Introducing Full Circles Cowl
Andrea wearing a textured pale green cowl that looks like a triangle shawl with the point in front.
A New Pattern!
Meet my newest pattern, Full Circles Cowl! This slouchy cowl is stylish and easy to wear. Toss it on in any direction for cozy warmth and a chic layer. The textured circle motifs are fun to knit and create visual interest when the cowl is seamed. The clever construction means there is no shaping — just work a rectangle and then sew the cast-on edge to the side for a faux triangle shawl. Work yours in your favourite fingering or worsted weight yarn.
Andrea looking down. A sculptural textured cowl is wrapped around her shoulders.
Andrea wearing a teal dress and toffee-coloured cowl that’s draped like a capelet around her shoulders.
Closeup of Andrea looking down. A scrumptious toffee-coloured textured cowl is wrapped around her neck.
Andrea’s profile. She’s wearing a textured, toffee-coloured cowl wrapped gently around her shoulders.
The Sample Yarns
I made my samples out of MYak Baby Yak Medium (pale green) and Cashmere People Yarns Cashgora Fingering (toffee-coloured). Both yarn companies create luxury yarns in really thoughtful ways.
Check out MYak’s story here and Cashmere People’s story here.
Andrea from the back. She’s wearing a textured, pale green cowl with circle motifs over a lace black and white racerback top and dark teal dress that with a deep V back.
Choosing Yarn
This is a project that would be great for gift knitting! It takes about 415-500 yards/380-460 meters of yarn, so it’s great for those special skeins in your stash or for splurging on something new!
I really encourage you to use a yarn that works for you and not necessarily feel like you have to use the yarns I chose. I chose them because I love how they work for this project, but there are so many other yarns that would be wonderful as well. What’s important is that it feels soft to you since it’ll be right on your neck, and that you like the fabric worked up in this stitch pattern.
One thing to keep in mind when choosing is that the more body your yarn has, the more body your cowl will have. If your yarn is slippery and dense like a superwash sock yarn, your cowl will probably be super draping. If your yarn is lofty and light, like a woolen spun or loosely plied yarn, your cowl will probably be a bit more “floating” and have more structure. Both can be wonderful, so choose what you prefer.
If you want a little more inspiration, have a look at my testers’ Ravelry projects.
About the Pattern
I consider this an intermediate pattern. It’s worked as a rectangle so you don’t have to worry about shaping at all. The texture is created with garter stitch (knit every row) and slipped stitches, along with those circle motifs, for which there are charted and written instructions in the pattern. When you’ve bound off your rectangle, you’ll seam the cast-on edge to a portion of the side of the rectangle using mattress stitch. This will leave a hole for your head and create a triangle or capelet shape, depending on how you turn it on your body. There’s a photo tutorial in the pattern showing how to fold the cowl for the seaming, so even if you can’t quite picture it now, the instructions show you the steps.
Pattern Specs
Sizes & Finished Dimensions
Finished Rectangle: 13 in/33 cm x 35 in/89 cm
Finished Neck Circumference: 21 in/53.5 cm
Yarn
Version 1 (Fingering Weight):
600 yd /548 m fingering weight yarn
Shown in Cashmere People Yarns Cashgora Fingering (100% handspun Cashgora; 374 yd/342 m per 100g skein); 2 skeins; colour: apricot
Version 2 (Worsted Weight):
415 yd /380 m worsted weight yarn
Shown in mYak Baby Yak Medium (100% yak; 125 yd/114 m per 50 g skein); 3 skeins; colour: ochre
Blocked Gauge
Gauge measurement should be taken after blocking.
Version 1 (Fingering Weight):
24 sts/48 rows = 4 in/10 cm in garter rib
Circle Motif measures 2.5 in/6.5 cm wide at widest point
Version 2 (Worsted Weight):
20 sts/36 rows = 4 in/10 cm in garter rib
Circle Motif measures 3 in/7.5 cm wide at widest point
Needles
Needle Sizes are recommendations only. Always use needle size necessary to obtain gauge.
Version 1 (Fingering Weight):
Suggested Size US 3/3.25 mm needles
Version 2 (Worsted Weight):
Suggested Size US 6/4 mm needles
Notions
tapestry needle
∙ stitch markers
∙ blocking wires, pins, and pinnable surface (optional)
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