A circle of friends contributed fabric and clothing for the balls of fabric yarn* I made and then worked up in a simple knit stitch with velour fringe. It was given by all of us to someone who spends a lot of time on the front porch of her family farm out in the country and she looked wonderfully happy after we blessed and wrapped her in it. By coincidence, it was also her birthday.
The new shawl I'm working on now looks nothing like this one and for me, that's the part I like best. I've never felt moved to make more than one in the same yarn and pattern.*Remove the selvages and then tear a strip starting from one edge, stopping about a half/three-eights of an inch from the opposite edge. Then move over about a half/three-eights of an inch and start tearing from that edge beating in the opposite direction. You'll be making a series of running z's from the top of your fabric to the bottom. Repeat until you've got enough yarn. Tie the ends together to make longer continuous pieces of fabric yarn if needed. Knit and serve warm.
You can also go here to learn how to cut fabric into a continuous strip.
18 comments:
I know Jewish prayer shawls, but they don't look like these. Beautiful, for sure!
PJ, the prayer shawl is beautiful and what a wonderful idea. Fabric yarn seems to be much more of an American thing than here. I have been fascinated by floor rugs done with it but didn't realise it was also knitted. Seems like a great idea, I just might give it a go.
It'a a beautiful prayer shawl and even though I have heard of them, I really do not know much about them... thanks for this wonderful post!
Your piece reminds me of sitting next to my grandmother while she tried to show me how to knit. Haven't thought about that in years. She was unsuccessful, but, very good memories.
this is one of the most inspiring posts i have read in a while - i love the thought of a prayer shawl
What a beautiful prayer shawl. Annie must have been thrilled to receive such a treasure from so many loving hands.
Oh my, you have such lovely customs.
I've never heard of this custom. I do remember Dolly Parton singing a song called "Coat of Many Colors". It reminds me of that.
BTW: I couldn't find any white flies. Weird
This is so pretty and unique. I love to knit too.
I hadn't heard of Prayer Shawls before, so thanks for the introduction. I really like the colour combinations. It's lovely! I'm not very crafty so have no hopes of creating one of those. Looks and sounds tricky!
That's a very nice shawl. Love the way the white fades into the red.
JE, if you decide to knit fabric yarn just know that it doesn't "give" like most yarns so it takes a little getting used to. Also, the bigger the needle the better.
2B, my mom taught me how to knit and purl and it's one of my favorite memories of her.
AH &PA, I suppose it's a custom, I never thought of it that way. It's very big in churches.
Ilex Zimmerman, I know you're a knitter extraordinaire. This isn't anything like the work that you do. I made it up as I went along, NOW I'll know what to do for the next one - mostly the same thing but maybe size 15's instead of 13's.
Wow, how beautiful and inspiring! Blessings!
What a wonderful, generous thing to do, PJ! You arranged the prayer shawl so beautifully in that second photo! :)
Mary, I'm glad you like it. I have to say that was some of the most frustrating work I've ever done. I must have taken 100 photos. Who knew it would be so difficult to arrange a shawl? I need to take a course in how to arrange items for still shots.
What a lovely shawl and wonderful gift!
I love it! Simply beautiful!
Wonderful shawls, PJ, and a wonderful custom. As someone mentioned, prayer shawls are used in Judaism, but I never knew they were used in church too!
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