ready? set?

Before we cast on, there are a few details to clear up! First off, the Carson Throw is basically the Carson shawl, but it is knit as a full circle rather than a half circle. We will be putting together two shawls, and you will need the shawl pattern as we progress through the throw. The Carson shawl is a half Pi shawl; the throw is a full Pi. Two, you can use as many or as few colors as you wish, but I suggest at least two for contrast, like the shawl. I had several colors of Ecowool in stash (three: one partial cream, two full taupe and one full brown), so I decided to augment those with a few more: one rusty red, one intermediate color between the cream and taupe, and one dark brown. I plan to use them all, from light to dark with red thrown in, and you will see my scheme as it unfolds! Three, I estimate that the throw will need at least 5 skeins to knit as a double shawl. I am planning on adding some garter stitch border if I have extra yarn after completing the shawl pattern. Four, I am looking at this as a great stash busting project! That means I have a color scheme, but it's an overall idea and it has some wiggle room so that I can use up the maximum amount of yarny goodness. If you want to follow my exact color scheme (totally not necessary), you will have a partial skein of the lightest color left over.

Onward! :)

Everything starts on double pointed needles. I used bamboo needles because the yarn stays on the needles better than on metal ones. Do you have your US 10s ready? Your Ecowool (or other yarn)? I do suggest a little swatch, btw, to make sure that you like the fabric you are getting. Or you can just swatch with the first few rows like I did! I am planning on possibly fulling the finished piece a little (aka a little bit of felting), but when I finish, I may change my mind and keep it the way it is.

This is the perfect size yarn and needles to learn how to cast on a circular start, if you have never done it before. I used Emily Ocker's Circular Cast On for this throw. For her method (made famous by Elizabeth Zimmerman), you will need a crochet hook, and I used a big old red plastic one - size E. Here is a great youtube tutorial of the cast on:

Carson Throw Directions

Start by casting on 9 sts with your master color (MC). In my case, I used the lightest colored yarn. Distribute sts evenly among 4 dpns.
The following shaping is based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi Shawl in the Knitter's Almanac. All of the following rounds are worked in the master color.

Round 1: knit

Round 2: [YO, k1] to end: 18 sts

Round 3: [k1 tbl, k1] to end

Rounds 4 & 5: knit

Round 6: [M1, k1] to end: 36 sts

Rounds 7-12: knit

Round 13: repeat round 6: 72 sts

Rounds 14-25: knit

Somewhere in this area, you will be able to switch to a circular needle. Yay!!!

Round 26: repeat round 6: 144 sts

Rounds 27-50: knit

Round 51: repeat round 6: 288 sts

Rounds 52-76: knit

The above instructions will take you up to the point where your second color comes in! From this point on, you will need to refer to the Carson Shawl pattern. I used my lightest color until it ran out on row 60, and then I switched to the next darkest color in my series and that became my master color.

The center makes for great tv knitting!

Stay tuned for the next batch of instructions - late next week. And have a great Friday!