Tag Archives: Stora Dimun Shawl

Stora Dimun

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This is Cheryl Oberle’s wonderfully soothing knit, the Stora Dimun Shawl. The pattern is included in her excellent book Folk Shawls: 25 Knitting Patterns and Tales from Around the World, published by Interweave. The publication is out of print. You may be able to find it at your local library or on a used book site like Abebooks.com. It’s a great knitting book and pattern resource and definitely worth the search.

Stora Dimun is one of my favorite shawl patterns. In fact, this is the 4th time I’ve knit it!

It’s a large shawl meant to be knit in sport or DK weight. I used Cormo Sport by Elemental Effects. It proved an excellent choice for this knit. With a light blocking the shawl is 72 inches from tip-to-tip and 29 inches deep. But the sportweight yarn keeps it light. Lightweight but very warm.

Here’s the shawl spread out on my full-sized sofa. If you’re a petite person (I’m not), you could wrap this around yourself twice. Doesn’t that sound cozy?

Early mornings are already chilly in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That’s where I moved to two months ago. Yep, at the end of June we moved from our beloved Long Lake–it was time. The new adventure is unfolding in Grand Rapids. (I’m keeping the blog name the same, though, since so much of the years since 2009 focused on the lake and its critters.) I’ve already been enjoying my Stora Dimun sitting on our front porch with my morning cup of coffee as I watch the local Sandhill Crane family and a giant oak tree in front of our house.

New spot to live.The knit goes on.

I’ve knit Stora Dimun three times before. My first one was when my lace skills were super rusty. It was warm but the lace was all scrambled. It’s keeping someone else warm now. The next two were gifted at the outset. But this one’s for me!

Stora Dimun Shawl

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sara_shawl3

This is a Faroese-style shawl, designed by Cheryl Oberle. She calls it Stora Dimun. It’s included in her wonderful book, Folk Shawls. I used the recommended yarn, Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mills Silk Blend. This one is the red poppy colorway. Very yummy 75% wool, 25% silk sportweight. Silk and I don’t typically play well together. But this stuff has totally won me over.

In fact, this is Stora Dimun #3. So I guess the pattern has also won me over. Here’s Stora Dimun in the same yarn in chesnut, and this one is natural cream.

I know, I should try another folk shawl. And I will. Maybe someday soon. It’s just that this one comes out so nice, stays on the shoulders, and is large enough to tuck an infant under while Sawyer’s mom is holding him close. This Stora Dimun was gifted and is being much appreciated by a knitworthy young mom.

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Stora Dimun (This Knitter Stinks At Lace) Shawl

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This is Stora Dimun, Cheryl Oberle‘s rendering of  a traditional Faroese Island shawl. Actually, this is a not-so-close approximation of Stora Dimun. And, no, I don’t know what Stora Dimun means either. I royally flubbed the easy lace edging. That’s too bad because, other than that, this came out quite nice. It is knit in Blackberry Ridge silk blend sport weight. That’s a 75% wool, 25% silk mix. I generally steer clear of silk because I don’t like yarn to be dry in my hands or squeaky on my needles. But this blend was nothing like my prior experience with most silks (Noro Silk Garden being another exception).

I learned a lesson from the wide expanse of wannabe lace worked over 449 stitch rows. Even on an easy pattern, put stitch markers across the row to mark the repeats. Unfortunately I didn’t learn that lesson until I had moved beyond the lace. The beginning rows of the lace took 30 minutes each to knit and and an hour and a half each to unknit. I did that, the unknitting part, twice before I gave up and just decided to press on.

The good news is that this shawl is too sloppily knit for me to be even tempted to give it away. I will have to keep it and wear it in dark theaters, sitting around the fireplace in dim light, and in places where no other knitters lurk. This is supposed to have a beautiful zig zag lace border. Mine is, well, mostly free form. But with just enough not free form to look all screwed up.

It is an easy pattern despite my difficulties with it. Cheryl’s Folk Shawls book is a wonderful collection of traditional shawls.  This was the first I’ve knit from the collection. More are likely in my future, including another Stora Dimun or its little sister Litla Dimun.

This will be a warm, but lightweight, comfort shawl.