Slipping into Winter Cowl

Slipping into Winter Cowl

It's been a while since I mentioned it, but it's still true: my four-year-old is still obsessed with pink. Therefore, any time I take him to the craft store, I leave with at least one skein of rose-colored yarn. And when he chose this fiber, I decided to pair the pink with a nice blue-green for a double-wrapping, super snuggly cowl. The graphic color pattern and thick yarn make this a fun, reasonably quick knit that's unapologetically snuggle-tastic.

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Chunky (75% Acrylic, 25% Wool; 143 yards [131 meters]/100 grams); #029 Pastel Pink - one skein (color A), & #0670 Teal Heather - one skein (color B)

A closer version of the pattern.
As you can see, my slipped stitches
face opposite directions in the different
colors. Grafting, baby.

Needles: One 32" circular needle in size US 10, one 32" or longer circular needle in similar needle size (to hold one half of work for grafting) (also, you don't need this needle if you're going to knit straight through instead of grafting)

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 14 stitches = 4 inches

So let's make a cowl! Of course, before we get started, I should mention one thing. Namely, that I made this cowl in two halves and then grafted them together because I wanted the long slipped stitches in contrasting colors to face each other, rather than continue in the same direction (as you can see in the picture above). If you'd rather not graft a whole heck of a lot of stitches together and/or if you prefer to have all of your long slipped stitches oriented in the same direction, I'll give alternate directions for that option below. 

However, no matter which way you're making this thing, you will begin like so: using your 32" circular needle in size US 10 and your color A yarn, cast on 138 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Then we'll knit a few edging rows, like so:

Build-Your-Own DK Weight Hat

Build-Your-Own DK Weight Hat

I designed this pattern with one goal in mind; namely, that it could be the first in-the-round project for a beginning knitter who had learned how to knit and purl but not much else. Or in other words, it's supposed to be a tutorial. Of course, you don't have to be a beginning knitter to enjoy it - with a basic design like this, there's all sorts of customization you can add. Throw in stripes or a stitch pattern with a 2-, 4-, or 8-stitch repeat, and you can turn this basic little hat into another beast entirely! Or, add a few inches and omit the knit rows in the decrease and you'll have a gathered crown. And add a few extra inches to THAT and it's slouchy as well!!!!

Oh, and another thing, guys - this is my first tutorial style pattern. So if I seem to be missing an instruction, please let me know! We can make it perfect together. :)

Sizes: 12 Months (Toddler; Child; Teen/Small Adult; Large Adult) 

A closer view of the crown.

Yarn: Malabrigo Rastita (100% Merino Wool; 310 yards [285 meters]/100 grams); #850 Archangel - one skein (all sizes)

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size US 5; one 16" circular needle in size US 6, and one set of double pointed needles (dpns), also in size US 6

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 22 stitches = 4 inches on size 6 needles 

Let's make a hat, shall we? First, a note about the sizing. As with virtually any sized knitting pattern, I will give directions in the same order as the sizes appear above. If you're making an adult small, for instance, you'll always use the direction second from the end of the line (or in other words, you'll be casting on 112 stitches here in a moment). My only tip with this direction is that it can be useful to print your pattern and highlight the correct sizes if you're knitting something with a lot of them - otherwise, the numbers can run together. So go ahead and do that if need be. And, once you're done, it's time to get down to business!

Dot Knot Cowl

Dot Knot Cowl

I've been on a clean design kick lately, so when I saw this understated stitch pattern I just knew I had to try it. From there, it was just a matter of choosing a yarn and an edging to match (the top edging is also rolled down, which adds a fun touch). One word of caution, however; I wouldn't knit this pattern with a darkly-colored yarn, as the stitch pattern would probably get swallowed up in the hue.

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Cotton Rich DK (64% Cotton, 36% Nylon; 135.60 yards [124 meters]/50 grams); #2730 - two skeins

A closer look at the dotty little pattern.
Subtle, but nice!

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size US 6

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 22 stitches = 4 inches

So let's make a cowl! To do it, we'll cast on 114 stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. And then we'll get to our edging stitch, which is Close Stitch from page 94 of Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. And it goes like so:

Edging Row 1: purl

Edging Row 2: * slip 1 with yarn in back (sl1 wyib), k1; rep from *