Category Archives: cowl

Gaptastic Cowl: Quick Knitting with Estelle Colour Flair

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Gaptastic Cowl

The kids have been back in school for a month and the temperature is finally starting to feel a little bit more like fall, so it’s time to start thinking about fall and winter accessories!

I whipped up an old standby, the free Gaptastic Cowl, with a couple skeins of a new yarn, Estelle Colour Flair. The Gaptastic Cowl is a super easy knit, very accessible to newer knitters, and it whips up quickly on 8mm/US11 needles. The skills are just casting on in the round, knitting, purling, and binding off. Easy-peasy! If you prefer to make a scarf and you want the long narrow horizontal stripes, you can cast-on without joining in the round and make a scarf lengthwise. We used 2 skeins to make a cowl that’s 9″ deep, but if you want a really big, luxuriously sized scarf or cowl add a third ball.

Colour Flair is a great, soft, bulky to super bulky weight multicoloured wool with a longer colourway, which knits up in stripes. It’s made with 95% non-mulesled wool, so it’s made without hurting the sheep. It’s comes in several bright, pretty colourways, and a few subdued ones too (see pictures below). And at $16.97/ball it’s a very affordable option for a multi-coloured, natural fibre.

Size

9″ deep by 28″ (lying flat)

Materials

Estelle Colour Flair

Estelle Colour Flair is a multi-coloured super bulky yarn ideal for quick knitting and crochet projects with pops of colour. This thick-and-thin yarn is spun to add texture to your stitches while being lofty and soft. With playful and unique striping colours, Colour Flair is a fun choice for hats, scarves, and blankets. This yarn is made from non-mulesled wool.

FREE Colour Flair Hat & Cowl Set – DOWNLOAD HERE

  • 10-12 sts = 4″ on 8-10 mm / US 11-15 (7mm/US10.75 for hats)
  • 110 m / 120 yds / 100 g
  • 95% Wool, 5% Acrylic
  • Hand wash in cool water. Lay flat to dry. 
  • Non-mulesing
  • Made in Italy
  • SEE PROJECTS FOR THIS YARN

Notes

The sweater on the mannequin is Algoma, which we made last year with Drops MELODY.

If you’re looking closely and noticing that my edge is looking a bit textured and a little wonky that’s because I tried an alternating cable cast-on – sometimes you gotta try things to see how they work — sometimes you find out why nobody else does it. I didn’t bother ripping back, but I’d also not recommend the fancy cast-on for this project – just do a normal cast-on and you’ll be fine!

PROJECT Getting Warmer

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REMINDER: Yarn Swap Sat Jan 20

Just a quick reminder that our yarn swap is this Saturday January 20th, from 1-3 pm … you can find all the YARN SWAP DETAILS HERE!

Getting Warmer

Getting Warmer is a super little accessory … it’s a cowl, it’s a cape, it covers your neck, it snuggles your shoulders, if you need to you can pull it over your head! We made it in super lift, soft and fluffy Drops Melody, which is super light, fluffy and airy, so you can really scrunch it up under a coat or squish it into your luggage. It works up reasonably quickly on 6mm/US10 needles.

The pattern used to be free so you may already have it in your cloud-based pattern library (we featured it on our blog back in 2019), but it is now sold on Ravelry as an ebook with 9 other circular yoke patterns, so you get a lot of bang for your nine Canadian bucks.

Yarn

Drops Melody is a light blend of 71% Alpaca and 25% Wool, bound together with a smidge of polyamide. It’s soft , light, airy, and VERY fuzzy. It looks like a proper British mohair, but it feels like happy little baby alpacas romping through fields of daffodils and smiles. If you want to make yours at a looser tension the yarn is flexible, you can definitely go up to a 7mm/US10.75 or 8mm/US11 needle with this yarn!

There are some yarn alternatives listed at the bottom, in case you want a different yarn or textile.

Size

The fabric is very stretchy (see dimensions below), but if you want to make your Getting Warmer larger by adding extra increases or knitting longer be sure to get an extra ball, we only had 5g left.

