Materials:
359 yards sport weight yarn- I used 1 skein of Madeline Tosh Pashmina (75% merino, 15% silk, 10% cashmere) 360 yards per 117g skein; in the curiosity colorway (a lovely blue/purple that to me looks just like lilacs).
24″ US 7/4mm circular needle
tapestry needle for BO and weaving in ends
Finished dimensions:
unstretched- 16″ tall x 26″ around
gently stretched- 13″ tall x 34″ around
aggressively stretched 10″ tall x 64″ around
Using tubular cast on, CO 180 sts onto needles, pm (place marker) and join for working in the round. Work in 1×1 (k1, p1) rib until there is only enough yarn left to knit one or two more rounds. (As I was in a car at the time I was unable to accurately measure this but I estimated about 5 or 6 yards give or take, to be safe you may want to leave a little more). With yarn tail threaded on the tapestry needle work a sewn tubular CO, weave in ends and wear everyday for a week before you remember to take it off to wash/block it.
If you (like me) prefer written instruction with good pictures when you’re learning a new thing, for the tubular cast on and bind off, check out The TECHknitter’s CO and The TECHknitter’s BO or Montse Stanley’s The Knitters’ Handbook… (which is my absolute favorite resource for all knitting questions). The tubular CO and BO are the sort of knitting that makes perfect sense when you’ve done it but can be completely frustrating when you’re trying to learn it, so if those links didn’t work for you try a google search for many alternate methods to achieve the same result.
Sometimes it is the simplest knits that end up being the most elegant and useful. This is of course helped by great yarn, and we both have a passion for Madelinetosh yarns it seems. Thanks for this pattern for a very nice scarf/cowl. Yours is lovely in this color. You are having such a great success with your designing! Congrats to you and it is our gain! I see a book in your near future!
absolutely perfect – yarn and pattern! thanks so much for sharing, i can’t wait to make my own. but, what color to choose?!
Pingback: Friday Finds « Threadpanda
PERFECT . Very stylish. Best model. Thank you
I’m what you call a self taught knitter. When I saw your designs in Knitscene Summer 2011, I fell in love with them. Congratulations on your success.
Bernie
Hi! First off I love the design and cast this on months ago.. but my question to you is was the pictured FO stretched out after knitting? After casting on said amount mine looks much smaller, nothing like yours. I would never be able to double wrap it without it constricting me to death.
But either way, thanks for the design.. !
Hi Megan,
My cowl looked much smaller while I was knitting it then when it came off the needle, and if you’ve substituted the yarn or the needle size you may get different results, but I think you’ll be amazed at how much it stretches after the tubular BO.
Good luck, let me know how it goes!
I love your work, and I would love to make this cowl. However, I was wondering if there are any good alternatives to Madelinetosh Pashmina? I would love to use this yarn, but simply can not afford it. Do you know of another good brand I, or others, could look at instead that is somewhat cheaper?
Hi Caitlin,
You can use any sport weight yarn that is super soft, I think most of the heavier sock yarns would be great too- Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light comes in amazing colors, http://berroco.com/shade_cards/ultra_alpaca_lt_sh.html and is pretty economical