Inspiration
First Knitter: Love Story Cowl
The Love Story Shawl, new in Field Guide No. 26: Moss, is an airy rectangle of color and texture. Hélène Magnússon plays with laceweight Love Story yarn to create a swath of wavy stripes and lace.
Gorgeous.
My take? A narrower, cowl-sized version.
A new whisper of warmth and beautiful colors to tuck around the neck of my black winter coat was just what this gray winter begged for.
I chose three shades of blue, a bold coppery shade, and my favorite neutral, grellow, all in Rowan Kidsilk Haze. The weight and yardage are similar to Love Story, but where Love Story is crisp, Kidsilk Haze’s silk and mohair blend gives a much softer and less defined stitch.
The lush mohair halo blends the blues like a clear sky over new spring growth and rich soil. Yes, I am always thinking about nature.
With just a copy of the chart and a sticky note to remind me of where I was in the pattern, knitting was a spring breeze. Plus, the striping repeats make for easy tracking of your next row.
This Old Shale or Feather and Fan pattern variation was memorized after a few repeats.
My cowl was a pleasure to make and even more of a delight to have folded up in my pocket to pull out when the winds are brisk.
The details
Blocked Dimensions: 13″ (33 cm) deep, 26″ (66 cm) circumference
Gauge: 19/20 stitches x 28 rows = 4″ (10 cm) in garter stitch.
(Aside from achieving the above dimensions, the gauge does not really matter as long as you like the fabric you’re creating.)
Extra Notions: Smooth cotton waste yarn and crochet hook for a provisional cast on.
Kidsilk Haze shades and weights used:
A Hurricane, 8g
B Mist, 6g
C Bill, 9g
D Eve Green, 11g
E Soil, 6g
Directions: Provisionally cast on 73 stitches (a multiple of 18 + 1).
Note: the cast on is the depth of the cowl.
Join yarn A, knit across the provisional cast-on.
Begin to work the pattern with Row 4.
Work through Row 48, then work 2 full repeats of the pattern (Row 3 to Row 48), then Row 3 through Row 47, or to your desired length. Cut a 4-yard tail of D.
Graft Row 48 to the (unzipped) provisionally cast-on stitches.
Weave in all the ends and block as desired. I used some steam.
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Wow! very wonderful–thank you for the picture of grafting as well
Love the colours.
Kidsilk haze is a lovely yarn.
Thanks for sharing.
Christie. Scotland.
Thank you!
Grafting can be rather meditative, once you get it going.
Gorgeous, Nell! Love this modification.
Thanks, it’s really a lovely little thing : )
This is gorgeous. I think it will be the perfect thing to knit this summer and pull out of my pocket next fall. Thank you.
I agree with you. So much warmth in a small and lightweight bundle.
Nell, that’s so beautiful- and a practical piece for cool fall evenings and crisp mornings. Love your color choices!
Thanks Jan,
The blues were an easy choice. It was a delight to play with so many beautiful shades.
A great reminder we can modify a beautiful design to our individual needs. Thank you, Nell.
Patterns can be delightful springboards. Thanks dear Sarah!
Gorgeous, Nell. Thank you for sharing and inspiring.
I do love to talk, especially about knitting. : )
lovely cowl..unfortunately mohair and I do not get along
If you ever do want to make a fuzzy cowl, you might try a yarn with suri alpaca instead.
I agree Pam! Luscious.
Fantastic!! I’ve been waffling on the scarf — lovely as it is — starting with an equally lovely cowl sounds perfect!
It was a lot of fun, I’ll be keeping an eye out to see which colors you choose.
Great idea and very lovely result! I’m nearing the finish of my Love Story Shawl and am enjoying the result. “Crisp” is the right description for the love story yarn, the finished shawl/scarf will definitely be worn on the outside of my coat, not around my neck. I’m thinking about lace weight suri for your beautiful pattern, maybe coming soon! Thanks Nell for the smart idea!
Oh, congratulations on your nearly FO, and I agree that Suri is a buttery choice for a haloed yarn.
It’s very early in the morning and what a beautiful thing to wake up to ! Those colors are beautiful and I need to get over my phobia of working with mohair and blends.
Have a great Monday !
Thank you! I’m working on a few samples using mohair along with another yarn (which could be a great starting point for you) and I am in love (again)
That is just lovely. What an inspiration!
Thank you!!
Love it! KSH is brilliant for this.
And all the amazing colors that play so well together…
Ah, Nell. Always a treat to see your beautiful ideas and clear instructions. You always know what I need.
Donna! Where is my heart emoji? Thank you so much.
Nell, you’re a living Vermeer!
Kay! The light is rather wonderful, isn’t it?
So clever! And as I work with the Love Story yarn I was trying to put into words how it compared to KSH – you nailed it!
Thank you so very much. I have to nod to Jillian and her wonderful article(s), aren’t we lucky to have her here so often? x
Oh boy! Want it! Thanks for the pattern. Love making cowls.
Beautiful!
Nell! Really lovely!
Thank you. So much.
Great idea!
I think that you know that so often when I look at a pattern, I can’t help but say – cool, but what if I did this…
Oh that’s pretty much perfect for right now!
Thanks, Gale. It is perfectly pretty. x
Nell. This is SO magical. I love the way that the cowl hugs you like a teddy bear. This is also a great way for me to use the smaller amount of Lettlopi I found in my yarn library. Thank you! Saving this post.
Jeni! It’s as comforting as a beloved teddy.
Beautiful! I’d love to make this.
It’s beautiful and looks beautiful on you Nell! I especially appreciate the gram weights of the yarn you used. I have two different grays and a lilac mohair leftover from the crowberry vest, as well as other partial and complimentary skeins of mohair and one of beaded silk light that your pattern will allow me to use up and hopefully bang out something as lovely as what you’ve done. Thanks!
Ooh, my favorite purse project is a cowl and I have lots of one-skein KSH colors. It will be so much fun to play around with them. Thank you, Nell!
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Lovely. Cannot wait to start knitting