Little Orme Cowl

Little Orme Cowl by Kath Andrews

What is Being Made

The Little Orme Cowl is a thick and comforting stranded cowl designed to coordinate with the Little Orme Mitts. This is a neck cowl worked in the round using a stranded colorwork technique, creating a visually striking design with multiple color changes throughout the piece.

Construction Method

The cowl is worked sideways in the round from a provisional cast-on, which allows the knitter to work the piece horizontally rather than vertically. Once the desired length is achieved, the two ends are joined together using an invisible graft for a seamless finish. For knitters who prefer to avoid grafting, two alternative joining methods are included in the pattern to provide flexibility in finishing techniques.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

This pattern employs stranded knitting, also known as Fair Isle or multi-color knitting, where two or more colors are carried across the row to create the colorwork pattern. The pattern includes specific guidance on stranded knitting technique: holding the contrast color below both the main color and secondary main color ensures the stranded design appears consistently prominent. For knitters comfortable working with both hands, the pattern recommends holding the contrast color in the left hand and the main color in the right hand to achieve smooth, even tension.

The colourwork pattern is presented as a chart only rather than written-out row-by-row instructions, requiring the knitter to read and follow a visual pattern guide.

Yarn and Materials

The Little Orme Cowl is worked in 4-ply weight yarn using Knit Picks Palette, which is 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. The yarn specification calls for:

• Main Color (MC): Mist, 2 balls (292m/69g precise meterage used)
• Contrast Color 1 (C1): Forest Heather, 1 ball (63m/15g precise meterage used)
• Contrast Color 2 (C2): Spearmint, 1 ball (51m/12g precise meterage used)
• Contrast Color 3 (C3): Edamame, 1 ball (51m/12g precise meterage used)

The pattern is worked on 2 x 3.25mm circular needles, 40cm length, or needles sized to achieve the correct gauge for the yarn.

Skill Level

This pattern is rated as intermediate difficulty, suitable for knitters with experience in basic techniques who are ready to tackle stranded colorwork and grafting methods.