A rectangular shawl is traditional in many cultures and some religions. They are narrow, long shawls. Stole, a kind of rectangular shawl, are a sign of honor in some religions. In South East Asian cultures, it is traditional for women and men to wrap embroidered stoles around their shoulder in colder climates.
Now, this is a simple shape and doesn’t require much math. Once you have made a swatch and calculated the guage, you can cast on the number of stitches for desired width and knit as long as you want. This is a great beginner friendly project, where one can familiarize themselves with basic stitches. It is also a great stash bustin project. Another construction of a scarf is to knit until you have reached the half way point of the scarf (see schematic below). Then leave the live stitches on scrap yarn and knit up the other half. Lastly, you would graft the live stitches together to form a complete scarf.
Personally, I have considered knitting up a scarf when I came across some interesting stitch patterns; lace stitches would look gorgeous in this shawl. An integrated border would bring out simple stitch patterns in the scarf. You could also consider using colorwork techniques. A simple Hogwarts house inspired shawl could be a great gift for a Potterhead or try a hand at Fair Isle knitting if you haven’t done it yet.
Photo by Karen Cantú Q on Unsplash
Purl Island 