M e n a k a

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The beginning and the end: that was all anyone ever agreed upon when they told the story. In between, the tale of the ghost on Mir ghat diverged according to the whims and memory of the teller. First, her beginning. The ghost was a woman, once. And she was remembered for three things: her eyes, her anklets, her parrot-green sari.

This excerpt is taken from The City of Good Death by Priyanka Champaneri, published by Restless Books (U.S.) and Penguin Random House India (India).

This pattern has been designed in collaboration with Priyanka Champaneri, using key elements and aspects from her new book The City of Good Death.

Everything about this design is connected with the book, right from the choice of yarn colour and fibre to the construction of the wrap, and even the pattern name!
This wrap is a representation of the ghats–where this story has been set, the waters lapping gently over the stone steps that lead down into the river.
The steps are shown in stockinette bands that decrease progressively in width. At the same time, the waters of the river are worked first in narrow eyelet bands that slowly widen into a full lace border depicting the river.

This is a quick-knit top down triangular wrap with alternating bands of stockinette and eyelet rows till the lace border. The wrap is then bound off with a delicate picot edging.
This pattern is written for a one skein wrap but the lace section can be repeated a few more times to give you a larger shawl. The lace patterns are both charted as well as written out.

Finished Measurements: Length between tips: 48” (122cm), depth: 16” (40cm)

Yarn: 400y / 365m of light fingering weight yarn.
Sample uses Neighborhood Fiber Co.’s Penthouse Silk Fingering (100% Silk, 400y, 100g)
Colorway: Belair

Needles: US size 4 (3.5mm) needles or size needed to obtain gauge.
Notions: 2 stitch markers, more if you’d like to mark out each lace repeat. Lifeline, if required.

Gauge: 18 sts and 36 rows = 4” (10cm) in stockinette after blocking.