Yvonne Cowl

Yvonne Cowl by Sharon Slarke

Project Overview

The Yvonne Cowl is a beginner-friendly knitted cowl designed by Sharon Slarke. This project combines textural interest with straightforward construction, making it an ideal choice for knitters new to cowl patterns. The finished piece measures 60cm in circumference (23½ inches) with a width of 25cm (10 inches), creating a versatile neckwear accessory suitable for layering and everyday wear.

Design and Construction

The Yvonne Cowl features a distinctive design combining two complementary stitch patterns. The primary structure uses a thick and thin rib pattern, which creates visual depth and textural variation throughout the cowl. This rib pattern is bordered by sections of brocade squares, adding decorative detail and breaking up the ribbed sections with a contrasting textured element. The combination of these two stitch patterns creates a sophisticated finished piece despite the beginner difficulty level.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

This cowl is worked in the round using circular needles, which eliminates the need for seaming and creates a seamless, professional finish. The primary stitches employed include:

• Thick and Thin Rib Stitch: The foundation stitch creating the main textural pattern of the cowl
• Brocade Squares Stitch: A decorative stitch pattern worked over a multiple of 8 stitches, featuring yarn forward (yf) and yarn to back (ytb) techniques combined with slip stitches to create raised square motifs
• Basic knitting techniques: Including knit stitches, purl stitches, yarn overs, slip stitches, knit two together (k2tog) decreases, and pass slip stitch over (psso) techniques
• Make 3 (M3) stitch: A special abbreviation used to increase stitches by working a knit, purl, and knit into a single stitch

Materials and Gauge

The Yvonne Cowl is designed to be worked in DK weight yarn (8 ply), with the pattern specifically tested using Swish Yarns by Crafty Wool Yarns, a 100% wool yarn available in 115g skeins with approximately 230 meters (252 yards) per skein. Only 1 skein is required to complete this project, making it an economical choice for a finished accessory.

The pattern calls for one 40cm (16 inch) circular needle in 4.5mm size, or a needle size adjusted to obtain the recommended gauge. The working gauge is 17.5 stitches and 26.5 rows to 10cm (4 inches) in the Thick and Thin Rib Stitch using 4.5mm needles. The pattern notes that gauge is not critical for this piece, offering flexibility for knitters who may not achieve exact gauge specifications.

Yarn and Needle Specifications

While the pattern is designed around DK weight yarn, it accommodates any DK or 8 ply yarn of similar yardage and fiber content. The 4.5mm circular needle is the recommended tool for achieving the proper fabric drape and stitch definition, though needle substitution is possible based on individual gauge and yarn choice.