My shawl has Wings!

Never fear! This one is an easy fix. It all comes down to the tension being a little too tight. Firstly, have you tried giving your shawl a bit of a tug along the edges to try to straighten it out? Sometimes this will be all it needs. However, if it is still curving upwards when laid flat it might be a good idea to start over, this time keeping your tension loose. If there are still little wings beginning to form after you've tried both these tips you can try adding an extra chain stitch to your turning chains to lengthen those ends.

My stitch count is out?

I've started the first few rows but my stitch count is out. Why? 

Are you working your stitches into the gaps between the stitches? Often an increased stitch count from the beginning of the pattern is caused by working into the tops of the stitches instead of the gaps.

Sometimes people are just so excited to get going that they don't notice that there are two rows of hdc stitches between each of the tc rows, and only work one row by mistake. This will give a lower stitch count than stated in the Stitch Count Chart.

Other times it's just down to accidentally adding in (or leaving out) an extra stitch at the ends of the rows. I have yet to make a shawl where I haven't done this! Rather than frogging back rows it can be easily fixed by simply adding or removing a stitch at the end of the next HDC row(s).  

Adjusting the size...

I want to make my shawl bigger (or smaller) but I don't want it to affect the border rows, how can I do this?

No problem. The border rows rely on a count of 6 (per side of the V). Each new row of the SHAWL BODY increases the count by 3 stitches per side, so to increase or decrease the overall size of your shawl you will need to add, or subtract, rows two at a time. This will keep the patterns in the border intact, though it will affect the number of times each sequence will need to be repeated along each side of the rows.  

How big is the shawl?

I want to check that my shawl is going to be the right size. What are the dimensions of the body of the shawl?

The body of the shawl before the border measures approximately 23" (59cm) from the centre top to the tip and 52" (132cm) across the top from tip to tip.

The finished Sunday Shawl, when made with the yarn weight and hook size specified in the pattern, should measure approximately 70" (180cm) across the top from tip to tip and 30" (76cm) from the centre top to the V tip.

If you would like to alter the size of your shawl please see the above comments for details on how to do so.     

Using different weight yarn...

I would like to use a different weight of yarn to make my shawl. What will happen?

Plenty of people have used different yarn weights to complete their Sunday Shawls. Some people have opted to use a fingering or sock-weight yarn to make a more lightweight scarf-like shawl, while others have used a thicker, worsted weight yarn. Both look fabulous! To make sure you get the result you are after you will need to remember to adjust your hook size to suit the weight of your yarn.

If you choose to use a lighter weight yarn, but still want your shawl to be the same overall size as one made from DK weight yarn, you will need to add extra rows to the body of your shawl as the lighter yarn will create a smaller end product.

With the worsted weight yarn you may wish to reduce body by a couple of rows as the thicker yarn will increase the overall size of your shawl.

See the answer to the previous question 'Adjusting the Size' for details on how to increase or decrease the size of your shawl without upsetting the border rows.