Outlander Inspired Knit Shawl With Detachable Hood

I made a functional Outlander inspired knit shawl with a detachable hood that will flatten. Currently using icords to secure the hood and hold the front of the garment closed. I wanted something I could wear over other outerwear to add some warmth for extremely cold winter days or to wear as the only outerwear. An interesting fact is that natural animal fibers like wool retain their insulating qualities even when wet.

Five to six skeins of Lion Brand Wool Ease - the yarn used here is blue mist.

This yarn is 80% acrylic and 20% wool. The yarn I received recommended size 8 or 5mm knitting needles. You can substitute any type of similar weight yarn that you prefer.

Knitting supplies - most items are optional depending on what you choose to create

Knitpicks interchangeable knitting needles or whatever brand you prefer. You may need a cable that is about 40 inches long

scissors

stitch holders

stitch markers

yarn needles for weaving yarn ends

felting needles to link yarn pieces

double pointed yarn needles

scrap yarn if you may want to make some types of provisional cast-ons.

k = knit

p = purl

Note: Amazon is currently selling this type of yarn in packs of 3 skeins. I did notice the type that is being sold recommends a size 10 knitting needle, so just be aware of that.

Be prepared to "frog" if you're designing as you go. I think that term is used because you "rip it".

Since I only had a general idea for a garment and I looked for Outlander and "Robin Hood" type hooded cowls and shawls mainly on Pinterest and Ravelry. When I found something that seemed suitable, I started with a free Outlander inspired pattern from Ravelry. The Ravelry pattern is a free download "When in Scotland" by Riana Riley-Munson. I initially found the Ravelry listing from a Pinterest post. I made a little sketch for what was I thinking about for my shawl. The gauge for this knitting isn't too important, but it is always recommended to knit a test swatch to test your gauge. If I ever put buttons on this, I will probably try to make them from deer antlers.

I did a few rows just as a test and thought I'd like a more pronounced point at the start. I also used a k1 p1 for the main body instead of a garter stitch. Made the center in garter stitches in this version.

I started this version with an 5 stitch icord and knotted it. Still not too pointed and seemed to be making a semi circle, but I really liked the little knot start. I decided after this, I wasn't satisfied with garter stitches in the middle column, so I just changed that to a k1 p1 rib in the subsequent tests and in the final version.

Grumbling a bit while I frogged the starts until I just decided to pull out the yarn as I reknit, I did a few more tests and I finally found a start I preferred with the knot. Once I found that, I repeated this little knot around on the corners. That seemed to give it a nice Celtic feel. The third version I thought about weaving in a ribbon or braided cord.

The main body pattern is a k1 p1 pattern. Every other row, add one stitch after the garter border, one stitch before and after the main rib in the center back, and then one additional stitch before the end garter stitch. There are methods to make the knitting tighter around increases so holes don't appear, but I wanted the holes because I thought that broke up the fabric nicely and left spots where I could weave in icords, ribbons or contrasting braids.

When the triangle of the main body is long enough make the corner turn with a little knot. Start up the side picking up stitches and knit the garter stitch border. I decided to stop my shawl at about 37 inches to the top of the middle collar to the knot at the bottom. For me, this should easily cover my entire torso. At the other end, need to graph stitches.

Here's some information on how I made the knot starting of the shawl.

The Cat Bhordi "Judy's Magic Cast On" youtube video is a great provisional cast-on, and that's how you can start the icord knot. For this, cast on 5 stitches, and just start the icord on one side. Move the other stitches to a stitch holder. Knit about 3 inches of the icord and make the knot. You might knit a few open rows and then add the hold stitches on and start the garter stitching. This cast-on method is generally used to make toe-up knitted socks.

The icord youtube video shows a lot of variations and uses for icords.

The yarn used in this demonstration is Lion Brand's jean yarn and it is a blend of cotton and acrylic.

I think I started my final version with adding 7 stitches in the join. The 7 stitches are 1 stitch for each side, and then 5 stitches for the back rib. I did a knit cast on and then passed a separate piece of yarn between the stitches so they could cinched together. There are multiple detailed steps and I will try to add that in another instructable. From what I've seen on pinterest, there are actually a few posts on starting a triangle shawl, but I didn't see any that looked like mine, so it might be a nice alternative.

Here is the version of the final knot start was used.

Here's a corner of the shawl. I had tried a mitered turn but then I just thought of making a knot. It was easy to just switch to a 5 stitch icord and then make the turn.

Cast on about 109 stitches and do the same pattern as body. I would make the number of stitches odd to match the center of the back of the shawl. Do the same garter stitches as on the body of the shawl on the edges but no increases. For my hood, I made a provisional cast-on and to finish the bottom, I made a 4 stitch icord and knit about 7 inches and then started knitting it to bottom of the hood. I continued to the middle and made a little knot, and then continued to the end and knit about 7 more inches of just the icord. Sew in loose ends of yarn. The ends of the cord can be pulled through some of the yarn over holes in the main body to tie them. The hood is a rectangle about 19 x 37 inches. I started the icord for the hood with a long tail cast on. Instead of making a knot to start the cast, I just make a twist loop as the first stitch. I usually use the stretchy cast-off at the end.

If you don't want to tie the hood, you can make looped knots to secure the connection.

I made enough knit fabric to turn over a collar. I can attach the hood under the back of this.

Here's an alternate method to keep the front of the garment closed. When the icord isn't being used, it can be parked by threading it through the collar holes.

If I ever add buttons to the front, I thought about making button loops somewhat like this. For the actual buttons, I thought pieces of deer or elk antlers might be nice. I added the little felting needle to simulate the button piece.

These videos may help if you're unfamiliar with the knitting techniques used in this shawl.

If I would make something like this again, I would be inclined to use more natural wool colors like brown, cream, gray or black instead of more contemporary dyed colors. I would probably use multiple colors similar to the original Ravelry item. Right now I'm using icords instead of other fasteners because I haven't really decided and can still use items like a penannular brooch or other types of clasps. If anyone may be interested in a detailed pattern, I will try to do an instructable for that later. I hope this may inspire you to try to make real garments that honor your interests in the wonderful world of fantasy.

Update on 20230617 - cleaning up items, and found some knitting supplies in a small bag and found what appeared to one of the earliest tests of starting the shawl.