Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Speedy Cabled Cowl Pattern


I decided to make a cowl to go with the beret and I convinced my reluctant model to pose for a few more shots. This was another fast and easy project that took about an hour in all to make. The pattern is below.



Materials:
1 skein Sirdar Big Softie
10mm knitting needles

Note about materials: I used almost an entire skein of the Sirdar Big Softie yarn. If your tension is looser than mine, you might want to buy an extra skein for safety, or you can do one fewer row of ribbing on either end, and it won't affect the look of the cowl much. If you are also making the matching beret, then 3 skeins will be more than enough for both projects.

Gauge:
9 stitches and 12 rows over 4-inch square using stockinette stitch.

Abbreviations:
M1: Make an additional stitch by working into previous row between current and next stitch.
C4: Place next two stitches on a cable needle and hold in front of work. Knit next two stitches on left-hand needle. Then knit two stitches from cable needle.
K2tog: Knit two together.
P2tog: Purl two together
SSK: Decrease with a slip, slip, knit.

Instructions:
With 10mm needles, cast on 41 stitches.

Start ribbing.
Row 1 (RS): *P2, K2*. Repeat from * to * until last stitch. P1.
Row 2 (WS): K1. *P2, K2* Repeat from * to * until end of row.
Row 3: Repeat row 1.
Row 4: Repeat row 2.

Next row (RS): *P2, M1, K2, M1*. Repeat from * to * until one stitch remains. P1. (61 stitches).
Next row (WS): K1. *P4, K2*. Repeat from * to * to end of row.

Start cable pattern.
Row 1 (RS): *P2, C4*. Repeat from * to * until one stitch remains. P1.
Row 2 (WS): K1. *P4, K2*. Repeat from * to * to end of row.
Row 3 (RS): *P2, K4*. Repeat from * to * until one stitch remains. P1.
Row 4: Repeat row 2.
Row 5: Repeat row 3.
Row 6: Repeat row 2.
Row 7: Repeat row 1.
Row 8: Repeat row 2.

Next row (RS): *P2, SSK, K2tog*. Repeat from * to * until one stitch remains. P1. (41 stitches)
Next row (WS): K1. *P2, K2*. Repeat from * to * to end of row.
Next row (RS): *P2, K2*. Repeat from * to * until last stitch. P1.
Next row (WS): K1. *P2, K2* Repeat from * to * until end of row.

Cast off in rib pattern. Sew seam.

23 comments:

Cetelia said...

Very cute cowl! I can't wait to make one like this. Thanks for sharing your pattern.

Crafty Craken said...

So that's what a cowl is. I always have called that a neck warmer.

Very nice.

Em said...

This is going on my needles...right after I finish the matching beret!! Merci for two beautiful patterns!!

Anonymous said...

Oh, very pretty!
Thank you so much for sharing your pattern.
I've added this one to my MUST make now list. :D

Anonymous said...

Thank you, it's terrific!

Anonymous said...

awesome photos - that colour is perfect. running out today to buy some of this yarn to make my own. thanks for sharing.

Susie in Phoenix said...

Assume repeat the cable pattern 3 or 4 times before the ending ribbing?
-
same patt converted to in the round:
using US-15 (10mm) 16" circulars
(eor = end of round)
Instructions:
cast on 41 stitches. Join by P first & last st tog, careful not to twist (40st)

Start ribbing.
Rnd 1-4 *P2, K2*. Rep from * to *

Next rnd (RS): *P2, M1, K2, M1*. Rep from * to * til eor (60st)
Next rnd (WS): *P2, K4*. Rep from * to * to eor.

Start cable pattern.
Rnd 1 (RS): *P2, C4*. Rep from * to * til eor.
Rnd 2-8 (WS): *P2, K4*. Rep from * to * to eor.
Repeat cable patt (rnds 1-8) 3 or 4 times.

Next rnd (RS): *P2, SSK, K2tog*. Rep from * to * til eor. (40 st)
Next 3 rnds (WS): *P2, K2*. Rep from * to * to eor.

Bind off in rib pattern.
-

Paulina said...

Susie, thanks for posting the in-the-round instructions. In the cowl shown, and as stated in the pattern, the 8 rows are not repeated. However, you can certainly extend the length by doing more rows. Note that the first six rows make up one pattern repeat.

ellie said...

Whipped it up last night. Did it in the round and instead of 8 rows, did a 5 row repeat. It is adorable. Thank you for this beauty!

Anonymous said...

Amazing pattern! I just finished the beret....and I LOVE it!!!! Can't wait to start the cowl! One question though, where did you buy that yarn?

Paulina said...

Emily, I picked up the yarn at the Waterloo Knitter's Fair, and I honestly can't remember which vendor had sold it to me. However, if you Google Sirdar Big Softie, you'll find various shops that carry it. If you are a member of Ravelry and look up the pattern there, you'll see photos of the cowl made by other members in different types of yarns.

Knit-Kniters! said...

I found the yarn at Goodwill!!! However, I just searched eBay, and it is available. . .mainly from the UK. I only paid $2 for three skeins. :o)

Unknown said...

Paulina I love this cowl pattern and so pleased to note that you have similar interests than me: love scrabble, reading and knitting! excellent

dizchik said...

This is amazing! Thanks for posting! I just started knitting 2 weeks ago and wanted to give something to my stepmom who just moved back to winter weather from a tropical country. She desperately needs a scarf, but with Xmas being next week, this was perfect!

Unknown said...

I was just wondering..for the "in the round" version of this pattern..How is it that you are able to have just 40 stitches after cast on? Would we not have to purl every first stich in each row? I'm a newbie and am confused from the difference between the flat pattern and round pattern.
Thanks!

Paulina said...

Lindsey, to start off on the round, just leave off the last stitch (so you do the first 40 of the first row).

Are you on Ravelry? If not, I highly recommend you get an account. It's a great resource. Anyhow, this pattern is on Ravelry and a lot of knitters have done this one in the round. If you select the Projects page and enter "round" in the search box, you'll see their tips on how to do this in the round in the comments sections.

Anonymous said...

Can anyone help me with pattern?
I'm using a different yarn & 13"
needles so need to cast on more stitches. I tried casting on 20
more but doesn't work after I do
the M1's. Many thanks! Janie in KC

Paulina said...

Hi Janie,
Have you tried looking at the Ravelry site for this pattern? A lot of knitters have done this hat in different yarns and different gauges, and many have left notes on their project pages describing how they've altered the pattern. You might be able to find what you need there.

Christina said...

I've made this for myself && I love it! My friend asked me to make her one too :) Unfortunately this size didn't quite fit her, so I've been trying to knit increase the stitches but it just hasn't been working out. Any suggestions??

Paulina said...

Hi Christina,
Probably the easiest way to increase the size is to use thicker yarn and/or larger needles. Have you tried looking at the project page for this pattern on Ravelry? A number of knitters have adjusted the pattern and used different yarns. You might get some good ideas from them. Thanks for your comments about the pattern and good luck!

Anonymous said...

I just started this cabled cowl in Wool-Ease and I couldn't stop. So I kept knitting until I made the whole damn thing. And then, before even getting out of my chair, I sewed it up and put it on! Wild. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Would like to talk to you about writing out your pattern to give out to customers that come to the shop where I work.

Paulina said...

Probably it would be best to send me a message on Ravelry. I'm paulinaknits there.