Honey Cowl

Honey Cowl

I know summer hasn't even technically begun yet, but I figure there are at least a few of you who are already planning for fall. With that in mind, the Honey Cowl is made from a worsted-weight cotton-mix yarn and worked on large needles to give it a little bit more of a relaxed appearance. And while it might be difficult to tell from the pictures, the basketweave pattern that I've chosen for the main design is also a mesh, which gives this design a very unique look. Long story short, this cuddly cowl is perfect for the shoulder seasons, and would work well in most cotton- or acrylic-based worsted weight yarns!

Yarn: Berroco Remix (30% Nylon, 27% Cotton, 24% Acrylic, 10% Silk, 9% Linen; 216 yards [200 meters]/100 grams); #3953 Burnt Orange - one skein

A closeup of the basketweave.
Plus some really terrible lighting.
Apologies.

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size US 10.5 (there are a lot of stitches to begin with, so if you don't like knitting on full circulars you might want to start with a 24" or a 20" instead), cable needle (cn)

Notions: Tapestry needle

Gauge: 17 stitches = 4 inches on size 8 needles

So let's get started! First, then, cast on 119 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Then, we'll knit a marker placement/set-up row, as follows:

Marker Placement Row: p16, place marker, p1, k8, p1, place marker, p67, place marker, p1, k8, p1, place marker, purl until end of round

And now, we'll begin incorporating our main pattern, which is Open Basketweave Mesh from page 252 of Barbara G. Walker's Charted Knitting Designs: A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns, a cable, and some decreases. Oh, and we'll need the following notation:

rt (right twist): knit two together, leaving stitches on left-hand needle; next, insert right-hand needle from the front between the two stitches just knitted together, and knit the first stitch again. Finally, slip both stitches from left-hand needle together

lt (left twist): with right-hand needle behind left-hand needle, skip one stitch and knit the second stitch in back loop; then insert right-hand needle into the backs of both stitches and k2tog-b (knit two together through back loops, inserting right needle from the right)

bc (back cross): slip next 2 stitches to cn and hold in back, k2, k2 from cn

fc (front cross): slip next 2 stitch to cn and hold in front, k2, k2 from cn

And now that that's out of the way, let's proceed as follows:

Row 1: knit until you reach first marker, slip marker, p1, k8, p1, slip marker, k1, * yo, rt; rep from * until you reach next marker, slip marker, p1, k8, p1, slip marker, knit until end of round

Row 2: knit until you're two stitches before first marker, k2tog, slip marker, p1, bc, fc, p1, slip marker, k1, * k2tog, k1; rep from * until you reach next marker, slip marker, p1, bc, fc, p1, slip marker, ssk, knit until end of round (-2 stitches)

Row 3: knit until you reach first marker, slip marker, p1, k8, p1, slip marker, lt, * yo, lt; rep from * until you're one stitch before next marker, k1, slip marker, p1, k8, p1, slip marker, knit until end of round

Row 4: knit until you're two stitches before first marker, k2tog, slip marker, p1, k8, p1, slip marker, k2, * k2tog, k1; rep from * until you're one stitch before next marker, k1, slip marker, p1, k8, p1, slip marker, ssk, knit until end of round (-2 stitches)

Row 5: same as Row 1

Row 6: knit until you're two stitches before first marker, k2tog, slip marker, p1, k8, p1, slip marker, k1, * k2tog, k1; rep from * until you reach next marker, slip marker, p1, k8, p1, slip marker, ssk, knit until end of round (-2 stitches)

Row 7: same as Row 3

Row 8: knit until you're two stitches before first marker, k2tog, slip marker, p1, fc, bc, p1, slip marker, k2, * k2tog, k1; rep from * until you're one stitch before next marker, k1, slip marker, p1, fc, bc, p1, slip marker, ssk, knit until end of round (-2 stitches)

Knit rows 1 - 8 until you have 1 stitch between your row marker and your first marker and your row marker and your last marker and you've just finished row 6 of the pattern. Knit row 7, removing your first and last stitch markers when you do so. Then we'll knit the following transition row before moving to our pattern without increases:

Transition Row: p2tog, fc, bc, p1, slip marker, k2, * k2tog, k1; rep from * until you're one stitch before next marker, k1, slip marker, p1, fc, bc, p2tog (-2 stitches)

And once that row is complete, we'll continue as follows. Notice that it's the same basic pattern, except without the decreases.

Row 1: p1, k8, p1, slip marker, k1, * yo, rt; rep from * until you reach next marker, slip marker, p1, k8, p1

Row 2: p1, bc, fc, p1, slip marker, k1, * k2tog, k1; rep from * until you reach next marker, slip marker, p1, bc, fc, p1

Row 3: p1, k8, p1, slip marker, lt, * yo, lt; rep from * until you're one stitch before next marker, k1, slip marker, p1, k8, p1

Row 4: slip marker, p1, k8, p1, slip marker, k2, * k2tog, k1; rep from * until you're one stitch before next marker, k1, slip marker, p1, k8, p1

Row 5: same as Row 1

Row 6: p1, k8, p1, slip marker, k1, * k2tog, k1; rep from * until you reach next marker, slip marker, p1, k8, p1

Row 7: same as Row 3

Row 8: p1, fc, bc, p1, slip marker, k2, * k2tog, k1; rep from * until you're one stitch before next marker, k1, slip marker, p1, fc, bc, p1

Knit rows 1 - 8 and then knit row 1 again (if you have the yarn and want to make the piece a little longer, you could knit rows 1 - 8 twice, and then knit row 1 again). Then we'll knit one final row, like so:

Final Row: p1, k8, p1, remove marker, p1, * p2tog, p1; rep from * until you reach next marker, remove marker, p1, k8, p1 

Knit this final row and then bind off loosely. Tuck in ends and block.