Prism Virus Shawl

I know I'm late to the party, but I finally got around to giving the virus shawl pattern a try.  I have always been afraid of working off a crochet chart rather than a written pattern, so  I started by printing off the chart, then pulling up a video on how to crochet it on Youtube. I used the video to help me learn to read the chart, and by the time the video was done, I was able to work solely off the chart with the repeating pattern.  It was a huge help, and I feel much more confident about trying to work solely from a chart in future. 

The shawl was made with 1.5-1.7 skeins of Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball yarn, in the colorway Prism.  It is labeled as a worsted weight yarn, but I found it very thin for worsted.  I used a 4.5mm hook.  It is hard to see in the pictures, but it has an electric blue metallic strand running through it. I bought the yarn months ago, specifically for this project, but had put it aside to finish some other projects that came up, including a pussyhat and a baby blanket, both made with Caron Simply Soft Party, which also has a metallic strand.  In working on those I became very frustrated, because the metallic strand frequently broke, and was finicky to work with.  When I finally got around to this shawl, I was afraid the metallic strand would behave the same way, but I was pleasantly surprised!  It behaved much better, and I had no breaks in it at all, over the course of the entire project.  I would highly recommend the yarn.

I think I might make another one, since this one was so much fun.  For reference, this last photo isn't distorted.  The shawl is laid across my king size bed, so you can see just how long it is.  I made it to cuddle up in while working in my studio, which can get cold, so I wanted it plenty big.  While the yarn is thin and the overall effect is lacy, it does provide some nice warmth, and can be bundled up and worn as a triangle scarf.  I wore it to the theatre with a thin sweater on a cold day, and it really helped keep me warm, while also looking dressy enough for the event.