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| Madeira Mesh Cowl |
I'll be honest: I bought this yarn because it was on sale, and I thought it was very pretty in a neutral sort of way. And then I found this nice stitch pattern, which is both reversible and open, and I FINALLY convinced myself to make a simple cowl, without any shaping, whose difficulty lies in the stitch pattern alone. Yup, that pretty much covers it.
Yarn: Berroco Linsey (64% Cotton, 36% Linen; 114 yards [105 meters]/50 grams); #6556 Shell - two skeins
Needles: One 24" circular needle in size 6
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| A close-up of the pattern |
Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker or yarn scrap to mark end of round
Gauge: 21 stitches = 4 inches
Cast on 144 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Next, knit one set-up row in a knit one, purl one design. Finally, it's time to begin the main pattern, which is Madeira Mesh from page 151 of Barbara G. Walter's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, and goes as follows:
Rows 1, 3, & 5: * yo, p3tog, yo, k3; rep from *
Rows 2, 4 & 6: * yo, k3tog, yo, p3 *
Rows 7, 9, & 11: * k3, yo, p3tog, yo *
Rows 8, 10, & 12: * p3, yo, k3tog, yo *
Knit all rows of pattern four times in total, or until desired length is reached. Knit a final row in a knit one, purl one design. Bind off loosely, tuck in ends. Guess what? You're done!
Am I correct to assume the stitch pattern is 6 stitches? If I wanted to make this longer would it be correct to add increments of 6?
ReplyDeleteYou've got it - any multiple of six should do you! And I bet this would look nice as a longer piece...
DeleteThis looks great. What do you mean by: "knit one, set up row"?
ReplyDeleteHi Julia! All I mean is that, after casting on, you should knit one round in a * k1, p1 * pattern before you begin the main pattern. Let me know if you need any more help!
DeleteI have some of this very yarn in my stash without a project. This is the one! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great coincidence! Please, let me know if you have any questions!!!
DeleteLove this pattern. I live in a very remote area, though, and don't have any of this yarn available. What weight yarn is linzey? I will use something from my stash. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy! Either a heavier dk or a lighter worsted should do you just fine on this pattern. That's one of the nice things about an open cowl - they're not very fussy about gauge!
DeleteThank you for the darling Madeira Cowl! Can't wait to knit it!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you like it! Hope it turns out well. :) And, of course, don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!!!
DeleteI am a very new knitter, what does yo and tog mean....lol!
ReplyDeleteHello there!
DeleteIn general, you can find terms defined in my glossary page, here: http://www.ballstothewallsknits.com/p/glossary-of-knitting-terms.html
But, to answer your question, yo means yarn over (which is where you wind the yarn once around your right-hand needle in order to add a stitch), and tog is an abbreviation for together (so k2tog is knit 2 together). Let me know if you have any other questions! :)
Thanks so much! I have been doing these things and didn't even know it! LOL!
DeleteKnitting must be coming naturally to you then! :)
DeleteI like the look of this open pattern, however I'd rather make a scarf, not a cowl. However, you can't really do a YO at the beginning of a row. So would it be possible to use this pattern for a scarf somehow?? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteTotally! I think the easiest thing to do would be to add a garter or seed stitch border at the edge - that way you won't be starting with a yarn over. You will also need to convert the pattern for back-and-forth knitting rather than in-the-round knitting. Let me know if you need any help! :)
DeleteHow many stitches would you suggest for the border? Just a couple? Yes, help, how would I convert the pattern for back-and-forth knitting? I didn't think of that! Thanks.
DeleteLuckily for you, it's actually simpler to knit this pattern back and forth and in the round! Here's the pattern I'd use for a scarf:
DeleteCast on 31 stitches and knit the following edging rows:
Edging Row 1 (wrong side): knit
Edging Row 2: knit
Edging Row 3: knit
And then move to the pattern, as follows:
Rows 1 - 6: k2, * yo, p3tog, yo, k3; rep from * until you have 5 stitches left in row, end yo, p3tog, yo, k2
Rows 7 - 12: k2, * k3, yo, p3tog, yo; from from * until you have 5 stitches left in row, end k5
Knit rows 1 - 12 until desired length is reached; knit three rows as edging, bind off loosely, and tuck in ends. You can also modify the cast-on number as desired; simply add or subtract multiples of 6 stitches. Good luck! :)
Oops, I meant simpler back and forth THAN in the round! :)
DeleteThank you so much!
DeleteHello - first off, thank you for all your sharing of these neat patterns. On this one, I am definitely doing something wrong. I tried to do the circular pattern, and each row got less and less - it decreased every time. Any suggestions. Thank you
DeleteHi! First off, how many stitches are you losing? My first idea is that you may be missing the first or last yo of each row - those are the easiest ones to forget. If that's not it, let me know, and I'll try to think of something else! :)
DeleteHi! Thanks for sharing this lovely pattern. I'm also having the decreasing problem... When I yo, should I wrap it around the needle an extra time? Otherwise I seem to just be switching between purl and knit without adding a stitch to compensate for the two decreases of the k3tog. Or perhaps its something else? Thank you
ReplyDeleteHi there!
DeleteYarn overs between purl and knit and knit and purl stitches are always a bit trickier than yarn overs between just knits or just purls. This tutorial covers all of the possibilities: http://knitting.about.com/od/learntoknit/ss/yarn-over.htm#step1
Let me know if you have any other questions! :)
Wow! Your response time is phenomenal :-) That looks like it will solve my decrease issue--many, many thanks!
DeleteI am always happy to help. And my response time varies depending on my children, so you may have just gotten lucky! :)
DeleteHi Gretchen - Thank you for these lovely patterns! I can wait to try the Madeira cowl first. ;O)
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome. :) And please, let me know if you have any questions!
DeleteGretchen,
ReplyDeleteThank you for a great pattern--exactly what I've been searching for a special yarn I have! Your patterns are wonderful and have excellent instructions!
I'm always happy to help with those pesty stash yarns!!! :) Glad you are enjoying my patterns, and please let me know if you have any questions!
Deletemust try this looks fab.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it! Let me know if you have any questions! :)
DeleteThank you for this beautiful pattern! Getting back to knitting from a long time off. Help me understand - Are the yarnovers all above one another in a row or am I missing something? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you like it! And yes, this is one of those mesh patterns where you work decreases and increases on every row - so, the yarn overs are above each other, but the yarn over on the row below will be worked into whatever decrease follows (the k3tog or the p3tog). Does that help?
DeleteJust came across your lovely pattern !I am going to try it for a shawl. Thanks so very much!!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful! Let me know if you have any questions!!!
DeleteI have quivet yarn (musk ox) would it work in this pattern?
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm sure you could use this pattern for your yarn, although if I were you I might do a few swatches with different needle sizes since the stuff is so precious! That way you can determine if you like it better with a tighter or looser appearance and adapt the pattern to your preference. Any number divisible by six will work for your cast on!
Delete