Subtle Cowl Pattern

  I recently knit my favorite thing ever.

 

Well...my favorite thing ever besides this hat. 

You see it all started with this yarn. 

 

photo from eatsleepknit

This beautiful, subtle yarn. I bought it in December at the yarn store I used to frequent every Friday night in college. 

Wild and crazy gal right here. 

Thank goodness they didn't carry Madeline Tosh when I was in school otherwise my husband would have kicked my butt for how much debt I was bringing into our marriage. 

But I found this yarn and I squeezed it. 

I 'oohed' and 'awwwed' over it. 

And my husband told me to buy it. He actually encouraged me to buy it. 

My search for the perfect pattern showing off the subtle color changes began. I checked out stitch pattern books from the library, spent hours on ravelry trying to find a pattern and cast on then ripped out this cowl almost a dozen times. 

Anything somewhat complicated made the color shifts get lost in the pattern. I needed something simple. Something basic. Something that really highlighted the natural beauty of this yarn. 

This pattern is simple. 

So simple that I feel silly for writing it out, but maybe you are searching for something like I was and this will be the perfect pattern for your yarn.

If you are looking for a pattern that really lets your yarn shine, here it is.

 ~ Subtle Cowl Pattern ~

(want a print friendly version? Click here)

MATERIALS 

Yarn: 1 skein of Madelinetosh Pashmina yarn or around 350 yards of another sport weight yarn. 

The Madelinetosh yarn shown is the 'Alizarin' colorway.

Needles: US Size 8 Circulars, 24" length

Notions: Tapestry Needle, Stitch Marker

SIZE and GAUGE

This pattern creates a cowl that is long and is able to be wrapped around your neck once.
  Height - Approximately 8 inches tall after blocking

Gauge - 5.5 stitches wide per inch

If you would like to increase or decrease the pattern, do so in increments of 2 stitches.

PATTERN ABBREVIATIONS

(if you need any help with how to do any of these, check out Lion Brand's website)

K - Knit

s1wyif - bring yarn in the front, slip one stitch knitwise, bring yarn to the back

DIRECTIONS

Cast on 220 stitches.

I used the knitted cast on (found here), but if you have a different stretchier version you prefer, go hog wild.

Join in the round without twisting any stitches and add a stitch marker at the first stitch.

Row 1: Knit all stitches

 Row 2: s1wyif, K1 * repeat until end of round

Row 3: Knit all stitches

Row 4: K1, s1wyif * repeat until end of round

 (note: this stitch pattern is also known as the half-linen stitch)

Knit these four rows until you get the desired height of your cowl or until you only have enough yarn left to bind off. 

Bind off using your preferred method. Your bind off needs to be stretchy and elastic though. I recommend and love Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off (found here).

~ With Love, Ashlee ~