Knitting colorwork pattern for a cowl.
The idea for Autumn's Draft Cowl started with a call of submission from the Miss Babs yarn company. They were looking for designs for the fall collection. It was a list of different yarns that they would like to feature in the collection. As I was scanning this list and looking for possible colorways, one particular set caught my eye, Yummy Toes Trios. And the idea to combine 3 fall colors in one design started to form.
Looking at the red, yellow, and green yarn I was thinking of all the colorful fall leaves and how the wind blows them in all directions. I decided to go with a geometrical arrow-like stitch pattern to show those movements. I have a book Geometric Knitting Patterns by Tina Barrett and found one pattern that gave me a starting point, and with a little play with color sequence and row repetition, you see the final result.
My idea wasn’t accepted for the Miss Babs collection but they offered me yarn support so I can publish the pattern on my own using their yarn. I’m very grateful for this offer.
I already liked the yarn and colors that I saw in the pictures online but when I got the package with the yarn, it was even more beautiful. Look at these cuties!
The set Yummy Toes Trios includes three mini skeins, each 133 yd / 1.3 oz (121m / 38g). This is fingering weight 100% superwash Merino wool. Soft, 2-ply with a good twist, very easy to work with. And the colors are gorgeous!
When the idea for this design formed and I choose colors for the sample, almost right away I was thinking also about other possible color combinations for this design.
The first sample was made with the colors Moss, Carnelian, Billy Button. And I didn’t stop with one sample. The second sample uses colors White Peppercorn, Dark Parchment, Stowaway.
And I also was looking at other possibilities, even if you can’t find your best trio in the Toes Trios, you can always choose yarn by the individual skein in Yummy 2-Ply Toes
Let’s talk about the design itself. The Autumn's Draft Cowl works in the round with a stockinette stitch and colorwork pattern. The beauty of this colorwork pattern is its simplicity. Every round you’ll be working with only 2 colors and always with 3 stitches of each color. And for the next round just move 3 stitches by one to the right or left, depending on which direction the stripes are leaning. The description is more complicated than the actual knitting.
Do you know what this magic number ‘3 stitches’ gives you? Short floats on the wrong side and they are all equal! And if you’re a novice in colorwork knitting, this can be good practice for you to learn how to manage those floats. If you’re an experienced colorwork knitter, it’ll be an easy relaxing project for you.
I made a video on how to knit colorwork continental style, maybe it will be helpful for you, here is the link to my YouTube channel.
The pattern includes 2 options for how tall the colorwork stripe can be and you can decide how many stripes to knit. Each option has charts and fully written instructions.
As I already said, you’ll be working with stockinette stitch, and you probably know that stockinette curls easily and it needs something on the edges to keep it in place. For this project, I didn’t want to make ribbing to compensate for curling and decided to go with the folded hem for the top and bottom of the cowl.
If you’re not familiar with this element. Here’s an idea of how it works: you’ll knit an extra piece of fabric and then fold it to the wrong side and sew it on. I made a short video on how to do it. The link is also in the pattern instructions, and you can find it also on my YouTube channel.
What do you need to know to make Autumn’s Draft Cowl:
Knit and purl stitches, how to do simple colorwork with 2 colors at once with short floats, and how to use a whip stitch to sew on the hem.
What do you need to make the cowl:
Yarn: 3 contrast colors of fingering weight yarn, 133 yds (121 m) each.
Samples made with one Miss Babs set of 3 Yummy 2-Ply Toes.
Little advice, when choosing your colors, try to avoid variegated yarn that has sharp color transitions. Stay in more monochromatic tones and check that all 3 colors for the project have enough contrast between each other.
Needles: size US 2.5 (3 mm) circular needles 24” (60 cm) long, size US 1.5 (2.5 mm) circular needles 20” (50 cm) or 16” (40 cm) long
Notions: marker, tapestry needle
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