Spring Flower snood

Spring Flower Snood by Monica Russel

What is Being Made

The Spring Flower snood is a circular cowl-style neckwear project designed by Monica Russel. This downloadable knitting pattern creates a finished snood measuring 58cm all round width and 24cm in depth, making it a versatile accessory suitable for layering and seasonal wear. The snood is worked in the round using a fair isle colorwork technique, combining four coordinating yarn colors to create a floral design.

Knitting Techniques Used

This intermediate-level knitting project employs several key techniques:

• Fair Isle Knitting: The primary technique used throughout the snood, featuring a color-coded chart that guides knitters through the repeating pattern. The fair isle method involves carrying multiple yarn colors and twisting them every 2-3 stitches to avoid large loops at the back of the work.
• Circular Knitting: The entire snood is knitted in the round using a circular needle, eliminating the need for seaming and creating a seamless, professional finish.
• Ribbed Edging: The snood begins and ends with knit and purl ribbing worked in the round, which provides elasticity and structure to the neckline.
• Yarn Twisting: Proper tension management through regular yarn twisting prevents loose loops and maintains even colorwork tension throughout the project.

Stitches Used

The Spring Flower snood utilizes fundamental knitting stitches suitable for both advanced and beginner knitters:

• Knit Stitch (K): Used throughout the fair isle pattern and as part of the ribbed sections.
• Purl Stitch (P): Combined with knit stitches to create the [K1, P1] ribbed edging at the beginning and end of the snood.
• Fair Isle Pattern Stitches: The charted design uses knit stitches in varying colors to create the floral motif, with the chart providing visual guidance for color placement across 26 rows of patterning.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

This pattern requires DK weight yarn in four distinct colorways:

• Yarn A - Sand (208): Used for the ribbed edging and as a base color in the fair isle pattern.
• Yarn B - Rosemary (381): One of the primary colors in the floral colorwork design.
• Yarn C - Blush (287): Contributes to the spring flower aesthetic with its soft tone.
• Yarn D - River (194): Completes the four-color palette for the fair isle pattern.

Needles Required: One 4.5mm (US size 7) circular needle, 40cm in length, along with a stitch marker to indicate the beginning of each round. The pattern specifies a tension of 24 stitches and 24 rows measured over 10cm (4 inches) in stockinette stitch, which is essential for achieving the correct finished measurements.

Pattern Structure and Repeat

The snood begins with casting on 140 stitches using Yarn A and the 4.5mm circular needle. After joining in the round with careful attention to avoid twisting stitches, knitters work three rounds of [K1, P1] ribbing. The fair isle pattern is then worked from the color-coded chart for 26 rows, repeated twice, followed by an additional partial repeat of rounds 1-11. The pattern concludes with three final rounds of ribbing using Yarn A. This structure creates a balanced, finished garment with secure edges.

The designer notes that this fair isle snood is accessible to both advanced and beginner knitters, as the color-coded chart simplifies the colorwork process. Additionally, Monica Russel offers the option to purchase an extra skein of Sand yarn to create a matching hat, and knitting kits are available through her website for those preferring pre-packaged materials.