… a pattern that comes from the bottom of my heart, this is it. Sarakatsana, the woman of the Sarakatsani tribe was one of the rare Greek women to knit her legwarmers and handwarmers, using double pointed needles and 3 basic colors: black, white or rather off-white and deep, crimson red or light yellow.

If you bother to click on the link you will read about the origins of “Sarakatsanaioi” (as we call them in Greece) their customs and nomadic life, their costumes and the symbols of the motifs on the knit parts of these costumes. I think you will like the article.

I am not of Sarakatsani origin, no. But I have been longing for some pattern that would take some Greek motif and give it a new life , making it wearable in the 21st century. Well, here it is! I hope it is up to your expectations! I must say that I did not copy the motifs I ‘m using here, I created them myself, inspired by several traditional colorwork motifs.

I also opted for the Mosaic/slipped sts technique, since it is the favourite traditional colorwork technique used in the Balkan area. The colors I used are not “traditional” nor is the construction of the shawl: they bring the “modern” element to the pattern and I hope you’ll enjoy knitting and wearing it!

Sarakatsana shawl is going to be released by March 15 and it will be available for free download for some limited period of time. I owe this much to all those knitters who cannot afford to buy a pattern for a number of reasons, so, make sure you stay tuned!!!