Glistening gold in the morning sun, her headdress set off her stubborn eyes. Bright red lips opened, her words echoed through the majestic marbled hall, “I will not condone a course of action that will lead to war.” She gave the camera a firm look as the director yelled, “Aaaand, Scene!” No longer Amidala, Natalie Portman sat surrounded by the glory that is Caserta Palace.

I remember well my awe at the stunning and overwhelming architecture of that great palace of the region. The marble and semi-precious stone lined walls, the inlaid floors, the stunning arches opening to majestic gardens. I remember still my excitement at walking the halls that famously hosted Naboo of Star Wars, Episode 1. But this Caserta Shawl is not inspired by the English themed gardens around Caserta Palace, no. But if you head away from the palace and into the city, you will find the native gardens. You will find my mother’s garden. While I haven’t toured my mother’s succulent garden near Caserta in person, she has shown me a million pictures and takes me on video tours each new season. She has more succulents than I can count, a jade bush like you wouldn’t dream, and a cactus (I can’t remember what kind), that stretched beyond the height of her two-story home. Caserta - a majestic palace, but also the home of many Mediterranean succulent gardens. This shawl was inspired by that part of Carserta.

Like it? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board!

And follow me there for more crochet inspiration and free patterns!

Caserta Shawl Crochet Along #crochetshawlpattern #crochetalong #texturedcrochet

This post contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission from your purchase through these links at no additional cost to you. See my Terms of Use for more details.

Inspiration

As an avid gardener and houseplant enthusiast, many of my designs are inspired by the flora and fauna of my favorite places, much like this one! I have a succulent garden that I adore and each year I add a new one to my little succulent crew. This year, I want to add the echeveria gibbiflora to my garden. The Caserta Shawl is broadly inspired by succulents and gardens, but specifically by the ruffled texture of this romantic echeveria. I wanted this shawl to not only mimic the ruffles of this echeveria, but also the color fade as the gray-green center blushes to a warm purply-pink.

Caserta Shawl #crochetshawlpattern #succulentinspired #crochetruffles

Potential

Is there anything better than expressing your true maker self through a pattern? I love seeing crocheters take a pattern, but their own twist on it, and make something truly stunning! The Caserta Shawl crochet pattern presents that opportunity. You can make this as much your own as you want!

The pattern is written with simple stitches and techniques, so even the advanced beginner can tackle this shawl and create something stunning! The Caserta Shawl crochet pattern also features a simple increase, meaning you can repeat the rows as many times as you want to create the stunning shawl of your dreams. Do you prefer a small, scarf sized shawl? Only repeat a few times. Want to make a dramatic cape? Continue the repeat until you reach the length you want! Have fun and express your own maker spirit!

I created this pattern with fingering weight yarn - I happen to love the drape and drama that fingering weight yarn gives to a shawl. But not all fingers and eyes appreciate the fineness of fingering weight yarn. Since this pattern is all about expression, you can easily substitute a larger weight yarn and hook to suit your taste! In fact, using DK/3 weight yarn and a 4 or 5 mm hook, you could follow the pattern exactly and come out with an oversized and dramatic shawl!

You may not be as much a fan of pinks and purples as I am, and that is perfect! Make this in greens, blues, black and white, or even a sweet gray. Make it a fade, make it striped, but make it your own! The Caserta Shawl crochet pattern is full of potential, just waiting to get on your hook and for you to breathe your unique maker perspective into it.

The Materials

I made two version of the Caserta Shawl. For the first, I used We Crochet Lindy Chain in Mist and Whisper. I wanted this version of the shawl to mimic the light blush that touches just the tips of the echeveria gibbiflora. I made the majority of the shawl in Mist, but added the Whisper just to the tips of the “petals”. I needed five balls of Mist and two balls of Whisper to complete this version. I used a 4 mm hook.

The second version of the pattern was made with a cake of faded yarn from Hobby Lobby, Yarn Bee Rainbow Wrapsody in Teal of Fortune. I found that one cake was not quite enough and needed to pull out another cake to finish the last three rows. I used a 3.75 mm hook for this version.

Both shawls were made in fingering weight yarn, but you could make it with a Lion Brand Mandala or Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball for an oversized version.

Lion Brand Yarn

Buy on Amazon

The Process

I highly recommend blocking this shawl after you finish making it. If you prefer, take a break after you finish a couple rows of the petals to block them, so you don’t need to pin all of them at the end. To wet block the shawl, soak it in water and make sure it is fully wet. Lay it out on your blocking surface. Some crocheters use the mattress in the spare bedroom, some have crochet blocking boards. Either way, pin it to the shape you want - get that crisp line at the top, pin the petals as sharp or soft as you want. Leave it to dry for at least 24 hours.

Or, if you, like me, don’t have that kind of patience, you can soft block or steam block it. I pinned the shawl to the basic shape I wanted, but left the petals alone. I spritzed it with water until it was damp and left it to dry overnight. After it was mostly dry, I took it to my ironing board and steam pressed the petals to give them a little more definition.

Obviously, this pattern is for you! Block it the way you see best! Or don’t. Make it the way that brings you joy.

The Pattern

The Caserta Shawl was designed as the April 2020 Crochet Along hosted by the Stitch Together Official team! You can learn more about their crochet alongs on their website. Now that the crochet along is complete, you can purchase the PDF in my Ravelry store using the links below.

This pattern is written by Rebekah Haas. I hold the copyright to this pattern. It should not be published, shared, or sold without direct permission of the designer. You are, of course, welcome to sell any items you make using this pattern. If you post pictures of your item on Instagram or Facebook, please credit me with the design by linking to my Instagram account or website. Thank you for choosing to make my pattern! I hope it inspires you!