Skip to main content

Mindfulness Cowl


This is a very simple pattern, made with Malabrigo Sock Yarn (100% Merino Wool, 4 ply, 402 metres, colorway: Pocion). The yarn itself is variegated and has a very beautiful foresty, ferny, mossy feel to it, so I wanted to keep the knitting very simple, to enjoy the very soft texture of the yarn, with the variegated colors really showing up with plain knitting. I called it the Mindfulness Cowl - as I was knitting it was mesmerising to watch these colours unfold, like they were telling their own story, and I was very much in the empty space of no thoughts other than simply observing this process at a very atomic level! 

Since the borders are moss stitch, one side is mostly plain stockinette, and the other side reverse stockinette, when you wear the cowl doubled up, all the three stitch patterns show up in visually interesting ways. This is the type of knitting where a very expensive, lovely, luxury yarn is knitted up very simply, to a very understated but effective visual effect - less is more! 

Enjoy! 




Pattern: 

Notions and Notes: 

Circular knitting needles, 3.5 mm, 24 inches. 

1 marker 

K: Knit

P: Purl


Pattern: 

Cast On 260 stitches.

Taking care not to twist your work, join to knit in the round. Put the marker at the beginning of a round - this is the only place you need to mark. 

The first few rounds are with moss stitch. 

Round 1: *K1,  P1, continue from * to end of round. 

Round 2: Repeat round 1. 

Round 3: *P1, K1, continue from * to end of round. 

Round 4: Repeat round 3. 

Repeat rounds 1-4 four more times, till you have 20 rows of knitting. You will have a nice thick moss stitch border. 

From now on, knit the main body of the cowl in plain stockinette stitch, knitting every round, till you almost finish the skein of yarn, leaving enough for 20 more rows.

Repeat Rounds 1 - 20 again. 

Weave in ends, wash and block, wear, enjoy! 

Comments

  1. Love the cowl. Can you do this knit as a scarf/shawl? Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! Yes, of course - but I would cast on lengthwise, not widthwise - maybe I will work out a shawl/scarf pattern!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Pattern: The Mindfulness Cowl

 Finished and feeling absolutely wonderful around my neck, The Mindfulness Cowl ! First pattern on the blog!  Happy yarning, folks! 

Saturday morning socks

Saturday morning, sunlight, tea, and whipping up a pair of quick socks for Young Teenager at home, who literally asked for them. What a happy mum I am! I think he has fond baby memories of wearing warm comfortable hand knitted socks, which are such an entirely different experience to store bought commercial socks. This is when socks cease to be a functional item, and become persons and memories - a childhood friendship you look back upon, the memory of your warm feet after a warm bath after a walk in the rain.  So, imagine my happiness when about the same time last week, he wakes up on a fine morning, walks into the living room and says - Can you knit me a pair of socks? My old ones don't fit anymore.  Knitting a pair of socks after a long time - has given me ideas for another quick design. Maybe I will post that as I cast on another pair, which I feel I am going to do, as soon as these are done (today).  And yes, that is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Opinionated Knitter for company -

Should I, shouldn't I? (Buy more wool)...

Every knitter and crocheter has a rather paradoxical relationship with yarn. You always know you have too much, but you cannot resist buying some more. You justify these extra purchases by telling yourself that you never spend on extravagant gifts for your loved ones, because well, you're just going to make something for them. And that a handmade gift, made with care and love, is a far nicer gift than playing the expensive and rather crazy game of brands and branded gift giving (which appears to be extraordinarily popular these days, and adds to me feeling like the village simpleton in parties with my handmade gift).  With all these consolatory thoughts (which are just ways of my lower mind justifying to its own higher self that it's completely ok to buy some more yarn), I confess that I routinely treat myself - on a nice sunny Saturday or Sunday, I go out of the house, absolutely alone, with no plans in mind, take my time, board a train or a bus, go into a wool shop, and spend