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

Brown Sheep Company has hosted mystery shawl knit alongs since 2021. Our MKAL shawls have been a wonderful means for connecting with our community and exploring a beautiful pattern from a talented knitwear designer. They’re also a great excuse to play with our yarns and experiment with different colors!

This year, knitwear designer Olya Mikesh returns with a mystery shawl in Lanaloft. The Mosaic Magic Shawl combines garter stitch, simple lace, and mosaic knitting, one of our favorite colorwork techniques. It’s so easy to knit, and the results are always striking! A neutral main color is complemented by 2 contrasting colors to create a cohesive palette.

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 MC, CC1, and CC2?
Do you have any other color pairing suggestions?
MKAL registration + kit link

How do I join the MKAL?

Joining the MKAL is as easy as entering your email here. We’ll release instructions for the Mosaic Magic Shawl in 4 clues spread across April and May. Here are all the important dates:

April 28 – Clue #1 releases via email
May 5 – Clue #2 releases via email
May 12 – Clue #3 releases via email
May 19 – Clue #4 releases via email
May 26 – The final Imaging 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 Lanaloft Sport to the Brown Sheep Company Crafters Facebook Group or on Instagram with the hashtags #BrownSheepMKAL26 or #MosaicMagicShawl to enter to win. Posting in both spaces doubles your chances of winning!

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 Lanaloft Sport, 50g/145yds per skein, 5 skeins, 3 for MC, 1 each for Color A and Color B.
Needles: US size 5 (3.75 mm) 21” or longer circular needle, or size to obtain gauge
Gauge: 21 stitches and 26 rows = 4” (blocked garter stitch)
Gauge is not critical since this is a one size shawl. However, your gauge will change finished measurement.
Notions: Tapestry Needle, Scissors

Can you tell me about the MKAL kits?

We created 4 Lanaloft Sport Kits just for the MKAL. However, knitters can choose their own colors of Lanaloft Sport. We’re extending free shipping until May 19 on all kit and Lanaloft orders with the code MKAL26.

Can you help me understand which colors work best for MC, Color A, and Color B?

The kit colors featured above include the following:

Deep Blue Sea – Cottage White (MC or Color A/B), Big Surf Blue (Color A/B), Aged Navy (MC or Color A/B)
Luck Clover – Manor Gray (MC or Color A/B), Scottish Hillside (Color A/B), English Ivy (MC or Color A/B)
Lilac Bouquet– Buckwheat (MC or Color A/B), Dark Magenta (MC or Color A/B), Plum Delicious (Color A/B)
Prairie Morning – Golden Meadowlark (MC or Color A/B), Ironwood (Color A/B), English Saddle (MC or Color A/B)

Our kits include two options: knitters can choose either a Light Kit or a Dark Kit. Light Kits feature the lightest color as the main color; Dark Kits feature the darkest color as the main color. The main color in the Mosaic Magic shawl should be considered the background color against which Color A and Color B feature as the mosaic colorwork.

If you prefer a shawl that is largely dark, with light colors popping against a dark background, choose a Dark Kit. If you prefer a shawl that is largely light, with darker colors popping against a light background, choose a Light Kit. Both Color A and Color B are interchangeable in terms of the colorwork.

If you’d like to choose your own colors of Lanaloft, remember that Color A and Color B should “pop” against the Main Color. Color A and Color B don’t interact with each other in the shawl, but they each interact with the Main Color. So, if Colors A and B don’t have great contrast, it’s not really a concern. But Colors A and B both need to contrast with the Main Color.

To sum it up:

MC, as the name suggests, is your main color and will feature prominently in large sections of the shawl
Colors A and B don’t interact in the shawl, in terms of colorwork, and so do not need great contrast with each other
Colors A and B should each have good contrast against the Main Color