Whenever I'm doing anything fiber-related, I tend to not entirely think things through. From buying yarn whose fiber does not match the needs of the end product, to choosing a "destashing" pattern that doesn't match any of my yarn, I tend to just go with whatever strikes my fancy. One consequence of this lack of foresight is a huge stack of variegated yarn. It always looks so pretty in a skein, but once I try to do anything with it, it pools and looks generally terrible.
Enter my brand-new, never-before-seen pattern! I call it Obtuse. It's a shawl done in linen stitch, to reduce pooling and to create a smooth fabric. It's really simple, and is very easy to modify. In fact, you'll have to use some of your judgment no matter what, as it's more of a recipe than a strict pattern. You'll want to knit it with larger needles than you normally would for whatever yarn you choose, unless you want a very stiff fabric. The bind-off row is not normal, because I fiddled with it to make it mimic the other two sides of the triangle you're creating.
CO 3
Row 1: sl1, yo, k1, yo, k1
Row 2: sl1, yo, p1, sl 1 st yib, p1, yo, p1
Row 3: sl1, yo, *k1, sl 1 st yif, repeat from *. End k1, yo, k1
Row 4: sl1, yo, *p1, sl 1 st yib, repeat from *. End p1, yo, p1
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until you've reached your desired width. End with Row 4.
Bind off row: k2tog wrapping yarn twice around the needle; once you've dropped the k2tog from your LH needle, remove one of the two new loops, creating a double-sized loop, making sure to keep the yarn slack; *k2tog wrapping yarn twice around the needle, pass the first loop on the RH needle over the two loops you just created to bind off 1 st; remove one of the two existing loops on your RH needle, creating one double-sized loop, keeping the yarn slack. Repeat from *. End k2tog, bind off one st, k1, bind off last st.
