In 1912, the city of Tokyo gave 3000 cherry trees to the city of Washington, DC as a gesture of friendship and goodwill. Today those trees, and others given later, still bloom every Spring for a few short days, in a stunning display of nature's beauty. Hanami is the Japanese word used for traditional cherry blossom viewing activities and it is the combination of this tradition and the gesture of friendship that inspired the design of the Hanami  stole.

Asymmetrical in design, the stole designed by Pink Lemon Twist begins with a beaded cast on and a basket weave lace design inspired by a traditional Sashiko, or Japanese quilting design. The basket weave symbolizes the friendships and interweaving of our lives.

The second half of the stole is dedicated to the cherry blossoms and  the reminder they give us of the beauty of life. As anyone who has seen cherry blossoms blow in the wind can tell you, they make a beautiful pink and white cloud of blossoms. Starting out with just a scatter of blossoms, they get  thicker until at the end of the stole, there is a full cloud of blossoms. The second end of the stole is finished with a simple, flirty ruffle that is  reminiscent of the delicate blossoms themselves.

A striking combination of the geometric basket weave design and the organic cherry blossoms, this stole is the perfect accessory for any special occasion.  Complete directions, including a pictorial guide to the beaded cast on and full  charts are included in the pattern. The stole can also be worked either entirely  in the basket weave pattern, or entirely in the cherry blossom pattern and directions are included for both variations. This gives you essentially three stole designs in one pattern!

This is a pattern download!