As all of you must know by now, I absolutely adore the Sweet Dreams Shawlette from Boo Knits. I have now made four of them and have many more to go (I need one myself!!!). My eldest daughter loves her shawls so much she wears them every day to work, so she needed another color! I dragged out some stash Madelinetosh Light in color Baltic and whipped up another of these babies:
This shawl is stunningly beautiful and is an easy, quick knit. What more do you need? The only problem is the cast on. Boo uses the shortest garter tab cast on I have ever seen. She has you knit 3 rows of garter to create the tab. As is true with most crescent shaped shawls, you end up with a hump at the center back of the shawl. For some people, this is very pronounced. It can be blocked out a little bit but not completely.
Sweet Dreams shown for illustration
With each one of these I have experimented with a different approach to the cast on to eliminate or at least reduce the hump. The last one I made (in Shiny Penny) was the closest I got (until now 🙂 ), but was too tight across the center:
See the little pucker at the center top? The top edge has absolutely no give. It could possibly be the yarn (50% silk), but I suspect not. It LOOKS okay, but Laura asked for something with more give and a shallower silhouette.
You can see in the top picture of the Baltic Dreams version, there is no pucker – the top edge is relaxed, the hump is greatly reduced. There is a small area at the starting tail that needs a little work while blocking, but it’s not too bad. My Sweet Dreams Cast On was born! I ended up with 37 sts instead of 7. This will work for many of Boo Knits’ designs but not many others in this exact form. The concept might work for other crescent shawls, but you would need to experiment with it to get it to mimic the rest of the shawl edge.
In addition, I just returned from the Birkie. It was bitter cold, windy with lots of new snow — a very tough ski for my birthday boy!! Plus, John had been sick all week. So, not his best race. I again missed his finish because I slipped into the bakery at just the wrong moment! That makes three years in a row! Aaaarrrggghhh! Maybe next year?? 😉
Love the blue/ Baltic version.. goes well with so many things.
I have the pattern, but yet have to get started on my first one.
Thank you for the tip and directions!
Comment by Verna — February 23, 2014 @ 9:38 pm
What a gorgeous colour! I have been hesitant to start a huge lace project, but this looks manageable, and so very beautiful. Love the edge too.
Comment by Veronika — February 24, 2014 @ 3:55 am
Oh, and sorry about missing the ski finish. That sounds just like me. When you have one of those days, why does it have to be a day that matters?
Comment by Veronika — February 24, 2014 @ 3:59 am
Thank you for the link to your cast-on! I’ve made one crescent shawl (not a Boo Knits) that is perfect *except* for its hump, and I find I’m not wearing it because it really bugs me. I’m going to test out your cast-on today!
Comment by Anne C — February 24, 2014 @ 12:14 pm
Hi,
Beautiful shawls. I love that pattern. I avoid the too tight beginning, which makes the hump, by increasing a bit extra at the begin rows. When picking up from the tab, put a YO between each stitch. And in the next “working” row, add a few extra YO’s. The extra “holes” look like intentional lace, and no bump. Also, the shawl fits better when wearing. I’m doing one now: Arrows and Beads by Marie Fischer. Fun but intense knit in purple Cascade half silk, half wool lace weight and multicolored beads. Feels like a Mardi Gras shawl to me! Marie’s sample shawl was very dignified in silver grey silk and clear beads… so not me. Hers says, “I’m fit for a bride”, mine says, “Let’s party hearty”.
Julie in San Diego
Comment by Julie in San Diego — February 24, 2014 @ 4:07 pm
Beautiful shawls — and a handy tip! I tend to fold the tops of my crescent shawls under when I wear them, so I’m not usually bothered so much by the “hump.” I always appreciate your thorough solutions! Thank you for sharing your experiences and “learnings.” 🙂
Comment by Kym — February 26, 2014 @ 7:10 am
Thanks for sharing the start of the shawl. Your shawls are stunning!
Comment by Liisa — March 4, 2014 @ 3:52 am
Thank you!!! That silly little hump bothered me to no end! I’m not experienced enough to figure out a solution so I am so grateful for this post!
Comment by Susan — March 5, 2014 @ 8:44 am
I’ve never made a shawl before though I’ve done some lace work. This is so lovely–as is all of your work. I’ve a question about needle size. Did you go up a size for each chart–a size 8 for chart B and a size 9 for Chart C? Other patterns in the book change needle sizes, but this one doesn’t seem to or I’m just missing the direction to change in the pattern.
Comment by MarySue Munter — May 12, 2014 @ 11:41 am
Thank you! I was hopeless in front of this ugly bump in the 3 Color Cashmere Shawl from Joji Locateli, I’m going to try it!
Comment by Marie — September 5, 2016 @ 7:10 pm
Is there any way i can purchase just the Sweet Dreams Shawlette pattern please? I will also try your suggestion to get rid of the hump in a top down shawl as i am continuously frustrated by them, thanx
Comment by andrea tetreault — June 11, 2018 @ 7:33 am
Hey Susan, I was out googling the garter tab bump yesterday and ran across this blog post. I have a question. I’m tired, of the garter tab bump. I’ve watched videos and read blog posts and although many agree there is a problem and several suggestions for how to fix/fudge it (which I’ve used successfully) I’m quite interested in the Why? Why are there sometimes large bumps on the tops of crescent or even triangular shawls after a garter tab cast on? So frustrating that sometimes that tiny little start just doesn’t block out flat. Too many picked up stitches? not enough picked up stitches? the ratio is important? the ratio is not important? too many stitches or rows to start? not enough stitches or rows to start? What’s your take? Thanks, Cori
Comment by Cori Eichelberger — March 11, 2019 @ 12:07 pm