Sunburst Cowl

Sunburst Cowl

If you've poked around my blog at all, you already probably know that I love a good cowl (so efficient! harder for the kids to tug on! never has ends that could dangle in a toilet!, etc). And this is another design, made with sock yarn since that's what I've got hanging around. It's also easy to style in a couple of different shapes, and has a nice, lightweight appearance overall. Well, and yours doesn't have to be yellow...

Oh, and before we get started, I highly recommend you read through the pattern before beginning, just so you know how many repeats of different stitch sets we'll be doing!

Yarn: ShibuiKnits Sock (100% Superwash Merino; 191 yards [175 meters]/50 grams); #1900 Bright Canary Yellow - one skein


Needles: one 24" circular needle in size 4

The ol' pattern close-up.  Notice the holes.

Notions: tapestry needle, three stitch markers or scraps of yarn to mark stitches

Gauge: 26 stitches = 4 inches

To get started, we're going to cast on 198 stitches, place marker, and join in a round. Next, we're going to place the other two markers like so - k30, place another marker, p138, place another marker, and knit to beginning of row (30 stitches).

And now it's time to knit exactly ONE repeat of the main pattern, which goes as follows (we'll return to it later in the piece, although we're gonna do some short rows before we get back to it):

Row 1: p30, slip marker, * k2tog, yo, k1; rep from * until you reach the next marker, slip marker, p30

Rows 2 & 4: k30, slip marker, *k1, p1, k1 * until next marker, slip marker, k30

Row 3: p30, slip marker, * k1, yo, k2tog * until you reach the next marker, slip marker, p30

Now that we've done a single repeat of the main pattern, let's move on to the next part of the piece, which combines short rows with decreases. Or in other words:

Row 1 (short row): p30, slip marker, * k2tog, yo, k1 * until you reach next marker.  Remove marker, w&t, and replace marker.

Row 2 (short row): * p1, k1, p1 * until you reach marker.  Remove marker, w&t, and replace marker

Row 3 (short row): * k1, yo, k2tog * until you reach marker, w&t, and replace marker

Row 4 (short row): same as row 2

Row 5: * k2tog, yo, k1 * until you reach next marker.  Slip marker and purl until end of row

Row 6: k30, slip marker, (k2tog) three times, * k1, p1, k1 * until there are six stitches before next marker; (ssk) three times, slip marker, k30

Row 7 (short row): p30, slip marker, * k1, yo, k2tog * until you reach next marker.  Remove marker, w&t, and replace marker. 

Row 8 (short row): same as row 2

Row 9 (short row): * k2tog, yo, k1 * until you reach marker, w&t, and replace marker

Row 10 (short row): same as row 2

Row 11: * k1, yo, k2tog * until you reach next marker.  Slip marker and purl until end of row

Row 12: k30, slip marker, (k2tog) three times, * k1, p1, k1 * until there are six stitches before next marker; (ssk) three times, slip marker, k30

Knit rows 1 - 12 two times through, and then we're going to continue in the same fashion, except omitting the decreases. Like so:

Row 1 (short row): p30, slip marker, * k2tog, yo, k1 * until you reach next marker.  Remove marker, w&t, and replace marker.

Row 2 (short row): * p1, k1, p1 * until you reach marker.  Remove marker, w&t, and replace marker

Row 3 (short row): * k1, yo, k2tog * until you reach marker, w&t, and replace marker

Row 4 (short row): same as row 2

Row 5: * k2tog, yo, k1 * until you reach next marker.  Slip marker and purl until end of row

Row 6: k30, slip marker, * k1, p1, k1 * until you reach next marker, slip marker, k30

Row 7 (short row): p30, slip marker, * k1, yo, k2tog * until you reach next marker.  Remove marker, w&t, and replace marker. 

Row 8 (short row): same as row 2

Row 9 (short row): * k2tog, yo, k1 * until you reach marker, w&t, and replace marker

Row 10 (short row): same as row 2

Row 11: * k1, yo, k2tog * until you reach next marker.  Slip marker and purl until end of row

Row 12: k30, slip marker, * k1, p1, k1 * until you reach next marker, slip marker, k30

After knitting this set of rows one time through, it's time to dispense with the short rows all together, and go back to the main pattern instead.  As a refresher: 

Row 1: p30, slip marker, * k2tog, yo, k1; rep from * until you reach the next marker, slip marker, p30

Rows 2 & 4: k30, slip marker, *k1, p1, k1 * until next marker, slip marker, k30

Row 3: p30, slip marker, * k1, yo, k2tog * until you reach the next marker, slip marker, p30

Continue in pattern until piece measures roughly 6", or desired length and you've just completed row 2 or 4 of the pattern. Bind of loosely. Tuck in ends and you're done!