Help! How do I wear a shawl?

Kind of like that "I have a new baby, now what do I do with her?!" feeling, I'm wondering what to do with my new shawl.  It is much smaller than I had hoped, even after knitting an extra repeat.  I do plan to re-block it once my wires come in and that may enlarge it a tiny bit.  It should at least help make the points look a bit better.  (I didn't add extra repeats because I wanted to avoid the shawl looking like a large arrow pointing to a large bottom!  I'm not sure I avoided that look.)

But how do I wear a shawl this small?  Maybe I need a new dress.  :)  I could wear it over one shoulder with a pin keeping the ends together.  It's not large enough to wear over my arms like in the picture on the far right. 

Another thing to consider is that I have a lot of yarn left and I didn't cut it from the shawl yet.  Have any of you ever ripped out the edging of a shawl and added more repeats?  Do I need to do something special to it since I've already blocked it or will everything even out when I finish knitting it and block it again?  In your opinion, is it worth redoing it or should I try to wear it like it is and knit something else?

There are so many shawls and stoles that I'd like to knit.  I even have yarn and patterns for some of them.  But, I just can't decide which lace project I want to knit next.  What has been your favorite lace shawl/stole/wrap to knit?

Project details:  Shetland Triangle Shawl by Evelyn Clark and found in Wrap Style

Yarn:  sock yarn from The Woolen Rabbit in the Sweetpea colorway

Needles:  size 3 bamboo

Modifications:  added one extra repeat

Comments

[Pooch]

Very pretty, delicate shawl, Beth! It looks very nice in the picture on the left.

And, by all means, it definitely cries for a new dress, no matter what is in your closet!!

:)

[Sheepish Annie]

Well, yeah. Of course you need a new dress. That's a given...

As far as the shawl goes, I'd think of it as a scarf. I used to wear a lot of the square dress scarves folded into triangles under coats or as an accessory. They look great with a pin or tied loosely over the shoulders. And that one is particularly stunning!

[caitlyn]

Your shawl is beautiful, Beth! I love the color. I like Annie's suggestion of wearing it like a scarf.

[Leah]

There are several shawl/scarfs that are popular despite being quite small. I like the way you have it modeled in the left photo. Very pretty.

[erin]

It's so beautiful! I had a flower basket shawl about this size that I wore as a scarf round my neck. It's actually very covenient because I didn't have to contend with the long ends that come with the usual long scarves that one wears at the neck.

[Estella]

Beth, your shawl is lovely! I love the color too! I have a collection of patterns for shawls, wraps, stoles that I want to make but I haven't tried one yet as I have the same concern...how will I wear it? I agree with Leah's post...the way you wear it on the left hand photo looks great.

[mia]

Wow, that turned out nice! Actually, I like the over the shoulder look on you :)

[Lynne]

It's really pretty, Beth. I would loosely tie it like a scarf...or just drape it over your shoulders. The color is very nice, and I would think you have to find something to wear with it...dress, a cute jacket over jeans. Something!

[keri]

Great job - it's beautiful! I would just loosely tie it over my shoulder like a scarf - and a new outfit? Definitely!

[joy]

love the shawl!!!
I love wearing shawls that small.
I always wear them around my neck like a scarf.
I find that the more I try and make it look nice-it ends up looking worse.
I just put it around tie a knot in the front or side and bunch it up around the knot-eventually the point of the scarf finds its way out and it looks more natural.
does that even make sense?

by the way, baby surprise is really fun and really easy to knit

[lindiepindie]

How pretty! I was going to suggest wearing it like a scarf as well, but it would be a shame that all the detail wouldn't show up as well. Sorry, I'm not much help here!

[patti]

I think your shawl is beautiful. I have never removed an edging to knit more repeats, but if you would really like it bigger I say go for it. Make sure to have a lifeline in!

I knit a flower basket shawl that was about that size, I gave it to my mother in law and she wraps it around her shoulders at night while reading in bed. That doesn't help you though! I tried it on and figured the best way to wear it would be with a shawl pin, to the side like you have in your photo.

I changed my name on typepad to simplehappy so you may see it pop up in your bloglines!

[Katie]

That's BEE-YOO-tiful, Beth! I love the pattern, and the color! My Forest Canopy turned out smaller than expected, too. I think I would just wear it like a scarf.

[Patricia]

I having been eying that shawl for quite a while now. You just gave me impetus to take a better look.

[leslie]

I actually love it this size.....and both ways shown....just "a little" something for your shoulders on chilly evenings! love the color too!

[Rachel]

I agree, a new dress is definitely in order! I like how you are wearing the shawl in the first picture. That's how I prefer to wear my smaller shawls.

[Debby]

I think you can wear it a variety of ways depending on what else you're wearing. The photo on the left looks especially pretty, and you can also tuck it inside a coat if/when your weather gets cooler.

[amandajean]

your shawl is beautiful...I love the color!