Crocheting the Third Street Shawl by Toni Lipsey; My Experience, Photos, and Tips 

I Tunisian crocheted the Third Street Shawl by Toni Lipsey, here’s my tips for making this gorgeous textured shawl. I was very lucky to attend a “Mystery Shawl” class with Toni Lipsey at Four Purls yarn shop in Winter Haven, Florida. There in the class, Toni debuted the pattern and taught all the techniques used.  

About The Pattern:

The Third Street Shawl is an asymmetrical shawl made using Tunisian Crochet. Using six different colors, this shawl can easily be made for every style and season. Blocks of Tunisian Simple Stitches are texturally divided by Tunisian Purl Stitch stripes and capped off with a flowing Honeycomb Stitch. Simple increases help this design fly off your hook and will ensure you’ll never be bored.

Where to find the pattern: 

You can purchase a PDF of the pattern directly from Toni’s website or on Ravelry. 

I like buying patterns on Ravelry. I use the Knit Companion app, on my phone, and it allows me to connect my Pattern Library from Ravelry (no affiliation). That way I can quickly pull up a pattern on the go.

Is this pattern beginner-friendly?

Absolutely yes! This is an excellent project if you are eager to learn Tunisian Crochet. Toni has individual tutorials on her channel for all of the skills needed to complete this shawl. Once you get the hang of increasing, this becomes a great project for on-the-go or watching TV in the evening.

My Photos

The Yarn: 

The shawl is made using 2 full-sized skeins of hand-dyed DK weight yarn and 4 mini skeins. Here are the details on the recommended yarns for this project:

Emma’s Yarn; Simply Spectacular DK; 75% Merino / 25% Nylon; 255 yds / 100 g

my colors: Tealicious and Wish You Were Beer

Emma’s Yarn Simply Spectacular Smalls; DK-weight; 75% Merino / 25% Nylon; 50 yds / 20 g

my colors: Calypso, Harbour, Weathervane and Teddy

Emma’s Yarn also offers a “Drapey DK” base that can be used for the full-sized skein. There is not a coordinating mini-skein but the silky composition is undeniably beautiful!

Emma’s Yarn; Drapey DK; 70% SW Merino / 30% Silk; 231 yards; 100 g

Emma’s Yarn is available to purchase at many different Local Yarn Shops as well as online at Four Purls. Four Purls carries every base and colorway of Emma’s Yarn as well as pre-selected color sets for the Third Street Shawl.

Yarn Substitutions:

The construction of this shawl gives you a tremendous opportunity to modify your yarn selection. It’s not a garment so there’s no need or expectation for your shawl to be an exact specific size. I envision making this shawl in sport or lightweight, plant-based bamboo/cotton fiber, perfect for summer. Even a worsted or bulky version would be filled with squishy warmth for winter.

My advice for substituting yarns is to be mindful of the recommended hook size for the yarn. A general rule of thumb is to size up 1-2 hook sizes for Tunisian crochet. Don’t be afraid to experiment with sizes and frogging your work until you are happy with the fabric. It doesn’t take long to restart and will feel so satisfying once you figure it out.

How I Picked Out My Colors: 

I had a great time picking out my colors in person. With Emma’s massive color palette of yarns, there were so many directions to go. I was inspired by a sample knit in the shop that used Tealicious and Wish You Were Beer. Then for the mini skeins, I decided to go with this coordination strategy: I took each large skein and found a mini that was a darker and a lighter version of that color. 

Can’t decide on colors? Luckily, Four Purls offers 12 different sets with color combos approved by Toni herself! 

Hook Size:

The pattern recommends a size 6mm crochet hook. After getting about 10 rows into the shawl, I decided to size up to 6.5mm. My tension is usually tight in Tunisian Crochet, and I found sizing up gave me more drape. I like Shawl patterns like this, the increase in each row allows you to quickly get a big-picture idea of how your tension/hook/yarn are all working together. Much faster than swatching in my opinion! 

If you are new to Tunisian crochet and need to purchase a hook, I like this ChiaGoo fixed cable hook if you are looking to only purchase one single hook. 

Keep in mind, that if you are a knitter and have interchangeable needles, you can buy the same brand of interchangeable Tunisian hooks (individually or as a set) and share the same cables as your knitting needles. Some Examples Include:

• Chiagoo T-Spin Interchangeable Tunisian Hooks 
• Clover Bamboo Tunisian Hooks (Set or Single Hooks)
• Knitter’s Pride or Lantern Moon (both use the same cords) 

If you are interested in learning more about the different types of Tunisian crochet hooks, I highly recommend going straight to Toni’s YouTube channel. She has a video where she in-depth reviews every Tunisian hook she owns. So definitely go check that out here.

Overall Opinion:

This is one of those patterns that I see myself going back and making more. It’s an easy project to pick up and work on anywhere. I appreciate how well the pattern displays the colors of the hand-dyed yarn. There’s no hiding the beauty and after spending a pretty penny on the yarn that’s the ideal result for any project. 

With so many color options, my mind runs wild with possibilities for remaking the ThIrd Street Shawl!