Outlander shawl... 1 year later.

This is all about the Outlander Lace shawl. Previous posts were written (READ) and (READ) 

 
1 year ago, I casted on for the Shetland Stars Shawl. I would make the Square version, and at about the same time 2 testknitters made the rectangle version. 

 I took my knitting everywhere. I wanted people to know you cán take your lace outside and just add a few (or a lot of) rows. I had casted on on July 8th and I was planning to finish by the end of the year. Little did I know...

The plan was to knit the edge, then pick up loops and knit the border. Decreases every second row and the signature Star right at the start. Then immediately after, the centre. But I still had to do calculations to work out the number of repeats to make it long enough for the border to fit.

A special moment, working on the border with the Outlander episode on the TV. 

I'm not at home, I'm at a B&B in Limburg. Quite memorable. 

Commissioned knits came along, Roe,  Sterling, Solana and I presented my first Knit-a-Long: Reach. An exhibition started about knitting in a local city nearby and in December I got a very important (in my eyes) commissioned knit. I was to knit an impression of an apron that was on display. It was very fine, mine need not be that delicate.
There was a catch, it needed to be done by April 4th and it was already January when I got the approval.
So, by the end of December, only 1664m were knitted. 

January 8th. Working a few rows before I go to work. Always room for 1 more... 

And nothing would get done any sooner than April 1st. I felt guilty. I didn't work on the Rectangle version, and now my deadline passed with only 2/5 worked.  The edge + border and most of the centre. 
Quickly casting on for the second edge + border. 

Always a great thing. Watching your work spread out a bit. I knew how it needed to look, I wanted to see if it actually was correct. I was happy and sad at the same time. Happy with how far I got, sad that I was not even close to finishing. I wasn't even half way! 

Claire is wearing the fine lace shawl in episodes 9 and 12. This is 12.

SPECIAL THANKS to Belinda and Cor for making this videocap possible.

People started asking, when will it be done?? I was knitting as fast as I could, but now things started happening at home. I couldn't concentrate. The second deadline was February/March but I wasn't close. I "wasn't" a lot.
Doing calculations (edge + border was ~720m and the edge + border + centre was 1664m at first), I came to the conclusion it would take up to 4km!!!! WHAT? It's not that I didn't have the yarn... I didn't want to keep people waiting.
May: 

June 13. One set of Edge + Border to go.

July 8. Putting stitches on hold. Knitting is done! 1 year of knitting (a lót!)
Now, I'm scared (again). Grafting will be okay, but will my calculations be correct???
It isn't until July 17 that I have enought courage and time to graft everything. 

There it is! Unblocked: 120cm x 110cm. You can see which borders are grafted to the sides of the centre panel. A stitch has a V shape. A shape that is longer than that it's wide.
So, when you want to put a V onto a <, you'll run short very quick. That's why you need more.

READY?? 
First; a shot for comparison. On the bottom the picture Terry Dresbach send me via Twitter:

And by all means, I'm NO Claire. So I let my mannequin do all the work:

Pattern name: The Shetland Stars Square Shawl
Designer: (Probably a Sutherland Sister)  Shetland knitter/spinner and Kantwerk / A Passion For Lace.
Pattern contains: 15 pages.
4 pages with information, tips and instructions
8 pages with charts
3 pages with pictures.
Yarn: 4000m or 4374 y 1/16NM Jamieson & Smith Gossamer 1ply in natural white. (I advise to buy yarn on a cone, so you can knit the borders/centre in 1 piece. It's not in their shop, but you can ask for a cone when you order)Needle: 2mm / US0 circulars 40cm / 16” and 80/100cm or 32”/ 40” or use straight needles 40cm / 16”.
Size: 180 x 180cm or 6ft x 6ft blocked, it might bounce back after blocking a bit.
Also: 8 stitch markers, T-pins, blocking kit or frame, waste yarn for Life Lines, towel, suitable detergent, tapestry needle.
All rows are knit. Please read the instructions before you start knitting.

Because the pattern is already released and everyone was SO kind, I take the opportunity here (also) to THANK YOU!
The design has had a heart warming respons. The picture got 39 shares on Facebook, over 450 likes on Instagram and I even was a contender in the Hot Right now... on Ravelry (Spot 8 of the Top 20!)