Finished Dimensions:

  • width at bottom: 23″/58cm (30″/76cm stretched)
  • width at neck: 9.5″/24cm
  • total height: 16″/40cm
  • height of neck alone: 4″/10cm
  • height of yoke alone: 12″/30cm

Materials

Other Yarn Options

Malabrigo Mecha: 3 skeins SEE PROJECTS ONLINE

Berroco Vintage Chunky: 3 skeins SEE FINISHED PROJECTS

Drops Air + Drops Kid Silk: 2 balls + 2 balls SEE PROJECTS ONLINE

Berroco Wizard: 2 skeins

FINISHED Accessories in Wizard

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Infinitude

Infinitude is a really easy cowl great for knitters both experienced and less-so. A few years ago we made it in a solid colour of Drops Air, and it’s been so popular that I figured it was worth punching up with some colour. We made the smaller size of this cowl with one ball of Berroco Wizard (see our Ravelry notes for dimensions, etc), and while we used the recommended 5.5mm/US9 needles, I think you could go up to a 6mm/US10 with Berroco Wizard. The fabric is light and airy, incredibly soft, slightly textured, and above all else dazzling to the eye (and don’t your eyes deserve something resplendent to rest on?)

Size

After steam blocking with blocking pins:

  • 23″/58cm long
  • 8″/20cm wide

Materials

Aleid Hat

After we made our Bente Throw we had some leftovers, and I hate seeing leftovers going to waste (not that yarn goes bad), so we played yarn chicken to see how far our Berroco Wizard bits would go …. it turns out FAR! Our hat weighs just 42g, which means you should be able to make TWO hats with one ball (as long as you buy a pom-pom or go without) or one hat and on pair of mitts (see below).

I used a natural raccoon fur Pom-pom, but you can also opt for synthetic if you like (for this hat I’d go any size natural raccoon pom-pom or a MEDIUM-sized synthetic pom-pom, since the fabric is light and won’t hold the weight of a large or extra large synthetic pom-pom).

The pattern is one size, but the fabric is very stretchy and comfortable fit a 24″ head (including ponytail) – I love magic yarns!!!

Materials

Aleid Mitts

The Bente Throw leftovers also allowed for a pair of mitts! We only used 42g to make this pair of adult mitts.

Materials

Rye Socks

I was doing some teaching last week and cast-on for a sock using more of the leftovers (although I’m really running low now) and the free Rye pattern from Tin Can Knits (I have left out the garter stitch detail). If you’ve never made socks before this is an excellent pattern!

Materials

Photo: @saltyrnstudio via Instagram (I think it is colour 2022 Moonstone).

NEW Accessories in Kelbourne Scout

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Last Week I offered the sweater patterns, and as promised here are some accessories knit with Kelbourne Scout ….

Portage

Portage is a classic-styled cabled toque, made with a classic wool, worked in the round from the bottom up. Simple and elegant, this never goes out of style – plus cables create density in the fabric which helps to keep you warm! It’s also kind of an easy project to choose when you don’t know what to knit, it makes a gorgeous gift or you can keep it for yourself.

Size

  • 18.75” (47.5 cm) circumference, unstretched
  • 11” (28 cm) height, brim folded

Materials

Tutorials

Le Massif Scarf

Le Massif Scarf is worked in the round, featuring simple but striking geometric patterns. It is bold, stylish, and deliciously warm. This is a great exercise if you want to practice your stranded colourwork.

Size

  • 14″/35cm in circumference
  • 76″/193cm long

Materials

Tutorials

Compass

Compass is a gorgeous cabled cowl designed in the style of traditional aran sweaters (my heart skipped a beat when i found it). The cowl is written for two sizes, depending on how you like to wear your winter neckwear. If you prefer not to work the tubular cast on and bind off, a long tail cast on and binding off in pattern may be used in their place.

Size

  • Circumference: 22.5 (25)” 57 (63.5) cm 
  • Height: 13.25 (15.5)” 33.5 (39.5) cm 

Materials

Tutorials

Ballard

Ballard is a classic hat knit in stranded colourwork. All you need is a light or bright colour and a dark shade and you’re set!

