Good afternoon badgers!
Guest poster, Luckynumbers checking in to discuss an ever present problem: Just how does one wear a shawl? If you've been unaware, the American Badgers Cete has been hosting a shawl-along this term and several badgers have expressed that while they love the look of shawls, they are at a loss as to how to wear them and thus never make them. I love shawls. There is hardly a time when I leave the house that I'm not wearing or carrying a shawl with me. Just in case someone hasn't turned up the heat, or more likely where I live, has the air conditioner set somewhere around the "arctic air" mark. As such, I kind of promised I'd take some pictures and as with many conversations in the Den, it snowballed into a blog post. So here, without further ado, are some ways to wear shawls.
First I've taken pictures with some larger shawls. I've used my Clapotis and my Wa na na na na na na na Batshawl! All these pictures are taken without my shawl pin because I couldn't find it. I do usually use a very basic stick style pin to keep it in place. Also, excuse the bathroom. I rent. I hate it but it's the only place in the house with any naturally lighting and a mirror.
First, there is the typical over the one shoulder wear. I do this a lot.
This works nicely with both types.
Then there is the "tie it behind your back" wear. I don't personally like this one with my rectangular shawls because you see the big knot but it can be done.
Looks like sleeves in the front and doesn't move in the back.
There is also the standard "sterotypical granny" wear.
Throw it over your shoulders and call it done. I don't usually do this because I have a toddler who will walk off with it.I also have my "pretend it's a big cowl" look.
This works with triangular shawls as well. You just get the point in the back. Basically you just wrap it around and tuck the ends in by the neck.There are two other wears that I love but haven't found a way to look good on me yet. I wonder if I don't have large enough shawls to make them work. This one wraps around the front under the arms and ties in the back. A good example is the pattern photo for the winged shawl.
I love this look. Someday I'll make it work.
The other one is adding a belt. This may only work with rectangular shawls and looks ghastly with my clapotis, which is the only one I have. Might need a shawl with a bit more weight to it. I love the look of it on the Wrought Iron Shawl.
The second type of shawl I can talk about are the little shawlettes. You know the ones that typically only take one ball of fingering weight? This one is my traveling woman. Some of the looks are the same because they work on a smaller scale. Like "pretend it's a cowl"
Wow, that's fuzzy. Sorry. Same basic process. Wrap it around with both ends as tight as you want it and tuck them in.
Then there is the "tie it like a bandana" look so that the point is forward. Sometimes I knot it, sometimes I pin it. This probably is mostly dependant on mood and whether or not I know where my shawl pin is.
\Finally, there is "tie it like a scarf"
That's all my photos! I have a couple that I do all the time and some of the others I fall back on when I want something different. I really hope that helps spur one some ideas. Other places you might want to look include: How to wear a shawl at The wife knits. She has a couple of posts with better pictures than I take! There is also a video on youtube that uses a larger shawl. I don't have any huge ones because my climate doesn't really require them. I think that about wraps (haha) it up. I hope this gives you some ideas to springboard off of for showcasing your beautiful shawls.
