Sunday, August 30, 2009

Thornbury

Thornbury is knit on the bias; starting in one corner, and increasing on every right-side row. It is knit even through the body, then decreased to the point on the far end. The resulting shawl or scarf is a parallelogram rather than the usual rectangle. The Thornbury pattern is written as both a scarf and a stole. There are more photos of it on my web site, and the pattern can be purchased at Patternfish.



The oriel stitch used in this design is very old. It's named for an architectural element of the same name found in Gothic Revival structures in the United Kingdom. In architecture, an oriel is a bay window that projects from an upper floor that is supported from below with a bracket or corbel. Unlike a bay window, it does not itself extend to the ground. The windows in the oriels were often decorated with leaded or stained glass in beautiful designs.