Celeriac Cowl in Rowan Fine Lace - ZB298-00013-DE - Downloadable PDF

Celeriac Cowl in Rowan Fine Lace by Lisa Richardson – Pattern Summary

The Celeriac Cowl is a beautifully textured knitted cowl designed by Lisa Richardson and published by Rowan. Available as a downloadable PDF (reference ZB298-00013-DE), this pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with lace techniques and shaping. The cowl is worked in Rowan Fine Lace, a delicate lace-weight yarn, and the sample shown in the pattern is knitted in the colourway Antique 921.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a cowl — a closed, tube-like neckwarmer worn around the neck and shoulders. Cowls are a popular accessory knit because they require no seaming and offer elegant drape when worked in fine yarns. The Celeriac Cowl takes its name from the organic, knobbly texture of the celeriac vegetable, which is reflected in the intricate stitch pattern that creates a sculptural, dimensional fabric. The resulting piece is lightweight yet visually striking, ideal for layering over winter garments.

Yarn and Materials

• Yarn: Rowan Fine Lace — a lace-weight yarn, used at 3 x 50 g skeins for this project
• Yarn weight: Lace, with a yardage of 159 metres per 50 g skein
• Sample colourway: Antique 921
• Needles: 3.25 mm (3¼ mm) knitting needles
• Extras: A length of waste yarn in a similar weight, used for the provisional cast-on

Rowan Fine Lace is a premium yarn known for its gossamer-thin construction and beautiful stitch definition, making it perfectly suited to intricate lace and textured stitch patterns. Its lightweight nature ensures the finished cowl has an elegant, fluid drape.

Techniques Used

• Provisional cast-on: The cowl begins with a provisional cast-on using waste yarn. This technique allows the live stitches from the cast-on edge to be picked up later, enabling a seamless or grafted join. The waste yarn is cut away once the original yarn is established.
• Working in pattern from a row-by-row sequence: The stitch pattern is worked across multiple carefully structured rows, with significant stitch count changes occurring row by row through increases and decreases.
• Stocking stitch border rows: The pattern begins with a few rows of stocking stitch (knit on right side, purl on wrong side) before transitioning into the main textured stitch pattern.
• Shaping through paired decreases and increases: The main pattern stitch creates its sculptural texture through a combination of right-leaning decreases, left-leaning decreases, and yarn-over increases, which shift stitch counts dramatically from row to row.

Stitches Used

• Knit stitch (Rechtsr / re) — the foundation stitch used throughout
• Purl stitch (Links / li) — used on wrong-side rows and within the pattern
• K2tog (2 M re zus-str) — knit two stitches together, a right-leaning decrease that reduces stitch count
• Sl1-k2tog-psso or central double decrease (3 M li zus-str) — a double decrease worked on purl rows, removing two stitches at once to create a strong shaping line
• Skpo / ssk (übzAbn) — a left-leaning decrease worked by slipping a stitch and passing it over, balancing the k2tog decreases
• Multiple increases (11 M zun) — a dramatic increase of multiple