Rock That Selfie Cowl

Rock That Selfie Cowl
in the farmer's market at Bürkliplatz

Okay, I'm scared I'm going to forget to tell you all of the relevant information about this cowl if I ramble on too long beforehand, so let me skip the intro and go straight to the details. First off, then, I made this cowl with a 120 gram bundle of 6 mini skeins; often, mini skeins come in 100 gram bundles with 5 skeins and if you have one of those that's okay too! You can still use your bundle to make this cowl, you'll simply have two fewer stripes (but since mine measures over 14" long I promise yours will still have a decent length too!). Secondly, I made this cowl top-to-bottom, because I wanted my gray yarn to be nearest to my face. You can make your cowl top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top, as you prefer, but I highly recommend finishing the TOP end with the i-cord bind off and the BOTTOM end with the picot bind off, since it spreads more and I personally prefer that spread towards the bottom. And third, this cowl is a perfect choice for scrap yarn if you don't have minis, and the basic design makes it a perfect choice to adapt for different weight yarns - so if you have any questions in that vein, just hit me up in the comments! :)

Oh, and yes - I did selfie for all of these pictures myself (it's such a nice pop of color for a picture!)... but with a friend in tow, so everyone we passed very clearly thought I was a lunatic who refused to ask for help with my photos!!!

Yarn: Martin's Lab Mini Bundle (100% Merino; 6 mini skeins of {80 yards [73 meters]/20 grams}); gray (color A), pink (color B), purple speckled (color C), green (color D), dark purple (color E), and periwinkle (color F)

You can see the i-cord bind off
on top and the picot bind off on
bottom... and the Limmat
in the background!

Needles: one 16" circular needle in size US 3, one needle in size US 2 or 3 (for i-cord bind off; smaller size is recommended), and one needle in size US 4 (optional, for provisional cast on)

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker, roughly 3' of scrap yarn for provisional cast on

Gauge: 28 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette on size US 3 needles

So let's get started! Using your color A yarn and your larger needles, if required (otherwise your size US 3 circular is fine), cast on 155 stitches provisionally. Then, if you used a larger needle to cast on, transfer stitches to your size US 3 circular, and in both cases place marker and join in round. Knit twelve rows, including your provisional row in that count, and then begin the striping pattern, as follows:

Rows 1 - 12: using your color B yarn, knit

Rows 13 - 24: using your color C yarn, knit

Rows 25 - 36: using your color D yarn, knit

Rows 37 - 48: using your color E yarn, knit

Rows 49 - 60: using your color F yarn, knit

Rows 61 - 72: using your color A yarn, knit

Knit rows 1 - 72 once and then knit rows 1 - 60 again. Now we'll complete a picot bind off for the bottom edge of the cowl, as follows. Notice I've written it out and included a video, in case you need a demonstration (and I know I made the video for another pattern and mention it during the video but I promise the principle is the same!!!).

Picot Bind Off: using color B, * cast on two stitches using the cable cast on. Then, bind off 4 stitches (you will need 5 stitches to do this, since it takes 2 stitches to complete the first bound off stitch). Place stitch on your right-hand needle back on your left hand needle; rep from *

Complete your picot bind off and then transfer your provisional stitches from the other end of your cowl back to your size US 3 circular needle. On this end (the top end), we're going to do an i-cord bind off, as follows. Remember to use your (ideally size US 2) extra needle as your right-hand needle when you do this rather than the other half of your circular; it will make the whole thing go more smoothly! You can also find a video for the technique below... Oh, and I just did the bind off regularly and seamed it when I finished; you can also cast on your first three stitches provisionally and graft them to the final 3 stitches of your bind off, if you prefer something a bit more seamless. :)

I-cord Bind Off: using your color A yarn, cable cast on 3 stitches. Then, * k2, k2tog (this k2tog will include the last three of your i-cord stitches and one stitch from the body of your cowl); slip stitches purlwise back from your right-hand needle to your left hand needle; rep from *

Complete your i-cord bind off (you can finish it by knitting the final three stitches together through the back loops). Seam the two ends of the i-cord together and tuck in ends. Block, and then selfie with pride!

At Grossmünster!

Near the Opera House!

In front of a funny cart!

At the farmer's market!

Near the circus tent!

By the lake!