Starry Night Cowl

Starry Night Cowl

I fell in love with this yarn as soon as I touched it; the bamboo and superwash wool give it a very nice feel, and it knits up really nicely, giving the finished fabric a beautiful drape. And as far as my design goes, I started with a cables and lace pattern and then dropped the cables towards the top, so it would drape more gently around the neck. Ultimately, I'm sure a solid color would show off the pattern better than this variegated one does, but this delicate cowl still feels super-good on.

The shoulder. Here, you can see the transition
of the cable into the "starry night" eyelets
above it.

Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Superwash (51% Bamboo, 39% Superwash Wool, 10% Nylon; 186 yards [172 meters]/50 grams); #2004 Mint Print - 2 skeins

Needles: One 24" circular needle in size 2, cable needle (cn) or double pointed needle (dpn) for cabling

Notions: Tapestry needle and 3 stitch markers, or scraps of yarn to mark your stitches (this is probably the better option, given the gauge)

Gauge: 31 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette

So let's get started! First, cast on 248 stitches loosely, place marker or yarn scrap, and join in round. Then, knit 24, place another marker, and knit until you have 24 stitches left in your row and place another. Finish the row knitting. And before we get started on the main pattern, let's complete the following rows:

Row 1: purl, slipping extra markers when you come to them

Row 2: knit, slipping extra markers when you come to them

And now let's move on to the pattern, for which we'll need the following notation:

fc (front cross): slip 3 stitches to cn and hold in front, k3, k3 from cn

Row 1: purl until you're two stitches before first marker, k2tog; next, slip marker, * ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k4, p1, k1, (ssk, yo) 3 times, k6, (yo, k2tog) 3 times, k1, p1, k1; rep from * until you're 8 stitches from next marker; end ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k3. Slip marker, ssk, and purl until end of round (-2 stitches)

Row 2, and all even rows: knit until you reach marker, slip marker, then; * k9, p1, k20, p1, k1 * until you're 8 stitches from next marker, knit until marker, slip marker, and knit until end of round

Row 3: purl until you're two stitches before first marker, k2tog; next, slip marker, * k1, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, k5, p1, k1, (ssk, yo) 3 times, fc, (yo, k2tog) 3 times, k1, p1, k1 * until you're 8 stitches from next marker; end k1, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, k4. Slip marker, ssk, and purl until end of round (-2 stitches)

Row 5: repeat row 1 (-2 stitches)

Row 7: purl until you're two stitches before first marker, k2tog; next, slip marker, * k3, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k1, p1, k1, (ssk, yo) 3 times, k6, (yo, k2tog) 3 times, k1, p1, k1; rep from * until you're 8 stitches from next marker; end k3, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog. Slip marker, ssk, and purl until end of round (-2 stitches)

Row 9: purl until you're two stitches before first marker, k2tog; next, slip marker, * k4, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, k2, p1, k1, (ssk, yo) 3 times, fc, (yo, k2tog) 3 times, k1, p1, k1 * until you're 8 stitches from next marker; end k4, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, k1. Slip marker, ssk, and purl until end of round (-2 stitches)

Row 11: repeat row 7 (-2 stitches)

Knit rows 1 - 12 until you only have 1 stitch between your row marker and each of your extra stitch markers. At this point, you should be preparing to begin Row 11 of your pattern. Remove extra markers, and knit row 11 as follows:

Row 11 (alternate): k2tog, k2, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, * k1, p1, k1, (ssk, yo) 3 times, k6, (yo, k2tog) 3 times, k1, p1, k4, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog *; end k3tog

Then knit Row 12 like so: k9, * p1, k20, p1, k10 *

And once you're done with that, it's time to transition to the next part of the pattern (transition rows 3 & 4 include decreases as well, just to give you a heads up). So let's continue like so:

Transition Row 1: ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k3, * p3, k2tog, k6, yo, k2, yo, k6, ssk, p3, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k3 *

Transition Row 2: k8, * p3, k18, p3, k8 *

Transition Row 3: k1, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, k4, * p3, k2tog, k1, (k1, k2tog, yo) 4 times, k1, ssk, p3, k1, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, k4 *

Transition Row 4: k8, * p3, k2tog, k14, p3, k8 *

Transition Row 5: ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k3, * p3, (k2tog, yo, k1) 5 times, p3, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k3 *

Transition Row 6: k8, * p3, k15, p3, k8 *

Which brings us to our second pattern, which goes as follows:

Row 1: k3, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, * p3, (k1, k2tog, yo) 5 times, p3, k3, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog *

Row 2 and all even rows: k8, * p3, k15, p3, k8 *

Row 3: k4, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, k1, * p3, k1, (yo, k1, k2tog) 4 times, yo, k2tog, p3, k4, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, k1 *

Row 5: same as row 1

Row 7: ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k3, * p3, k1, (yo, k1, k2tog) 4 times, yo, k2tog, p3, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k3 *

Row 9: k1, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, k4, * p3, (k1, k2tog, yo) 5 times, p3, k1, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, k4 *

Row 11: same as row 7

Knit rows 1 - 12 once, and then knit rows 1 - 6 one more time. Bind off loosely, knitting the knit stitches and purling the purls. Tuck in ends. Block, if desired.

One part of the pattern, draped over my arm so you can see it.

The other part, with the cabling and whatnot.