Shayla

Pattern Central
1

Anybody ever knit a shayla? Going to visit my parents in Abu Dhabi at Christmas and would like to knit a shayla for a friend there. Any ideas?

2

I hate to sound stupid, but what is a shayla?

3

Thank you Marilyn for asking on behalf of us all!

4

Sorry! A shayla is similar to a hijab, a head scarf worn by women in the Middle East. The ones I have seen are black but many of them have amazing designs on them. They are worn with an abaya - the long black over-dress.

5

When I googled ‘hijab’ I see it is a square scarf. I didn’t find the size, but I presume you already know that.

Would any square scarf pattern work? Could it be lacy? You would want it to be a light, drappy yarn, though, or it would be too heavy/hot/not right.

http://knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/scarves.php
http://www.magknits.com/archive/
http://www.knittychick.com/its_a_wrap_free_patterns.htm#Shawls,Stoles&_Wraps

Lots of scarf/wrap patterns listed at these links. Maybe even an afghan pattern done in a lighter yarn to size.

Gook luck in your search-

6

You could enlarge a lacey scarf pattern to the width and knit until the length matches the width.