Love lace? Love cables? Why choose! This stitch pattern offers both. It’s a slight variation of an old edging pattern, identified as “The Portuguese Edging” in many books. I’ve adapted it so it works in the middle of rows, not just at the end.

This asymmetrical triangle is my favourite type of shawl shape: cast on a small number of stitches and work until the yarn is done, it’s the right size, or you’re just ready to move onto something else.

It uses two-side lace, that is, there are yarnovers and decreases worked on both right and wrong sides. This does up the difficulty level a little, in that mistakes in the lace are harder to fix – but liberal use of lifelines and careful counting of rows should keep you on track.

The cable is somewhat unusual, as it is worked in garter stitch; the wrong-side row following the cable cross is knit rather than purled. The cable is here is used here to create shape and enhance the curve, rather than for the usual decorative reasons.

In another non-traditional move, I’ve worked this shawl in a thicker-than-usual yarn: a gorgeous squishy worsted weight. In the depths of winter, I like a substantial shawl – and the larger scale shows off the stitch pattern even better. You’re welcome to use any type of yarn you wish, of course… but I bet you might appreciate the extra warmth this brings. I’ve included instructions for adjusting for a different