I will take this shawl with me to The Shetland Wool Week. I will have a showcase in the Jamieson & Smith store in Lerwick on Tuesday Sept 27th (That's NOT me in the picture! It's Ms. Mary Kay)

I hope you will find the same pleasure in knitting this historic piece, as I have. It might take you longer, or you could be quicker. It is TOTALLY worth it. 

an Apron... / een Schort.

The Original APRON

De Originele Schort. 

Eigenlijk gaat er nog wat meer aan vooraf, maar laten we beginnen op zondag 13 december 2015.
Ik mocht een workshop geven in Het Fries Museum: Kantbreien voor Beginners.
Aan het einde van een leuke middag, kwam Gieneke van Het Museum naar me toe. Of ik een project wilde doen. Reuze nieuwsgierig maakten we een afspraak in januari 2016. Ze had me al een beetje verteld waar het over zou moeten gaan. De schort. (Hierboven: Foto van Ammerins Moss)
Ik had de schort natuurlijk al gezien bij de opening van de tentoonstelling Breien! in oktober, maar alleen foto's gemaakt van de onderkant en de bovenkant. Het was niet bij me opgekomen om meer foto's te maken.

Actually, the story begins even before the point I'm about to tell you all about. It started on Sunday, December 13. I had just ended a lovely afternoon of a class on Beginners Lace in The Fries Museum. (english site!).
Gieneke met up with me and asked me if I had any interest in a certain project. Very curious about it, we made an appointment to meet in January 2016. She hinted it would involve the Apron on display at that point. (My friend Ammerins took this picture for me). Of course I had seen the Apron at the opening of the Breien! exhibition. But I had only taken pictures of the top and bottom. 

Om enigszins voorbereid aan het gesprek te beginnen, had ik Ammerins gevraagd (met haar Museum jaar kaart!) of zij een foto van de schort voor mij wilde maken. Zodat ik een beetje het idee had hoe het er ook alweer uit zag in 1 geheel. Ik knutselde na de observatie van de foto's meteen een swatch in elkaar om te kijken dat wat ik had bedacht, ook zo zou uitpakken.
Het eerste wat me opgevallen was was de diversiteit aan brei-richtingen. 

To come prepaired to the meeting, I had asked my friend Amy (she has a membership to the Museum) to sneak in go to the museum and take a picture. That way I could make a swatch. The first thing I noticed was the multitude of knitting-directions. 

Hier zie je mijn aantekeningen over breirichting en vooral de volgorde. Aantallen en vormen.
Ik hoefde de onderkant van het schort niet te breien (zaaddozen van de Lelie bloem).

Here a brief note on the knitting directions and order of knitting. Numbers and shapes.
I was allowed to omit the bottom pattern of the apron (sead pods of the Lilyum Flower).

Hier een foto uit een boekje wat ik heb van Otto Beyer Verlag (no 62) waar het patroon in afgebeeld staat: Lotus Bloem kleedje. Er was wel een patroon, maar dat moest besteld worden (destijds in 1920). Ik heb dus zelf het hele patroon uitgeteld en geswatched om te kijken hoe het in elkaar zat.

"Het originele schort  is gemaakt door Eelkje Tilma uit Grou in 1927, ze gaf het aan koningin Wilhelmina cadeau en het is nu onderdeel is van de Koninklijke verzamelingen in Den Haag. Eelkje had zich laten inspireren door het kleedje met de naam Lelie in een van Beijers Kunstbreiboeken, die toen zeer populair waren en in oplagen van vele duizenden zijn verschenen". 

A picture of the booklet I have by Otto Beyer Verlag (no 62) with the basic pattern for the Lotus Flower Doily. A pattern was available but it had to be ordered (back in 1920). And I didn't have it, so I had to do all the calculations and placements myself. Then swatching to see if it matched and fitted.

"The original apron is made by Eelkje Tilma from Grou in 1927, she made it as a gift for the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina. The apron is now part of the Royal Collection in The Hague. Eelkje was inspired by the Lelie pattern in one of Otto Beyers pattern booklets, which were very popular in that time and had been circulating in the thousands". 

