703 Orla Cowl - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Southwick

703 Orla Cowl - Knitting Pattern for Women

What is Being Made

The 703 Orla Cowl is a women's cowl designed by Kirsten Hipsky, featuring a finished size of approximately 40 inches around and 10 inches wide. This accessory combines seed stitch texture with horizontal color stripes to create a visually complex pattern that is surprisingly simple to execute, making it an excellent project for knitters seeking straightforward construction with striking visual results.

Techniques Used

This cowl is worked seamlessly in the round using circular needles, eliminating the need for seaming. The pattern employs stripe work to introduce color variation throughout the design. A key technical feature is the use of an odd number of cast-on stitches (161 stitches), which eliminates the jog that typically occurs at the beginning of the round when working in stitch patterns, creating an unbroken visual flow of the "k1, p1" sequence around and around the cowl.

Stitches Used

The primary stitch used in this pattern is seed stitch, worked in the round. Seed stitch is created by alternating knit and purl stitches on every row and round, producing a textured, bumpy fabric that looks similar to seeds. The pattern works as follows:

• Round 1: Knit 1, then repeat purl 1, knit 1 to the end
• Round 2: Purl 1, then repeat knit 1, purl 1 to the end

These two rounds are repeated with color changes to build the striped pattern. The seed stitch creates a reversible, textured fabric with excellent drape and elasticity.

Materials

The pattern calls for Valley Yarns Southwick, a yarn blend composed of 52% Pima Cotton and 48% Bamboo, classified as DK weight (50 grams per 105 yards per skein). Three colors are required: one skein each of color 04 Blue Lapis (color A), color 13 Iguana (color B), and color 17 Silver (color C). Needles required are US size 9 (5.50mm) circular needles, 32 inches long, or the size needed to achieve the specified gauge of 4 stitches and 6 rows equaling 1 inch in seed stitch.

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as beginner difficulty, making it accessible to knitters new to circular needle work and color changes. The straightforward seed stitch and simple stripe sequence require only basic knitting knowledge, while the seamless in-the-round construction introduces fundamental circular knitting techniques.