Size

  • 20.25” (51.5 cm) circumference
  • 10.25” (26 cm) length.

Materials

Tutorials

Custom Hats

Custom Hats, by Kate Atherly, an awesome knitting instructor and designer, is an ebook that has something for every knitter. It’s not a standard pattern book, this is a complete recipe for making your own custom-fit hats, for any head, with any yarn. Just grab a skein and start knitting. With instructions for slouchy and beanie-style hats, and tutorials added for decorative flourishes like different cuff finishes and pom-poms and tassels, this book has everything you’ll ever need to keep everyone in your family warm.

The recipe includes all the instructions and numbers for three styles of hat with three choices of cuff, in 13 gauges and 17 sizes, covering preemies to XL adult heads. And if those don’t cover your needs, the formulas are included so you can calculate your own.

The book steps you through the whole process: from choosing yarn and determining size right through to finishing, with tutorials for all the key knitting techniques – casting on, working in the round, stretchy and decorative bind-offs, even weaving in the ends. There’s a whole chapter with ideas and instructions for customizing the hat with colour, changing up the hem pattern and style, and adding decorative flourishes like pom-poms and tassels.

Don’t worry, a yardage table will help you make sure you’ve got enough yarn: and there’s lots of tips and tricks for what to do if you think you’re going to run out, and how to use up small quantities of yarn leftovers. There’s even information on making hats for the most delicate of heads: premature babies, cancer patients and others losing their hair because of medical treatments. Photo tutorials and guidance on fit and yarn help you make your first hat perfect. For experienced hat knitters, the advice on customization and straightforward but powerful formulas empower you to get designing.

Kelbourne Woolens Scout

Kelbourne Scout is a classic yarn for the sake of yarn. It’s an unfussy, strong, versatile, heathered wool. Scout is a Dk weight, woolen-spun yarn, so it’s light, airy and springy – perfect for fair isle, cables, or any other technique that requires a bit of definition. Made with 100% Peruvian wool, it’s comfortable to work with and wear (it passes my yarn-o-meter, meaning it’s not as buttery soft as a merino wool, but it isn’t remotely in the itchy or uncomfortable range of fibres).

  • 100% wool
  • 100g/250m (274 yds)
  • 20 to 22 sts = 4″(10cm) 
  • DK to light worsted weight
  • 3.75mm/US5 to 4.5mm/US7 needles
  • Feltable
  • Hand wash, lay flat to dry
  • Made in Peru
  • Patterns designed with Scout

Substitutions & A Hack

  1. If you love the projects we’re sharing today but you aren’t a fan of traditional style woolen-spun yarns like Kelbourne Scout (it isn’t itchy, but it also isn’t baby-bum soft), you can substitute the following yarns:

2. If you like knitting with a more traditional yarn, but you find it too itchy for a hat, try lining your hats with a headband sized strip of fleece fabric – it’s also beneficial as it makes the hat warmer!

Fibre Co Road to China Light

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On The C Train

Finally a moment to myself … this project is LONG overdue for blogging, I apologize to you and to it! It’s an On the C Train that I made for my new beau … his first knitted gift. It didn’t really fit him, he turned out to have a surprisingly large head and required more slouch … this is why people date, you need to learn about each other (hat size being crucial for a knitter).

Fit notwithstanding, it came out beautifully! I used Fibre Company Road to China Light and held two strands together, so it is nice and dense and warm. The yarn is OMG WTF DROOL!!! It’s a blend of cashmere, silk, camel and baby alpaca, and it’s totally to die for. I made the hat, but I still hadn’t had enough of it for I made a cowl (below) and after that I cast on for a sweater (still in the works). I was also thinking about making a wrap with it, maybe a Night Shift.

Materials

Pashmina Cowl

My second project with Fibre Company Road to China Light … a Pashmina Cowl. I found the pattern in one of my favourite older books Last Minute Knitted Gifts, which can be accessed digitally though the public library. The pattern is so dead easy anybody can do it, it’s very beginner friendly. Check out my project notes on Ravelry for direction. I like it because it’s all about the yarn, which kind of deserves a party thrown in it’s honour.