Gieneke legde uit dat ik de schort na mocht breien, het hoefde niet 1 op 1 te zijn, maar een 'indruk' van het patroon. De zaaddozen zijn een beetje raar rond, terwijl de rest van de patronen hoekig zijn. Die mocht ik dus achterwege laten. 

Gieneke explained I was allowed to make a 'copy' of the apron. No need to be exactly like the original, but main characteristics needed to be visible. So, the weird round sead pods were omitted. Everything else in the apron has angles. 

Foto boven: 
Ik ben dus in het midden begonnen; de ruiten. De onderkant van de schort wordt als eerste gebreid vanaf de ruiten. Daarna de bloemen en de blaadjes met achtergrond patroon.
Ik heb erg veel ervaring met Shetland patronen, maar dit is duits! Alles stapelt anders. De steken varieren schokken weinig van elkaar, alleen de volgorde zorgt al voor enorme verschillen! Heel leerzaam dus. En helaas, tijdrovend. 

Picture above: 

I started in the centre of the apron: the diamonds. The bottom half of the apron is worked first. Then the flowers, petals and back ground pattern.
I have much experience with Shetland patterns, but this is German! Everything stacks differently!
The stitch-groups are surprisingly similar to each other, but the order in which they are worked makes for a huge difference in appearance! Very educational for me, but also very time consuming.

Bang.
En toen gebeurde er iets wat ik niet zag aankomen. Ik werd bang. Heel erg bang. Dat ik de deadline niet zou halen. Dat ik het allemaal wel erg leuk bedacht had, maar wat als het niet werkte??
Wat als het véels te groot zou worden. Of dat ik iets fout had gedaan en moest uithalen en misschien wel overnieuw moest beginnen?? Dat mijn reputatie op het spel stond en de morele druk van '... voor een Museum...'  breien best wel heel erg spannend was...
Ik begon te voelen, waarvan ik vermoedde dat Eelkje er ook last van gehad zal hebben (breiend voor de Koningin!), dat er best veel op het spel stond, met zo'n project. 

Afraid. Very afraid. 
And then something unexpected happened. I became afraid. Very afraid. What if I couldn't make the deadline. That I could have thought of many things but not everything. What if my calculations were wrong?? What if the size would be wrong, or if I had made a mistake and had to frog it all and start over?? My reputation was on the line and the pressure of '... knitting for The Museum...' got too much for me?
I started to realise that the pressure Eelkje must have felt, knitting for the Dutch Queen, must have been sort of paralyzing too. 

Toen eenmaal de onderkant 'klaar' was, begon de stress pas echt. Diverse malen op diverse naald maten opgezet. Ik wist dat het overdwars gebreid was, maar hoe kon ik er voor zorgen dat het niet te groot werd, genoeg zou rekken en toch in vorm zou blijven.
Ik moest maar eens doen wat ik al mijn leerlingen tijdens de workshop vertel: kijken naar de techniek en daar conclusies uit trekken. Een gaas patroontje rekt van nature best wel lekker op. Maar de onderkant was in recht heen en averecht terug en héél open.
De bovenkant zou in Shetland  "Beads" gebreid worden, recht heen en recht terug.
Regel: Bij Shetland patronen (in wol!) krijg je altijd een bonus: je breit 80% en je krijgt (door de rek) 20% gratis erbij.
Dé oplossing zou zijn: op kleinere naalden (1,5mm) en dan ook op de juiste manier aanhechten en dan komt alles goed (ja, ja....) 

Once the bottom part was 'done', the stress got to me good. I swatched and tried numerous needle sizes and stitch numbers to get it right. It had to be just the right size. I knew it was worked in a different direction, but how could I make sure it would stretch to the right size and stay in shape at the same time.
I had to take a bit of my own advice, I always tell my students (in my knitting classes): take a close look at the technique and draw your conclusions from that. A mesh pattern that stretches naturally.
The bottom half of the apron was worked in stockinette and very open.
The top half would be worked in Shetland lace "Beads" and in garter stitch.
Rule: in Shetland lace (in wool) you work 80% and get a 20% bonus due to the garter stitch and stretching!
The conclusion would be: smaller needles and the right amount of spacing to attach both parts to each other would make it all come together (fingers crossed). 

