It’s our favorite time of the year! Time for the Brown Sheep Spring Mystery Knit Along!

Every year since 2021, we’ve hosted a mystery knit along pairing a Brown Sheep yarn with a fabulous knitwear designer. Each year, we wind up with a colorful, uniquely beautiful shawl. Last year, Tonia Lyons gave us the True Blue Shawl in 3 colors of Nature Spun Sport. In 2022, we knit Aud Bergo’s Lofty Ambitions Shawl in Lanaloft and Lanaloft Handpainted and Mone Dräger’s Swift as an Arrow Shawl in Shepherd’s Shades. And in 2021, we knit Stefanie Goodwin-Ritter’s Low Hanging Fruit Shawl in Prairie Spun DK.

This year, knitwear designer Olya Mikesh devised a mystery shawl in Cotton Fleece. Without giving too much away, the Spring Meadow Shawl marries soothing garter stitch and eyelet sections, with a touch of mosaic color work that celebrates the spring season. Think delicate floral details throughout! If you’ve seen our previous MKAL shawls, you know we love color work—this year is no exception. Any excuse to have fun with our expansive color palette, right?

This year we wanted the color work to be easy and approachable. Mosaic knitting was a natural choice, as you never have to work more than one color at a time.

Let’s get to the details of the MKAL!

How do I join the MKAL?
How do I enter to win prizes?
What is the MKAL prize?
What do I need to make the shawl?
Can you tell me about the MKAL kits?
Can you help me understand which colors work best for A, B, C, and D?
Do you have any other color pairing suggestions?
MKAL registration + kit link

How do I join the MKAL?

It’s incredibly easy to join the MKAL. Simply enter your email here and you’re on the list. We’ll release instructions for the Spring Meadow Shawl in 4 clues spread across April and May. This year we’re building in extra time for our knitters to finish their shawls, so we won’t choose a winner until June. Here are all the important dates:

April 23 – Clue #1 releases via email
April 30 – Clue #2 releases via email
May 7 – Clue #3 releases via email
May 14 – Clue #4 releases via email
May 21 – The final Spring Meadow Shawl pattern PDF (all clues included) releases via email
June 9 – The last day for knitters to submit their shawl photos for the chance to win an MKAL prize!
June 10 – Winners announced on Instagram and Facebook

How do I enter to win prizes?

On June 10, we’ll choose two knitters as the winners of the MKAL. You must post a picture of your finished shawl in Cotton Fleece or Cotton Fine to the Brown Sheep Company Crafters Facebook Group or on Instagram with the hashtags #BrownSheepSpringMKAL2024 or #SpringMeadowShawl to enter to win. Posting in both spaces doubles your chances of winning!

While Olya designed the Spring Meadow Shawl for Cotton Fleece, Brittany had the brilliant idea of working a version in Cotton Fine to make a shawlette! We love the idea and can’t wait to see how it turns out. Whether you choose to make a shawl or a shawlette, you will be eligible for the prize so long as you use either Cotton Fleece or Cotton Fine.

What is the MKAL prize?

The two winners of the MKAL will each receive a $50 digital gift certificate to BrownSheep.com!

What do I need to make the shawl?

To make the Spring Meadow Shawl, you’ll need:

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, 100g/215 yds per skein, 4 skeins, 1 each for Colors A, B, C, and D.
Needles: US Size 6, 21” or longer circular, or size to obtain gauge
Gauge: 20 stitches and 24 rows = 4” (blocked garter stitch)
Notions: Tapestry needle (for weaving in ends), Scissors

Can you tell me about the MKAL kits?

We created 5 Cotton Fleece kits especially for the MKAL. However, knitters can choose their own colors of C otton Fleece and C otton Fine. We’re extending free shipping until May 21 on all kit and Cotton Fleece/Fine orders with the code CFMKAL.

Can you help me understand which colors work best for A, B, C, and D?

The kit colors featured above include the following:

Sonic Bloom – Cotton Fleece in Celery Leaves (A), Spanish Olive (B), Limelight (C), Tea Rose (D)
Perfectly Pink-A-Blue – Cotton Fleece in Hawaiian Sky (A), Banana (B), Papaya (C), Tropical Coral (D)
Bellflower Blues – Cotton Fleece in Dove Grey (A), Weathered Barnwood (B), Peridot (C), Purple Agate (D)
Cherry Blossom Jade – Cotton Fleece in Spryte (A), Jubilant Jade (B), Jaded Mermaid (C), Cherry Moon (D)
Peach Chantilly – Cotton Fleece in Putty (A), Mink Brown (B), Truffle (C), Terracotta Canyon (D)

When choosing colors for our kits, we made sure that color D was floral-inspired. Color D features in the floral mosaic color work, so that’s important to remember if you’re building your own kit.

Otherwise, if you’re concerned about achieving good contrast in the different shawl sections, keep these pairs in mind:

Colors A and B
Colors A and C
Colors B and D
Colors C and D

Also, knitters should feel free to experiment and mix up the order of their colors. However, remembering the above pairs will make it easier to ensure good contrast in your shawl. The above pairs will be worked in the 4 clues. So, you’ll never work Color B with Color C, or Color D with Color A, etc.