Size

  • 17″ long x 11″ wide (after blocking)
  • fit is loose & casual

Materials

Fibre Company Road to China Light

Fibre Company Road to China Light is the sexiest yarn I’ve ever come across. Seriously, it’s ambrosia! Some clever person thought to combine cashmere, silk, camel and baby alpaca and it feels like … joy and gratitude and unconditional love. This yarn is seriously stashable, but even more knittable! Two skeins makes a Cowl (see above).

  • 10% cashmere, 15% silk, 10% camel, 65% baby alpaca
  • 50g/145m (159yds)
  • 3.25mm/US3 to 3.5mm/US4 needles
  • 24 to 26 sts = 4″/10cm
  • ​Sport weight
  • Hand wash, lay flat to dry
  • Made in the UK
  • See other peoples Projects
  • See pattern ideas

PROJECT Barbara Cowl

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Barbara

Please forgive me for falling behind, I’m still catching up on my blogging (and knitting, and other things) … why does December have to consume such a large part of January? Anyway, I wanted to show you another success story, the Barbara cowl.

It’s a simple knit, and a free pattern, and makes for a nice splash of colour mid-way through winter. We used 2 skeins of Malabrigo Rios in colour 96 Sunset (I thought it would nice and sunny looking forward to spring, like Pantone colour Saffron), but any worsted weight yarn will do.

Mods

Barbara is knit lengthwise like a scarf and then seamed, so it isn’t particularly technically advanced. You can seam it into a regular loop or a mobius loop, whatever tickles your fancy. If you wanted to turn it into a scarf I’d work about 1.5″ in K1P1 rib at each end to give it a nice finish.

Materials

Other Yarns

Barbara would of course look great in other yarns … I can see a nice fluffy version made with Drops Air (3 skeins). Something classic in a heathered colour would be great made with Cascade 220 Superwash (2 skeins/5mm-US8 needles) – a great knit for anyone who likes things simple. Personally, I’m really into Fibre Co. Road to China Light right now, I can see it making a super sexy accessory I’d never want to take off (3 skeins/4mm-US6 needles) … oh god, please help me, I think I just fell down a rabbit hole …. I’ll tell you about my progress with Road to China Light in my next post!

NEW PROJECT Getting Warmer

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The sweater in this picture is Carbeth, made with Cascade Eco Peruvian Tones

Getting Warmer

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get this project out to you (it’s been in the store window for a couple of weeks already) – you know how it goes … Life! Anyway, I thought it would make a great little neck accessory as the temperature drops. I love little shoulderettes, they’re so cosy and are great for changing seasons.

This one is Getting Warmer, a FREE pattern, and we made it with a yarn that’s new for us, Illimani Llama II. Illimani is a little company located in Quebec that imports gorgeous yarns from South America, especially alpaca and other camelids, like llama.

The pattern is pretty straight forward and is fairly accessible for beginners (depending on your level of beginnerness, of course). The ‘special’ skills include knit & purl in the same row, working in the round on circular needles, decreasing, and reading a pattern. Basically, if you can make a hat, you can make a Getting Warmer. The project works up on 6mm/US10 needles, so I think it qualifies as a “small, achievable goal”.

BTW, many thanks to Adrienne for doing the heavy lifting on this project!

Yarn Options

The yarn we used, Illimani Llama II, was a delight! It is super soft and is made from 100% de-haired llama, so it basically feels like baby alpaca (de-haired means that when the fibre is being processed the coarser parts of the coat are removed, leaving only the soft undercoat).

Other yarns options:

Cascade Eco Merino: one skein of Cascade Eco Merino would make an entire Getting Warmer, which would be pretty economical at $38.

Drops Air: two skeins of Drops Air would make a looser, more relaxed look, and the price tag would look sweet at under $20.

Diamond Baby Alpaca Sport: three skeins of super soft ‘n sexy Diamond Baby Alpaca Sport would make a neckie-thingie you’ll want to cozy up next to at the bar and offer to buy it a drink.