En toen... klopte het niet. Wanneer ik op deze manier door zou gaan, zou ik NOOIT mijn deadline halen. Had ik het nu goed gedaan of niet??
Nee.
De naald maat klopte. Het patroon klopte. Maar hoe ik het aan elkaar zette, de juiste verhoudingen ONDANKS de steek grootte, klopte niet.
Dus...
Moest ik diep ademhalen en Deel 1 van Deel 2 scheiden. Door de gebruikte techniek ging dat gelukkig wel goed.
(Na een flink glas Pepsi Max/Cola ging het al beter).  

And then... It didn't work. When I would continue in this manner, I would NEVER make my deadline. What happened?
The needle size was good. The pattern was right. But the way I attached the 2 parts wasn't right. DESPITE the stitch size, I was wrong.
So...
Took a deep breath and detached Part 1 from Part 2. Thanks to the technique I used, that went well.
(Drinking Pepsi Max Cola helped a lot too)...

Toen Deel 2 af was, had ik 50.000 steken gebreid op 1,5mm naalden (met mijn breiriem als hulp!) en zat er 384 meter in een lapje van amper 43cm lang. Dat moest genoeg wezen.
Snel de lussen aan de zijkant opgepakt en een mini ruit in gebreid. Per ongeluk wéér niet nagedacht maar dat pakte later goed uit. 

By the time that Part 2 was done, it had 50,000 stitches, on US000 needles (with some support of my knittingbelt) and 419y of yarn in it and it was only a 17" long piece of knitted 'fabric'. That had to do.
Quickly picked up the loops on the side and worked with the same small sized needles a row of smaller diamonds. I didn't think about it, but it worked out in the end. 

Soms, soms heb je een beetje geluk. De rand. Há! Na een uiterst korte observatie bleek het exact dezelfde rand te zijn die ik in mijn R/each shawl had gebruikt!!! Dat was makkelijk.
Maar... omdat de deadline nu wel akelig dichtbij kwam, heb ik hem ingekort. Dat zou het breien makkelijker maar vooral sneller maken.
Tja.
Je zou denken dat ik dat er zó even door heen jaag. Maar nee. Laat ik eerlijk zijn; een strijd van begin tot eind. Hoe meer ik er over na dacht, des te moeilijker werd het! Wat?? Ja! Er leek geen einde aan te komen en ik kreeg bij de 65e keer kortsluiting in mijn koppie. Het lukte gewoon niet meer.
De deadline was al een week opgeschoven, maar het leken eerder minuten dan dagen.
Ik kon gewoon niet meer ontspannen. Het was me te veel.
De 66e punt heb ik wel 5x over moeten doen. Ik had de moed al opgegeven. Ik zou het niet meer halen.
Dag reputatie.
Ik heb gehuild.
Dat het zo ver moest komen.
De volgende dag. Ik móest door. En plotseling, na de laatste bocht, lukte het toch! Het einde was in zicht. En ja. Ik heb het gehaald.
Zou het Eelkje net zo zijn vergaan?? 

Sometimes, sometimes you have a bit of luck. The edge. Hey! I recognised it! That was the very same edge I had used in  my R/each design. That was good fortune!
But, with the deadline looming, I had to crop it. That would make knitting easier but more importantly, quicker.
Well...
You might assume it would. But the stress had me in a choke hold. It was full out battle. The more I thought about it, the more it got to me. What?? Yes! It seemed like a day that never ended.
At the 65th point of the edge, I wás at the edge. Or rather, rock bottom.
Eventhough the deadline had  been moved to a week later, it felt like minutes rather than days extra.
I just couldn't relax anymore and knitting was hell. Point 66 had to be reknitted over 5 times. I just couldn't do it anymore. I gave up.
I would miss the deadline.
Bye bye reputation.
I cried.
It has come to this, this is the end.
The next day. I hád to work on it again. Suddenly, after the last corner was turned, the finish was in sight. I could make it! And I did.
Would Eelkje have felt the same?? 

Het breien zat er op. Er moesten echter nog delen aan elkaar genaaid worden! Deel 1 en deel 2 zaten alleen aan elkaar vast door de rand. Nu nog alles in de juiste verhouding aan elkaar zetten. Zondag heb ik een uur gezeten om 300 lussen aan elkaar te verbinden. Dat ging goed. Maar zou het houden tijdens het opspannen??

