Beaded lace and garter stitch combine beautifully in this hooded shawl which is cast on in the traditional manner at bottom edge and is worked up to the top of the hood, where a single seam joins it all together. Shoulder shaping produces an excellent fit, and the garter stitch border provides a lovely resting space for a shawl pin at the neck overlap. This pattern is both written out and charted. Beads are added with the crochet hook add-as-you-go method.

This shawl first appeared in the Victorian Writers’ Club as a tribute to Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, one of my favorite books while I was growing up. I always related best to Jo, the feisty young writer-to-be. Despite the rigid societal morés of the time, she had to live life on her own terms. I tried to bring out the complicated, exquisite hidden depths of Jo in this shawl design, which is practical as well as fanciful, and I have designed a garment that might have been worn by Jo as an evening coverup in those Civil War days. The beads add depth, mystery and intrigue. I do hope you enjoy making and wearing this shawl, which is now in two sizes.

Bead requirements: 280 (460) size 6 seed beads.