Berroco Vintage Chunky: three skeins of Berroco Vintage Chunky will get the job done with style and grace for people who are sensitive to wool or are really good at wrecking things by putting them in the washing machine.

Mineville Merino 2ply: If you want a little colour, you can still scoop up 3 skeins of Mineville Merino 2ply from our Clearance section!

Drops Brushed Alpaca and Silk: if you want mega texture, go for a super soft mohair effect with Drops Brushed Alpaca and Silk. For a loose, airy texture knit with a single strand (3 skeins), and for a denser, warmer fabric work with 2 strands held together (6 skeins). Both options are super affordable, from $18 to $36.

Materials

Needle Hack

If you don’t already have these needles in your kit, you might be interested in some Knitter’s Pride Interchangeable needles: you just buy one set of 3.5″ tips and two cords, and it saves having to purchase two separate circular needles. But note, you MUST get shorter tips that are 3.5″ to 4″ long! Any longer and they won’t work with the 16″ cord:

If you prefer Addi needles, they also make interchangeable tips that are the right length:

These shorter needles are ideal for making hats, neck things, baby things, and will always work with the longer cords from their respective brand. If you’re feeling like why not dive in and buy a whole set with a bunch of sizes (its usually more affordable than buying them one size at a time), here are a few brands who make them in the right size:

Short Interchangeable Needle Sets (with 3.5″ to 4″ tips)

NEW PATTERN Handspun Art Yarn Cowl

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Handspun Art Yarn Cowl

The first thing people say when they see Studioloo Handspun Art Yarn is “What do you make with it?” The quantities are generous and the yarn generally does all the work, but there is still room to play around. I like the idea of using an art yarn as a launch-pad and expanding on the aesthetic with a different texture, colour, or both. This is also a great way to make the most of handspun yarn if you only have a small amount, or you definitely don’t have enough for a full scarf or cowl.

With this pattern I’ve started with a skein of Studioloo Handspun Art Yarn, knitted it in a simple garter stitch, which really makes the different colours and textures in the yarn pop. Then I finished the project with a contrasting commercial yarn (Cascade Spuntaneous) with a slightly different tension and stitch pattern (K2P2 rib). I decided to keep the colour between the two yarns consistent (beige) for the sake of simplicity, but I normally like a little contrast (I was thinking or cream or even navy blue as alternate choices). Both yarns are a single ply, but the Cascade Spuntaneous is thicker and loftier, and knits on larger needles.

Skill Level: Beginner

Size: 33” long x 6” wide (lying flat)

Materials

FINISHED Infinitude ‘Scarf’ Cowl

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Infinitude ‘Scarf’ Cowl

I really love how this project came out! It’s soft, airy, light, cozy, and with the pattern being free and the yarn only costing $20, it’s a pretty cost effective knit too! If you’re starting to think about holiday gift to knit, this is a great go-to project.

The pattern is called a scarf, but I don’t know why because it’s actually a cowl. We made the smaller size and in the yarn we used (Drops Air) it can be worn either once or twice around the neck. I also found that the “twice around” brings the ‘full goldilocks’ – it isn’t too big or too small, it’s just right (in my mind, that means it doesn’t gape, letting cold air in). If your finished project looks small just wet-block it, mine stretched from 20″ x 10″ to 24″ x 9″.

The Pattern

The pattern, Infinitude Scarf, is a simple little thing that combines knits and purls in the easiest way. The skills are pretty simple: casting on, working in the round, using a knit & purl stitch in the same row, and binding off. We made the smaller size, but had extra yarn so just kept going in the welt pattern by adding an extra 3 pattern repeats (so we did “Knit 
4 
rnds,
 purl
 4 
rnds” a total of 6 times).

The Yarn

We used two skeins of Drops Air, a new yarn for us this year. It’s a super light and airy alpaca that knits easily and looks great! It’s a ‘blown’ yarn, which means it consists of a loosely knit chain core made of polyamide and then the Alpaca is literally blown into and through this core, coating it in a delightful halo of the softest alpaca. The result is an extra depth of colour because you can see a bit of the core through the translucent outer layer. Drops Air comes in both heathered and solid colours, but I think the heathers are extra pretty, with that extra dimension of colour added. Did I mention that it’s also super soft? Yeah, it’s crazy soft, it totally passes the neck test. Drops Air comes in a bunch of colours, made in Peru and the European Union, and it only costs $9.97 a skein.

