Garter Ridge Cowl in Bernat Alize Blanket-EZ - Downloadable PDF

Garter Ridge Cowl in Bernat Alize Blanket-EZ — Pattern Summary

The Garter Ridge Cowl is a free, downloadable PDF knitting pattern published by Bernat. It produces a generously sized, tube-style cowl that finishes at approximately 16 inches (40.5 cm) deep and 24 inches (61 cm) in circumference — roomy enough to wear looped once around the neck or pulled up over the chin for extra warmth. Rated Easy, this project is an excellent choice for beginners who want to explore the unique finger-knitting style made possible by Bernat Alize Blanket-EZ yarn.

What Is Being Made

The finished object is a cowl — a seamless, circular neck warmer worked flat and then seamed along both edges to create a cozy tube. The texture is defined by garter ridges, which give the fabric a satisfying, dimensional appearance with alternating raised and recessed rows. Because the right side faces the knitter at all times throughout construction, the project is worked entirely without turning, making it especially approachable for those new to knitting.

Materials Used

• Yarn: Bernat Alize Blanket-EZ in Warm Clay (37022) — a super chunky (weight 6) specialty yarn sold in 6.4 oz / 180 g balls yielding approximately 18 yards (16 m) each. 2 balls are required for this project.
• Tools: No traditional knitting needles or crochet hook are needed for the main body of the cowl. Bernat Alize Blanket-EZ is a self-looping yarn with pre-formed loops along its length, designed to be worked entirely by hand using a finger-knitting technique. A crochet hook may be referenced for finishing or seaming purposes.

About Bernat Alize Blanket-EZ Yarn

Bernat Alize Blanket-EZ is a revolutionary super-bulky yarn that comes with evenly spaced, pre-formed loops already built into the strand. These loops act as the stitches themselves, eliminating the need for knitting needles or a crochet hook during the main construction. Knitters simply pull one loop through another using their fingers, creating a dense, plush fabric very quickly. The yarn's extreme thickness and the finger-knitting method make projects like this cowl work up in a fraction of the time required by conventional knitting.

Techniques Used

• Finger knitting with pre-formed loops — the defining technique of the Bernat Alize Blanket-EZ system, in which the knitter pulls loops through loops entirely by hand
• Foundation row setup — counting out 20 loops from the yarn to establish the starting stitch count, with the yarn end positioned at the far right
• Working without turning — the right side of the fabric faces the knitter throughout; rows alternate direction (left to right, then right to left) without flipping the work
• Garter ridge construction — achieved by alternating the direction and method of loop manipulation across rows, creating the characteristic ridged texture
• Flat seaming — the completed fabric is folded in half with wrong sides together, then the top and bottom edges are joined by pulling loops through both thicknesses simultaneously to form the cowl tube
• Bind off — worked by pulling each successive stitch through the previous one along the final row, securing the edge neatly

Stitches and Row Structure

• Foundation row: 20 loops are counted and positioned as the base of the fabric
• Row 1 (right to left direction): The 21st loop is pulled up through the 20th loop from behind to create the first knit-style stitch; subsequent loops from the working yarn are pulled up through each foundation loop to the end — 20 stitches established
• Row 2 (right to left direction): With the working yarn held in front, the next loop is pulled toward the back through the last stitch worked on the previous row, then repeated across