I am always looking forward to the Tour de France. This is the 6th year I’ll be running a Tour de France KAL with a pattern inspired by some aspect of France. This year’s subject is the Labrouste reading room in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Designed by Henri Labrouste, I came across it when reading a book about French ironwork. I looked for more pictures online & came across this lovely gem from Piero (aka CharlieBrigante on Flickr):
But then I zoomed in and saw the decoration in the bands of colour in the domes:
Whoa. This was meant to be a shawl. And that’s how the Labrouste shawl was born. It’s semi-circular, puntuated by bands of increases, and then finished off with a lace border:
I added in beads, but they aren’t mandatory. Neither are the nupps!
The pattern is now up for sale on Ravelry ($4 through July 31, 2015, automatic discount). Until July 4th you’ll only get the first 2 pages of the pattern. Then I’ll upload it for the Grand Départ and we can all knit while watching the Tour de France (July 4 – 26). Join my Ravelry group for more details & discussion.
$4 USD until July 31, 2015 (then $6 USD):