Materials

The Final Assessment

This project was a WIN. Pattern: Good. Yarn: Goooood. Finished Product: Great!

P.S. the SWEATER in the pictures is Paprika, make with Drops Brushed Alpaca and Silk, and the details are HERE.

FINISHED The Shift

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Worn in the centre

The Shift

Way back at the start of August I wrote about a neat fall-ish project, The Shift, and I finally finished mine! I asked you if you thought I should try out someone else’s colours or go my own path, and I think everyone (including me) was in agreement that I should trust my intuition, so I did. I chose 3 colours that I thought would work, crossed my fingers, knocked on some wood, and set to work. At first I was thinking “I don’t know about this …”, but as the project progressed I saw what was taking place and it was AMAZING!

Ooops! The colours were mislabelled!

How I Chose Colours

The pattern is always alternating 2 colours: one works as a background and the other is the dots in the foreground. The background colour will stand out more than the foreground colour. I found that colours A & B ended up being the dominant colours, and C was used mostly for the foreground/dots.

  1. I picked three colourways that looked like the colours could work together. One had reds, one was neutrals, and the third was dark things and a bit of greens.
  2. One colourway was darkish (colour A, one was medium in its brightness (the red, colour B), and the last was lighter (the neutrals, colour C).
  3. My colours: A) 2328, B) 2361 and C) 2349.

An interesting thing … as I was working I realized that colours A 2328 & C 2349. could also work really well with a cool colour for B, like the blue of 2362 or the green 2298.

The Yarn’s Performance

Schoppel Edition 3 was beautiful to work with and the finished piece looks and feels gorgeous. The designer, Andrea Mowry, has a sweater pattern named Shifty that can be made with the same yarn, and I would totally, unequivocally do it! Mowry suggests going down a size in the sweater pattern if you are between sizes, and I think that is perfectly feasible with Schoppel Edition 3 because it stretched easily when I blocked it.

Addenda: to test the tension in the round I think I would try making a Shiftalong Hat first, as a swatch for the sweater. Measure the tension before and after blocking to get a good idea of how much change you can expect. Reviewing the comments of finished projects, you might end up going down a size (or more).

To make a Shifty you’ll need the following Schoppel Edition 3:

  • Sizes: 30 (34, 38, 42)(46, 50, 54, 58)”/76 (86.5, 96.5, 107)(117, 127, 137, 147.5) cm
  • Color A: 5(6, 7, 7)(8, 9,9,10) balls
  • Colors B & C (each): 1(2, 2, 2)(2, 2, 2, 3) balls
  • Color D: 1(1, 2, 2)(2, 2, 2, 2) balls

A Small Hack

The yarn was very, very soft, and will be absolutely no problem wearing against your skin. It comes in balls, and I found that rewinding them into cakes on a ball-winder made them easier to work with. I also used my old Pantyhose Hack, which kept things more orderly. Since you’ll have 3 colourways going, I suggest using 3 different colours of pantyhose or Yarn Sleeves.

Worn backwards

The Pattern

The pattern wasn’t hard, but I did have to pay attention to where I was and keep track of my rows. To do this I used a row counter and made notations in pencil on my pattern. If you find that confusing you may want to put the info into a spreadsheet program to keep track row-by-row.

The stitch pattern is a slip stitch, and on a few occasions I had to tink my work a row or two when I wasn’t on the ball. It is not a project to do while distracted (ie. drinking).

Materials

Side to Side

I was going to take a picture of the finished piece laid flat. Unfortunately, I forgot and seamed it up! So I’ve used some photo magic to give you an idea of what the full piece looked like.

Front & Back

Here is The Shift, all seamed up and ready to go. I think the pointy part is supposed to be worn in front or to the side.

Conclusions

The yarn was great, the pattern was great, the finished project was great! I recommend it and I would do it again.