the stitches you also get to change up the yarn situation halfway through! Even though I’ve discovered I don’t love wearing mohair, it is fun to knit with and in my case, to see how it changes the look of the fabric you’re creating, even as you continue with the same fingering weight yarn. This shawl also gave me the opportunity to learn a new and beautiful edge!

My first tassels are also on this shawl. They were kind of fun to make, though I think I like making pompoms better. I don’t have a tassel maker and was feeling much too lazy to cut a piece of cardboard, so I used a coaster! And it worked out just fine. I wanted to make sure I had some of my main yarn leftover (I’m not sure for what), and tassels do take a fair amount of yarn. I happened to have a skein from a different dyer that seemed to have both the same purple and same blue, and would most likely end up as socks, meaning I would have yarn to spare from the skein. It matched so well and I’m pretty sure you can’t tell that the tassels are actually a different yarn!

Why did I enjoy knitting this pattern so much?

I find I usually don’t need a lot of variation in a pattern to keep me interested. As much as I love checking something off in having a completed project, many times I like having something to do, especially when it’s not too mentally taxing. 

It wasn’t just the pattern I loved while knitting my Bennet Sister Shawl, it was also the yarn! I’m not sure I even would have even made the shawl if Lora of Campfiber Yarns (how great is that company name?!) hadn’t made Pride & Prejudice themed kits for this pattern! Typically how these kinds of collaboration kits go is you personally buy the pattern and you separately buy the yarn that will be sufficient to make the pattern. I had 4 colourways to choose from (Lizzie, Darcy, Jane, Bingley), and I chose Lizzie, partly for the name and my love for Pride & Prejudice’s heroine, and partly for the purple shades involved! The mauve mohair is just the perfect colour in my book, and the variegation was beautifully done on the SW merino, not pooling awkwardly, just the right amount of the blue accent, to sum up – GORGEOUS! As you can tell because of all the photos!

Of course knitting never exists by itself. It’s influenced by our moods (for evidence check out your gauge when angry vs calm), and surroundings. And mid- to end-shawl was knit in March and April 2020 – you know. So there was a calm that knitting this shawl gave me, and I even got to pair that with Jennifer Ehle (Lizzie in the 1996 Pride & Prejudice mini-series!) reading Pride & Prejudice to me, which was one of the many amazing entertainment options available in those early days. Comfort is definitely something that we seek in our crafts and in books, so the Bennet Sister shawl is a beautiful example of both to me. I was kind of sad when I came to the last stitches.

Would I do anything different?

I am discovering that mohair is not my favourite fibre to actually wear. I find it a little bit itchy because it can be hairy. So considering that, the ONLY thing I would change is using Suri Alpaca instead of mohair.