Knitting was done. Part 1 and Part 2 were only attached by the edge and still needed to be joined in the centre. With the right technique, on Sunday, I made sure the 300 loops were attached to each other but would it hold during blocking?? 

HET MOMENT VAN DE WAARHEID. 

Zoals ik in het begin al zei: je kunt het allemaal wel mooi uitpluizen en bedenken, maar werkt het ook zo? Deze keer: JA. 

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

As I have mentioned earlier: one can think of a lot of things beforehand, and do calculations, but does it work in end?? This time: YES it does. 

Weet je nog dat ik zonder erbij na te denken de bovenste rand met de kleine ruiten aan Deel 2 had gezet?? Omdat dat in tricot was, en Deel 2 niet, maar wel met dezelfde kleine naald is gebreid, was het veel kleiner. Het pakte goed uit: nu is de schort dus bovenaan smaller en meer gedetailleerd dan onderaan. Een hele opluchting.

Remember I had added the small row with diamonds on top of Part 2, without thinking it through?
Because it is worked in stockinette with the same small sized needles and with a different attach ration than the other side, it turned out smaller. That turned out to be a good thing: the apron is now more narrow on top (as it should be) and with finer details. Quite a relief.  

Gauw op de motor naar de stad gereden (ook ter ontspanning) om een lapje katoen te halen voor de tailleband.
Op spelden en door de naaimachine. Dat had ik ook nog nooit eerder gedaan, maar in 1x goed gegaan! 

A quick trip on my motorcycle to the city (a relaxing trip) to get some cotton for the waistband.
Pin it on and sew it onto the apron. I've never done that before but it went smooth. 

Eindelijk.

Finally.

Klaar... Gelukt.

Done. I did it.

For now: No pattern available. Too many messy notes. Sorry.

Pattern: An Apron.
Design: Otto Beyer  and a bit of Monique Boonstra.
Yarn: 1ply Gossamer by Jamieson & Smith (100% Wool)
Yardage: 1152m or ~1270y
Needles: 1,5mm (Part 1 and top diamonds) and 2mm (edge and bottom)
Size:
Top: 66cm or 26" wide (knitted)
Bottom: 100cm or 39" wide (incl. edge)
Lenght: 93cm or 36.5" (incl. cotton waistband and edge).

Start: January 19 2016
Deadline: April 3 2016

En nu: hangt mijn schort op de pop in het Museum, tot 28 Augustus 2016!

And now: my apron is on the model in the Museum, until August 28, 2016!

Dank aan Liesbeth Kriekaard voor deze foto!

Thanks to Liesbeth Kriekaard for this picture! 

DANK je wel, Gieneke en Het Fries Museum! 
Many, Many thanks to Gieneke and The Museum! 

The Shetland Stars Shawl (Rectangle!) (aka The Outlander Shawl).

In een vorige post (DEZE) vertelde ik over het ontstaan van een shawl ontwerp. Dat is inmiddels een half jaar geleden. Er is hard gewerkt door mijn test-breisters. DANK JE WEL!
Ik ben zelf ook nog druk bezig met de vierkante versie, vooruitgang is helaas even erg langzaam. Daar komt verandering in, spoedig!

In a previous post (THIS one), I told you all about the development of a shawl design. That was 6 months ago. My testknitters have been working very hard. THANK YOU!!!
 I'm still working on the square version, progress is slow. Soon, it will pick up speed again! 

De rode shawl is gebreid door DominiqueBe (haar naam op Ravelry). 

The red shawl has been made by DominiqueBe (her Ravelry name). 

Om er voor te zorgen dat meer mensen dit ontwerp kunnen maken, heb ik gekozen om 2 versies te schrijven. Niet iedereen wil een héle grote vierkante shawl (of heeft daar de tijd voor) en is blij met een rechthoekige shawl. Daarom ben ik erg blij dat NU al de rechthoekige shawl als patroon beschikbaar is!

To make sure that more people can knit this design, I've chosen to write 2 files. Not everyone wants a large square shawl (or has the time to make it). They are happy with a rectangle version. And that's why I'm glad I can offer just that, right NOW!

