I saw this knitting kit on sale at Angel Yarns earlier this month and it looked such fun that I just had to have it. It was not too expensive but the design included some unexpected challenges and I thought I'd share my experiences with it in order to help others who may attempt this pattern.

The shawl is available in several colourways with more on the way - I knitted it in pale pink - and the kit includes six balls of some really funky fashion yarns and a size 9 mm Addi circular needle. The yarns included are:-

1. Elle Encore - a polyester cabled yarn with white tufts sticking out of it.
2. Elle Amelie - a very soft fluffy yarn.
3. Patons Spritz - a plain twist yarn with a glitter strand running through it.
4. Wendy Cosmic - a furry yarn in multiple pastel shades.
5. Sirdar Boa - an eyelash yarn in multiple pastel shades.
6. Sirdar Funky Fur - another fur yarn in pink/white variegate.

These yarns are knitted individually in a two row Garter stitch stripes and form the most incredible soft, thick, fluffy fabric. I found it necessary to switch to Continental knitting (knitting with the yarn in the left hand instead of in the right hand) because otherwise the very large needle was difficult to control. I also used the Two Needle Cabled Cast On because I found the cast on row was so long that it was difficult to estimate how much yarn to leave for a long tail cast on which I usually use. When I cast off I found it necessary to be very careful to keep my stitches as loose as possible because otherwise one side of the stole/shawl would draw in, an effect you do not want in such an item.

The scarf incidentally is knitted sideways instead of from one end to the other and when you come to casting off it suddenly becomes much longer than it appears on the needles!

This kit was great fun to knit and took no more than a couple of weeks - once I really got going with it a few evenings saw the stole knitted. It isn't a project you can carry around easily though because all six yarns are in use all the time. In addition I would recommend buying two balls of the Wendy Cosmic because I ran out and had to get some more.

Although it is labelled as a shawl on the pattern and a wrap on the web site, it has more the feel of a knitted stole or a very wide scarf because it is so long. It isn't really suitable for a small baby because of the furry yarns, and the Elle Encore in particular has a habit of shedding all over the place. I did find that I had to be careful not to let it catch on things because the fluffy white tails had a tendency to pull out of the yarn! I really enjoyed knitting it though and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun quick knit.