Jinlys

Jinlys Cowl by Melanie Berg

What Is Being Made

Jinlys is an elegant knitted cowl designed by independent designer Melanie Berg. This versatile accessory measures approximately 8 inches by 50 inches (20 cm by 125 cm) in its finished state, making it a generous neck wrap suitable for layering and styling. The cowl is constructed as a flat rectangular piece that is then seamed together, creating a continuous loop for wearing.

Knitting Techniques

The Jinlys cowl employs several fundamental knitting techniques that make it accessible to intermediate-level knitters. The project begins with a provisional cast-on, which allows the knitter to later access live stitches for grafting. The piece is knitted flat on the bias, meaning the fabric is worked at an angle rather than in traditional rows, creating subtle directional interest in the finished piece.

The most important finishing technique is the Kitchener stitch (also called grafting), which seamlessly joins the two ends of the cowl together. This method creates an invisible seam by weaving live stitches from both ends using a tapestry needle, resulting in a polished, professional appearance.

Stitches Used

The Jinlys pattern utilizes a simple yet effective combination of basic knitting stitches:

• Knit (k) – the fundamental stitch that forms the primary fabric
• Purl (p) – used to create textural contrast and visual interest
• Knit front and back (kfb) – an increase stitch that adds one stitch by working into both the front and back loops of a single stitch
• Knit 2 together (k2tog) – a decrease stitch that combines two stitches into one
• Yarn over (yo) – creates decorative holes and lace-like elements
• Pass yarn over last stitch (pyo1) – a decrease method that passes the yarn over the last stitch for shaping

These stitches work together to create the cowl's subtle texture, which provides visual interest without overwhelming the elegant simplicity of the design.

Materials Required

The Jinlys cowl is worked in Cascade Superwash 128, a chunky-weight yarn composed of 100% Merino Superwash wool. This yarn comes in 100-gram skeins with a yardage of 128 yards (117 meters) per skein. The pattern calls for 3 skeins in colorway 875 Feather Grey, though the sample shown used 241 grams or 308 yards (282 meters) of yarn, leaving some yardage remaining for other projects.

The project is worked on 5.0 mm (US 8) circular needles. Circular needles are used here despite the flat knitting construction, as they accommodate the width of the cowl comfortably and allow for easy manipulation of the fabric as it grows.

Customization Options

The Jinlys pattern offers built-in flexibility for personalizing the finished cowl. Knitters can easily adjust the length by adding additional rows beyond the pattern, allowing the cowl to be made longer or shorter according to preference. The width can also be modified by adding pattern repeats to each row, creating a wider or narrower cowl. The formula for calculating the number of stitches per row is 4 * x + 5, where x represents the number of pattern repeats desired, making it simple to scale the design to individual specifications.