De "Fawn" shawl is gebreid door seaglass (haar naam op Ravelry). 

The "Fawn" shawl has been made by seaglass (her Ravelry name). 

De prachtige sterren zie je terug in de rand en zul je zeker goed zichtbaar kunnen dragen. Het is toch een patroon wat niet vaak voorkomt in kanten shawls en ontwerpen. 

The gorgeous stars are worked in the border and are very visible during wearing. It is a pattern you hardly see in lace knitted items. 

Je breit eerst de border, dan meteen het midden. Dan brei je nog een border en die zet je vast aan het laatste stuk van het midden. Zodra dat allemaal aan elkaar vast zit, dan brei je de eenvoudige rand er omheen. 

 First you knit the border, then you work the centre pattern. Then, you work another border and graft that onto the other end of the centre. To close it nicely, you work an edging all around.

Het wordt niettemin best nog een lange shawl. Het hangt van je persoonlijke brei-hand af, maar het kan varieëren van 190cm - 218cm lengte! (of hoe hard je durft te blocken!)
Best lekker om te dragen en toch luchtig.

Nevertheless it will be rather a large shawl. It depends on your personal knitting style but it could run up from 34" to even 38"! (Or how fierce you dare to block it!)
That is a lot to wrap yourself into!

Pattern: The Shetland Stars Shawl (formerly known as: The Outlander shawl)
Design:  A Passion For Lace... (Only in English so far, Nederlandse vertaling komt er aan!)
Shape:   Rectangle minimum approx: 34" x 75" (red) or 38" x 86" (Fawn)
Yarn:    (red) Midara Micro 1600m/100gr (Estonian fine lace yarn) approx. 2400y or 2200m.
              (fawn) Jamieson & Smith Gossamer 1600m/100gr (Shetland) approx. 2400y or 2200m
Needle: 2mm or US0 (circular if prefered: 16" for main knitting and 32" for the edge (mainly to
              hold all picked up loops). Straight needles will do fine also (carbon, bamboo, metal,
              anything you want...)

The pattern has 4 charts, NO written rows, and explains how to work the edge (wrap & turn).

There is an option to join in on the knit-a-long (not a mystery this time) to help each other to keep it going until the thing  shawl is done...
Join the "A Passion For Lace... " group on Ravelry.

So... Enjoy!!!

Outlander....

April 16:

Someone in my friends list on Ravelry send me a message that there is a mention of a lace shawl in the Jamieson & Smith group. They are trying to find out which shawl it is and if it is possible to recreate it.

April 16:
I read the thread and am instantly interested. I wrote:

I’ve seen a similar lace shawl in the movie A Royal Affair. Couldn’t make it out either. After watching the credits I tried to find pictures of the costume designers collection, but it wasn’t there.

This was my first step into a very large and interesting project. I didn't know if any of my experience would be needed, but I stuck my nose in anyway.

After some searching we could make out the centre pattern and did some 'cut & paste' to get something going.
In the meantime I tried to find out more about the show. "Outlander". Low and behold, it was on the tv in Belgium, Friday evening.

April 19:
Watching the show. I see a LOT of tweed. It's gorgeous. Sorry to say the story is quite 'slow'. I haven't read the book(s), but I do love the surroundings and scenes shot in Scotland.
First swatch is made:

April 21:
Together with Laura and DominiqueBe we look at swatches and compare them with the screen shot.

Pretty close, right?  Second swatch made: 

April 29: 
Now what? Am I diving in head first and make an entire (new) shawl? Or do I help with developing?
Ordered some yarn, Mohair- merino and thought that if I started with the centre pattern, the rest would come later..

May 3: 
Searching the Shetland Museum and Archives website, I find a shawl that has a similar centre pattern:

Because we couldn't find a good screenshot of the entire shawl, when the camera zooms out, the lace gets 'lost'... , this was all we had to go on.

Laura tried to get a better view of the shawl. The episode didn't air in Belgium, due to the summer break.
A friend, Belinda, helped out too with vidcaps. They tried to freeze the frame and save that image. But it was only enough to see a pointy edge.

May 6: 
Made another swatch. It didn't go well in the end, but it looked better already.
I thought it was a bit tight. The birdseyes in the top were NOT like in the screenshot.

