Tortada is a knitted merino wool shawl. You'll need three skeins to knit this large stole, perfect for everyday wear.
The pattern is available on Ravelry, on Makerist or on Lovecrafts.
Tortada, a very large stole
1. The story of Tortada this great stole
Over a year ago, I participated in the Fil de la Manche festival in Dieppe. Sylvie, the event's organizer, had invited dyers that you don't see very often in France. That's where I had the opportunity to meet Laïa de Soc Una Troca, a Spanish and more precisely Catalan dyer.
The colors at her booth were all more appealing than the others, so I decided to buy three skeins that could be combined or not.
I didn't have any specific ideas in mind at the time. When I do shows, I like to buy wool for specific projects but also to support the dyers. Sometimes they find a project right away that will be assigned to them, sometimes it can take several months or even years.
This is a bit like the case with Tortada; it was while searching through my treasure chests that I came across them again. And that's when the idea for Tortada was born.
I wanted to make a large stole that was perfectly accessible for beginners. Without miles of garter stitch!
2. The construction of this stole
This stole is intended for beginners, so I didn't want to complicate the assembly or construction.
It therefore begins with a cast-on of around a hundred stitches and is knitted from one side to the other.
You will start with a few rows of two colors to warm up and begin the lace.
Next, you will move on to the central part which consists of a slightly more complex lace part.
And you will finish with the same sequence of lace that you started the shawl with.
3. What level of knitting is required to knit Tortada?
This pattern is not complicated to knit, it is intended for stubborn beginners and intermediate knitters.
The most difficult points you might encounter are:
- the central lace part which is a little bit more complex than the beginning and end sequences.
- the length of the stole and therefore the quantity of wool to plan for so as not to run out and to have a stole that is perfectly identical at the end and at the beginning. To do this, I have given you the weight more or less necessary to make the different parts. I therefore advise you to weigh your skeins before starting to knit and to adapt the repetitions accordingly.
Honestly, if you're not afraid to knit a little lace and want to get away from the eternal garter stitch, this stole is for you. Lace is only worked on the right side rows and is very repetitive. However, the rows aren't too long, so you'll move on to the next row very quickly without having time to get bored.
As with all my patterns, the lace is available in both chart and written instructions. This is also an opportunity for you to learn how to read a chart if you've never done so before.
4. Where to buy the pattern?
The pattern is for sale on the site Ravelry in French, English and Spanish, it is available for immediate download. It is also available on the website Lovecrafts in English and Makerist in French.
6. The wool and materials needed to knit this stole
The suggested yarn is Soc Una Troca Kitten (100% merino) 400m / 100g. You will need 3 skeins of different colors, I used Brown (about 300m), Pink Rochefort (about 400m) and Pale Girl (about 400m).
But you can definitely consider making it in just two colors or using just one color for the Pink Rochefort and Pale Girl parts and using minis for the sequences that are knitted in dark color on the prototype I'm showing you.
Let your imagination run wild 🙂
The necessary equipment is as follows:
- 3.75 mm circ. needle 100cm long
- 1 tapestry needle
- markers for lace repeats if you don't feel comfortable reading the lace easily and are afraid of losing your bearings on the chart.
7. Why Tortada?
Finally, why did you name it Tortada?
I confess that this time the name was found at the last minute and that it was not me who suggested it...
The translator who worked on the Spanish pattern told me it reminded her of Neapolitan cake. But that was already a name I'd used for a previous pattern, so there was no way I could reuse it.
And then the name Tortada came up during a discussion between Gabrielle and Laïa. Tortada is a cake specialty from Murcia, a region in Catalonia, where Laïa is from. So I chose to call it that since this pattern will also be featured in the virtual version of Barcelona Knits.
I hope you'll fall in love with this stole and that this article will inspire you to knit it. Speaking of which, if you're feeling tempted, Laïa has some color combos ready for you!
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See you soon,
Christelle
