Arrowhead Lace Cowl II

Arrowhead Lace Cowl II

When I first bought this yarn, I had a certain idea of what to do with it. Then, of course, the minute I started knitting, I realized that this fiber was unsuited for my plan - although it drapes nicely in this particular piece, it was too stiff for my original design. And THEN I remembered how lovely the lace pattern from the original Arrowhead Lace Cowl was, and I knew I had a winner for this fiber. To create a more necklace-like appearance, I also decided to seam the stockinette portion at the back of this piece. This also keeps it a lighter weight for warmer weather!

The pattern, again.

Yarn: Schachenmayr smc Cotton Bamboo (75% Cotton, 50% Bamboo; 131 yards [120 meters]/50 grams); #64 Aqua - two skeins

Needles: 24" circular needle in size 4

Notions: Tapestry needle, five stitch markers

Gauge: 22 stitches = 4 inches

So let's get started! First, cast on 181 stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. Then, knit 10, place first extra marker, k71, place second extra marker, k19, place third extra marker, and then knit until the you have 10 stitches left in the round and place your final extra marker. Then, knit until end of the round. And once that's done, it's time to begin our pattern, which incorporates Arrowhead Lace from page 193 of Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. As a side note, I read somewhere on the Internet (wish I remembered where!) that you can straighten out your ssk's by knitting the ssk stitch through the back loop when you come to it on the next round. I used that technique. You can too, if you want! Anyway, we'll proceed as follows:

Row 1: knit until first marker, slip marker, k1, * (yo, ssk) twice, k1, (k2tog, yo) twice, k1 * until you reach second marker, slip marker, knit until next marker and slip it, k1, * (yo, ssk) twice, k1, (k2tog, yo) twice, k1 * until you reach fourth marker, slip marker, and knit until end of round

Rows 2 & 4: knit, slipping all extra markers when you come to them

Row 3: knit until first marker, slip marker, k2, * yo, ssk, yo, slip 2 together knitwise-k1-p2sso, yo, k2tog, yo, k3 *, ending last repeat before marker k2 instead of k3, slip marker, ssk, knit until you're two stitches before next marker, k2tog, slip marker, k2, * yo, ssk, yo, slip 2 together knitwise-k1-p2sso, yo, k2tog, yo, k3 *, ending last repeat before fourth marker k2 instead of k3, slip marker, and knit until end of round

Knit rows 1 - 4 until you have three stitches left between your second and third markers; then, on your next iteration of the pattern, use the following replacement row for Row 3:

Row 3 Replacement: knit until first marker, slip marker, k2, * yo, ssk, yo, slip 2 together knitwise-k1-p2sso, yo, k2tog, yo, k3 *, ending last repeat before marker k2 instead of k3, slip marker, slip 2 together knitwise-k1-p2sso, slip marker, k2, * yo, ssk, yo, slip 2 together knitwise-k1-p2sso, yo, k2tog, yo, k3 *, ending last repeat before fourth marker k2 instead of k3, slip marker, and knit until end of round

Knit row 4 of the pattern, and then we'll continue on with the pattern, except without the decreases. And it will look like this:

Row 1: knit until first marker, slip marker, k1, * (yo, ssk) twice, k1, (k2tog, yo) twice, k1 * until you reach second marker, slip marker, k1, slip marker, k1, * (yo, ssk) twice, k1, (k2tog, yo) twice, k1 * until you reach fourth marker, slip marker, and knit until end of round

Rows 2 & 4: knit, slipping all extra markers when you come to them

Row 3: knit until first marker, slip marker, k2, * yo, ssk, yo, slip 2 together knitwise-k1-p2sso, yo, k2tog, yo, k3 *, ending last repeat before marker k2 instead of k3, slip marker, k1, slip marker, k2, * yo, ssk, yo, slip 2 together knitwise-k1-p2sso, yo, k2tog, yo, k3 *, ending last repeat before fourth marker k2 instead of k3, slip marker, and knit until end of round

Knit rows 1 - 4 until piece measures roughly 7" in length and you've just knit row 4 of your pattern. Bind off loosely, tuck in ends, and block. Finally, seam along 20 stitch stockinette portion at the back of the piece. Tuck in your new ends and block seam if you're finicky about that kind of stuff (I am not). Wear proudly!