Lady of Rohan Stole Pattern: Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Featuring Starlight Lace and Alpine Edging

Lady of Rohan Stole

"They were clad in warm raiment and heavy cloaks, and over allthe lady Eowyn wore a great blue mantle of the colour of deep summer night, and it was set with silver stars about the hem and throat...But now she shivered beneath the starrymantle.." -from "The Steward and the King" in The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien I based the design of this stole on the mantle that Faramir gave to Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. The stole is made up of Starlight Lace, echoing the stars at the throat of Finduilas' mantle, and it is edged with Alpine Lace, just as Rohan has mountains on some of its borders. It features a provisional cast on so that both sides can be worked symmetrically without grafting, a knitted-on border for flexibility, and multiple joins in the corners for ease.

Materials:

800 yards laceweight yarn for body of stole (800 yards of handspun at 18 tpi were used for the model) 400 yards fingering weight yarn for stole edging

Needles:

US 6 (4mm) 47 inch circular needle US 6 (4mm) double pointed needles, for edging

Hook:

F hook (for Braided edging)

Notions:

Waste yarn for provisional cast on Crochet hooks Yarn needles

Gauge:

22 stitches over 4" in stockinette, unblocked. Finished size: Approximately 32"x 66" Skill level: The pattern assumes familiarity with lace, chart reading and knitted on edging.

Side 1:

Provisionally cast on 119 stitches. Row 1: Attach body yarn and purl across. Rows 2 - 124: Follow chart, working 7 total repeats of 16-row Starlight lace pattern and one partial repeat, ending with row 12. Row 125: Knit across. Row 126: Work row 14. Row 127: Knit across. Row 128: Work row 16. Break yarn, put live stitches on a holder. Side 2: Place all stitches from provisional cast on onto needle, counting to make sure you have 119 stitches, and picking up an extra stitch if necessary. Join yarn on the right hand side, as the right side of the stole is facing you. Work as for Side 1, beginning with row 2.

Alpine Edging

All rows of Alpine Lace Edging are written as they are worked. This means that the symbol for "knit 2 together" means "knit 2 together", whether you are working on the right or wrong side of the edging. Read the odd rows from right to left and the even rows from left to right. The edging is attached to the live stitches of the stole on even rows, so you will always knit the last stitch of an even row together with a stitch from the body of the stole.

Edging directions:

Mark stitch 60 (the center stitch) on the stole. You will be joining twice on this stitch.

Side one:

Set stole on your left with the wrong side up. You willjoin the edging to the stole on the wrong side, on all even rows. Cast on: With waste yarn, provisionally cast 17 stitches onto a double pointed needle. Turn. Row 1: Knit row 1 of Alpine Edging. Turn. Row 2: Knit row 2 of Alpine Edging, knitting the last stitch of row 2 together with the first live stitch of the stole. Row 3 - 119: Work edging chart, joining last stitch of even numbered rows with a live stitch from the edge of the stole. Row 120: Work row 24 of chart, joining last stitch with live stitch (stitch 60) from stole edge, but do not drop that live stitch off your left needle. Row 121: Work row 1 of chart. Row 122: Work row 2 of chart, joining last stitch with stitch 60 again from stole edge. Now drop that stitch from your left needle and work as before. Row 123 - 240: Work chart, joining last stitch of even numbered rows with a live stitch from the edge of the stole. Row 241: Knit across. Place stitches on a holder and break yarn.

Side 2:

Repeat as for side one, but at the end of the edging, do not break yarn if you will be using it for one ball of the braided crochetedging.

Braided crochet edging:

Side one:

1.Lay the stole in front of you with the wrong side up. Attach the first ball of yarn with a slip stitch at the top right corner of the edging. Chain 6. Remove the hook from the chain and pick up the second ball of yarn. 2.Attach the second ball of yarn to the edging with a slip stitch like so: put your crochet hook through the next 2 live stitches of the shawl, yarn over, pullthe loop through, then yarn over again and pull that lop through the loop already on your hook. Now chain 6. Remove the hook from the chain. 3. Braid twist: hold the two chains in your hand with yarn from the 1"t ball on top. Twist the chains one half twist away from you, so the yarn from the 2nd ballis on the top. 4. Insert your hook into the loop on the top chain. Put your crochet hook through the next 2 live stitches of the shawl. yarn over, pull the loop through: two chains on hook. Yarn over again and pull that loop through the two loops already on your hook: single crochet made. Now chain 6. Remove the hook from the chain. 5. Insert your hook into the loop on the bottom chain. Put your crochet hook through the next 2 live stitches of the shawl, yarn over, pull the loop through: two chains on hook. Yarn over again and pull that loop through the two loops already on your hook: single crochet made. Now chain 6. Remove the hook from the chain. 6.Do a Braid Twist. 7. Repeat steps 4 - 6 across the shawl, substituting "rows" for "live stitches" when you are edging the body of the stole. When you reach the provisional cast on of the edging, undo it and crochet into those newly live stitches. 8.Break yarn.

Side two:

Work as for side one. Block, pinning out points of alpine edging to get a mountainous effect.

Lace Charts:

Note: each chart has its own key directly below it.

Starlight Lace Chart (all odd rows are purled)

Starlight Lace Key

Alpine Lace Edging

Alpine Lace Key