Notched Front Cowl

Notched Front Cowl

At this point, I imagine that everyone who looks at my patterns regularly has already figured out that I like to come up with new shapes for cowls. And I do, mostly because scarves have become impractical now that my children can use them to try to strangle me (unintentionally, of course). So the Notched Front Cowl is yet another entry into my new-shapes-for-cowls canon, and one that can be styled a couple of different ways (see below for pics). It's also a good design for those who have just begun to knit in the round, or who want more practice with basic increases and decreases.

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Sierra (80% Pima Cotton, 20% Merino Wool; 191 yards [175 meters]/100 grams); #01 (White) - one skein


The back.
I would have done a close up, but I'm pretty sure you've seen
seed stitch before.

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size 7

Notions: Tapestry needle, three stitch markers

Gauge: 20 stitches = 4 inches

Cast on 101 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Then we'll go straight into a seed stitch for the first part of the pattern. Or in knitting terms, we'll proceed like so:

Row 1: k1, * p1, k1; rep from *

Row 2: p1, * k1, p1 *

Knit rows 1 & 2 until piece measures roughly 3". It doesn't matter which row you end on. And now, we'll knit one transition row to place our extra markers, like so:

Transition Row: k35, place marker, k31, place marker, knit until end of round

And now we'll begin the next portion of the pattern. So let's proceed as follows!

Row 1: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k12, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 2 and all even rows: knit, slipping extra markers when you come to them

Row 3: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k11, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 5: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k10, k2tog, yo, k7, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 7: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k9, k2tog, yo, k9, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 9: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k8, k2tog, yo, k11, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 11: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k7, k2tog, yo, k13, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 13: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k6, k2tog, yo, k15, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 15: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k5, k2tog, yo, k17, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 17: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k4, k2tog, yo, k19, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 19: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k3, k2tog, yo, k21, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 21: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k2, k2tog, yo, k23, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 23: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k1, k2tog, yo, k25, yo, ssk, knit until next marker, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 25: knit until first marker, m1l, slip marker, k2tog, yo, k27, yo, ssk, slip marker, m1r, knit until end of row

Row 26: knit, slipping extra markers when you come to them

Knit rows 1 - 26 and then clip your yarn tail, since we'll no longer be knitting from the back seam any longer. Remove your row marker, and slip all stitches up to the first extra marker onto your right-hand needle. Remove the first extra marker and transfer the 31 stitches between the two markers onto a piece of scrap yarn (you can remove your second marker as well). Now, we'll be working back and forth on your circular needles on the bigger chunk of stitches. So, beginning at whichever end you please, proceed as follows:

Row 1: * k1, p1 *

Row 2: * p1, k1 *

Knit rows 1 & 2 three times and then bind off loosely in pattern. Next, transfer the 31 reserved stitches to your needles and, beginning on the wrong side, knit as follows:

Rows 1 & 3 (wrong side): purl

Rows 2 & 4: p1, k29, p1

Rows 5 - 10: p1, * k1, p1 *

Knit rows 1 - 10 and then bind off loosely in pattern. Tuck in ends and block.

You can also style it with the seed stitch edge draped in.