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SCOWLS ? ? ? ? ?

Posted June 3, 2008 * Comments(0)

Don’t know what to knit? Many knitters would suggest that you move the S [or move your S] and try knitting cowls. If you do any sightseeing on the internet knitting blogs and websites, you will see a variety of people in knitterly excitement about cowls.

For summer knitting, they are hard to beat. They are a very portable project. They can be done in a variety of yarns and don’t take much yarn. [I’ve done a couple with approximately 100 yards each. Is that light bulb in your head going- - flashing “Stashbuster, stashbuster!!!”? Yessiree! I’ve seen them made from heavy weight yarns, worsted weight, dk weight, and sock yarn doubled. [ so if any of you have an addiction problem concerning sock yarn in your stash — though truthfully, many credible knitters assert that sock yarn absolutely doesn’t count as stash.] Cowls can fit loosely or more snugly, however one prefers. They can be a delightful and/or colorful fashion accessory or a cozy way to keep your neck warm in the fall and winter, and they stay in place unlike some snarky scarves.

Now, if you’ve put the S back in the front of Cowls and are scowling because you really want to see some of these cowls before you venture forth, here are some clues[I’m actually overjoyed to offer some clues because too many days, I just feel clueless]:

Clues:

  • If you are a member of Ravelry, you can simply type in Cowl in the pattern search box, and you can see a variety of patterns that other knitters have made. Some are free, some are for purchase.
  • If you are not a member of Ravelry, I encourage you to join. Meanwhile, you can type in Cowl Knitting Patterns on Google and find some that way.
  • At City Knitting or at a bookstore or at your public library, there is a great book titled Last-Minute Knitted Gifts that has a cowl pattern in it called the Pashmina Cowl. Whether you splurge on luxurious yarn like Pashmina [which, coincidentally is in our sale area of the shop, as we speak] or have to stay disciplined because your yarn budget is now going for fuel and choose a lovely-but-cheap yarn, the pattern is a cool one. One knitter shared that she used this basic cowl pattern and every 10th row, added a knit, yo, and k2 tog to make lacey eyelets in it.
  • For other cowl pictures and free patterns, these might be helpful: Renaissance Palm Cowl found on the Plucky Knitter’s blog; Gloria Cowl on Orinda5’s blog; if you have a ravelry account, search “Impressionest Cowl” for a lovely worsted weight free cowl pattern; and the Dolores Park Cowl.

    In this photo, Marilyn is wearing the Dolores Park Cowl that she knit out of one skein of a worsted weight yarn:
    marilyn cowl

    Well, I do seem to be stuck on sssssssssses. They say that “cowls are the new scarves.” And if you move that s one more time . . . in front of _erendipity, you’ll find that cowls are a good example of that.*

    * serendipity - happening upon fortunate discoveries when not in search of them

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