In Finland I picked up Veera Välimäki’s book “Huivileikki” (translation: Shawl Play) and the first shawl I made was called Viuhka.

Yarn: Atelier Yarn‘s Pinnacle Merino Single 100g/366 metres
Needle: 4.0mm

My yarn was fingering weight, not sport weight like the pattern called for, and I’m a loose knitter so I went down a few needle sizes. This squishy soft yarn from my local indie dyer knitted up perfectly!

The pattern mentions that you can keep on knitting to grow the shawl. While I knit the first large section I was concerned that my shawl would not be tall enough, so I repeated the section a few more times, not realising that the final section of the pattern continues to increase the height at a steady pace.

The diagram in the book only shows the dimensions of the whole piece, and it wasn’t until I was well on the way to finishing that I found a previous project on Ravelry where the second photo shows how the first large section and the second large section of the pattern combine. I wish I’d seen the photo earlier, but I’m happy with how my shawl turned out despite the different shape.

Finished measurements after washing:
Height (at the tallest point): 50cm (19.75″)
Width (tip to tip): 126cm (49.5″)

In hindsight I should have knit the pattern as written but you can read about my modifications on my Viuhka Ravelry project page.