Cottage Grove Cowl in Blue Sky Fibers Worsted Cotton/Printed Cotton - 202022 - Downloadable PDF

Cottage Grove Cowl by Blue Sky Fibers – Pattern Summary

The Cottage Grove Cowl is a knitted cowl designed by Nancy Ekvall for Blue Sky Fibers as part of The Traveler Series. This downloadable PDF pattern (No. 202022) produces a generously sized, circular cowl with a finished circumference of 62 inches and a height of 9 inches, making it a versatile, wrap-around accessory that can be worn looped multiple times or draped loosely around the shoulders. The design is rated Advanced Beginner in difficulty, making it an excellent next step for knitters who have mastered basic techniques and are ready to explore simple colorwork and textured stitches.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a single-size, seamless knitted cowl worked in the round. Its generous circumference gives it a relaxed, drapey silhouette that suits a wide range of styling options. Because the pattern uses 100% Certified Organic Cotton yarn in both solid and printed colorways, the resulting cowl is described as soft, colorful, and seasonless — equally suited to spring layering and cooler-weather wear.

Colorways and Yarn

The pattern calls for four separate hanks of yarn, combining two Blue Sky Fibers product lines to create visual interest and texture:

• Blue Sky Fibers Organic Cotton (Worsted) – a solid-colored yarn in 100% Certified Organic Cotton, 100g/150 yards per hank
• Blue Sky Fibers Printed Organic Cotton (Worsted) – a printed or variegated version of the same base yarn, also 100% Certified Organic Cotton, 100g/150 yards per hank

The four colors used in the pattern are:

• Color A: No. 636 Jasper (Organic Cotton)
• Color B: No. 2202 Mayflower (Printed Organic Cotton)
• Color C: No. 643 Ash (Organic Cotton)
• Color D: No. 614 Drift (Printed Organic Cotton)

The pairing of solid and printed yarns within the Linen Stitch structure creates a naturally rich, layered color effect without requiring complex stranded colorwork techniques. Each hank provides 150 yards, and the pattern requires one hank of each color — four hanks total.

Techniques and Stitches Used

The primary stitch pattern used throughout the Cottage Grove Cowl is the Linen Stitch, a classic slip-stitch texture that produces a dense, woven-looking fabric. In the Linen Stitch, stitches are alternately knitted and slipped purlwise with the yarn held in front, creating a subtle horizontal texture that adds body and visual depth to the fabric. This stitch is particularly well-suited to cotton yarns, as the stitch definition of cotton enhances the woven appearance of the pattern.

Because the cowl is worked in the round on a 40-inch circular needle, there are no seams to sew, and the construction is continuous from cast-on to bind-off. Working the Linen Stitch in the round requires attention to the slip-stitch placement on both knit and purl rounds, which is what elevates this pattern to the Advanced Beginner level.

Key techniques referenced in the pattern include:

• Cast on (CO) – setting up stitches on the circular needle to begin working in the round
• Knit (k) – the foundational knit stitch used within the Linen Stitch pattern
• Slipping stitches purlwise (pwise) – a core component of the Linen Stitch, creating the characteristic woven texture
• Place marker (pm) – used to mark the beginning of rounds and track pattern repeats
• Bind off (BO) – finishing the cowl cleanly at the top edge
• Weaving in ends – finishing work using a tapestry needle, particularly important with a four-color design

Materials and Notions