FROM THE MOUNTAIN
Luxe Cowl
By Nancy Cavender for From The Mountain This short cowl is designed to be worn loose, or wrapped twice around your neck to keep you warm. The yarn is unbelievably soft, and the knit/purl pattern adds interest to the design. As you wear it, the yarn softens, making this a cowl you won't want to take off. The stitch pattern is Polperro: Seeds and Bars, a Guernsey pattern taken from Mary Wright's Cornish Guernseys and Knit-Frocks.
Diffculty level: Beginner Yarn: 1 skein (100 g/150 m) From The Mountain 100% Afghan Cashmere Handspun Needles: US #5 circular (your gauge may vary - use the needle size which allows you to get the specified gauge) Blocked gauge: 4.25 sts/inch Dimensions: Laid fat the cowl is 6"x15" after blocking (Note: there is enough yarn in a single skein for a few extra inches in length, if desired. Your stitch total should be a multiple of 4.) Technique note: Slipping the stitch between the purl and knit rows helps to prevent a jog between those patterns. We will slip the first stitch on some of the rounds, also advancing the marker which marks the beginning of the round.
Directions
Cast on 136 stitches. Join to work in the round, making sure not to twist. Place a marker to mark the beginning of theround. Purl 1 row. Slip next stitch (as if to purl) with yarn in back, and move marker forward 1 stitch so that the beginning of the round has now moved forward 1 stitch. Knit 3 rows. Purl next row to marker. Slip next stitch (as if to purl) with yarn in back, move marker forward 1 stitch. Knit 3 rows. Purl next row to marker. Slip next stitch (as if to purl) with yarn in back, move marker forward 1 stitch. Work the 4-row Polperro Seeds Pattern Stitch 8 times:
Polperro Seeds Pattern Stitch Graph
| X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Stitches | |
| Knit | |
| X | Purl |
After 8 repeats of the 4-row Polperro Seeds Pattern, knit 1 row. Purl 1 row. Slip next stitch (as if to purl) with yarn in back, move marker forward 1 stitch. Knit3rows. Purl 1 row. Slip next stitch (as if to purl) with yarn in back, move marker forward 1 stitch.
Knit 3 rows, purl 1 row, and cast off in purl
Blocking
Wash the cowl in lukewarm water. Submerge the cowl and let it soak, without any friction. Rinse, squeeze without twisting, and roll in a towel and press to remove water. Lay fat to dry, rotating whenever you walk by to prevent creases. Bibliography: Wright, Mary, Cornish Guernsey & Knit-frocks, Ethnographica, London,1979
