How to knit The Great Wave KAL - first instalment

Ready to learn how to knit the first instalment of our exclusive KAL with Kat Goldin? Download Part 1 now.

Part 2 will drop on 9 August and the third and final pattern will be released on 16 August.

For this KAL you will need Erika Knight Studio Linen (85% recycled rayon, 15% linen). 

Buy the yarn here >

2 x 50g (120m) hanks of Erika Knight Studio Linen (85% recycled rayon linen, 15% linen) in Neo (404) and 1 hank in Bone (401). You will need one pair of 4.5mm knitting needles and a cable needle.

As you'll know, the vision behind this shawl is Katsushika Hokusai's painting The Great Wave, an image that many of you will be familiar with.

Kat expresses her love for the painting not only by using deep blue and breaking surf colours, but through the way the shape and textures evoke the sense of a cascading wash of water.

'This solid blue section is a simple garter stitch triangle. The increases are worked at the neck edge, creating its shape. I have always loved garter stitch. I love the way it doesn’t require a lot of thought and yet creates a squishy, draping fabric,' says Kat. 

'It doesn’t hurt that the stitches stack to create natural ripples, making it a perfect foundation for the shawl.

Kat is a talented photographer too and has kindly provided some how-to steps that will hopefully assist you with some of the stitches.

Kat has used a circular needle as the shawl itself will get quite wide as you go along. So it will save you transferring stitches later on by starting on a circular needle.

So Kat, take it a-wave.

Begin by casting on 2 stitches.

Your first row is on the right side and is an increase row. This is done by knitting into your first stitch but not sliding the loop off your needle.

You then insert the tip of your right hand needle down, from right to left, into the back of the same stitch and knit it.

This then slides off the needle and has increased the stitch count by one. By knitting the next stitch as normal you should now have three stitches.

You then continue to increase whilst working in garter stitch by knitting into the first stitch. Similar to before you do not complete the knit stitch but leave the loop on the needle.

You then bring the yarn over your needle to the front of the work (yf) and knit into the same stitch again.

Insert the needle back into the front of the stitch from left to right into the same stitch and knit again.

Let the stitch come off the needle and you will have increased by one. When working back across the row you must remember to knit into the back of all the yf created to avoid holes in your work.

These photos show the increases you will be using over this first section. Follow the pattern and you will come to a 4 row repeat and then it's smooth sailing!