May 10: 
The yarn came in and I started right away. Calculations were close enough to get things going.

You can see by the size of my hand, this wasn't "Delicate" lace at all. I put it aside and took some grey yarn with a finer gauge and started over.
I was a bit hesitant. Should I get involved in such a big project?

May 22: 

I got as far as with the mohair.. This was much finer, but I wasn't happy with the colour... I thought that a Shetland shawl should be made in Shetland yarn.

June 10: 
Belinda has a better screen shot. Now I can see the size of the shawl. She's wearing it double and it still is sheer.

KathyMary suggests (as others have in other threads) to make contact with the costume department.

I'm hesitant, someone else has tried it. And didn't hear back.

June 19:

Another vidcap by Belinda reveals after close inspection there is a faint zigzag in the border. I stop knitting on the grey shawl...

Also June 19:
Tweeted Terry Dresbach (the costume designer for the Outlander Series) and asked about the shawl.

The first tweet got lost but the second: 

(2/2) Can you tell us anything of a source/knitter/pattern? It's so rare to see #finelace in a costume series. Thank you 

Terry replied!

it's an antique piece I found.

Then me:

may I be as bold and ask you if you still have it?  we, a knitting group on Ravelry, are trying to recreate it. 

Terry:

we do. Seriously? That's mad. I can give you a pic of the lace but not right away [...]

Me:

that would be brilliant! thank you. No rush #relief.

Oh my! It is happening!

June 24:

Terry:

here you go!

Oh no!!! This is SOOOO unexpected. It's GORGEOUS! Look at those stars... The arches..
This is a whole other ball game!
I thanked Terry and told her this was all we needed.
All doubts melted away. This was an awesome chance to get some Serious Lace done. I'm in!

So... Swatching began AGAIN. Making whole new charts. Calculations.. This is big.
I even found a picture of some ladies posing with a similar shawl. The border is much wider, but the stars are the same. And you have a good indication of size too.

 Source: Shetland Museum and Archives

Conclusion 1: the shawl is an antique. That means it is handspun. That means that I will have to use very fine yarn. Gossamer at least to make the size similar. I can spin, but not as fine as the Shetland ladies back in the days.
Conclusion 2: Not everyone will make a shawl this size! I will have to make alterations in the pattern so one can choose to knit a rectangle shawl with the same patterns / parts. This way, it's available for more people.

June 25:
Ella Gordon from the Jamieson & Smith Woolbrokers informed us about the ladies in the picture being the "Sutherlands". And came up with a photo from later in life:



Later that day, Dominique send me some pictures from the Museum of a shawl with stars she saw on display. The coin dropped and I viewed back my archive and yes: I've seen the same shawl.
There are similar components, but spacing is different. But it never hurts to have a good close up.

July 6:
Charting is an ongoing process. Even when swatching I made minor adjustments.
But... it looked pretty close to the original.

 First: the edge. A little tweek here and there.

The star. It needed just a bit more room. And the upside down flower needed some more work.

I had decided earlier that (especially) an antique shawl from Shetland, should be recreated with original Shetland yarn. The only option was: 1/16NM Gossamer (1ply) Natural Jamieson & Smith yarn.
I'm working with 2mm needles (US0). I mentioned before that the original is handspun, so this is as close as I can get.
Calculations give me for the squared version over 500.000 stitches. The rectangle will have approx. 210.000 stitches. I can't tell you how large it will be, but my prediction will be around 6+ feet square.

July 8:
Casted on with the gossamer 1ply and worked the first border. My dear test knitter Sue is working on the rectangle version. She's getting rid of all bugs and makes a perfect example for you to decide whether or not to knit the square or the rectangle.

 The yarn came in on 2 cones. It's approx. 20 balls of yarn. That should be plenty.

I don't know when the pattern will be available. But somewhere later this year is the goal. Think November or December. It will be a paid pattern (not free). Credit will be given, where credit is due. (As I've done here, please notify me if I have forgotten something/someone)

And you will be able to find it under a new name: The Shetland Star Shawl.
The ORIGINAL shawl has been purchased by Terry and is not specifically designed for the Outlander series.
(copyright and other stuff...)

Ready for a cut and paste preview???

So... if you don't hear from me for a while: I'm busy...