Dyanna Elizabeth Cowl

Dyanna Elizabeth Cowl by Pat Hensley

What is Being Made

The Dyanna Elizabeth Cowl is a knitted neck accessory designed by Pat Hensley. This cowl measures 26 inches wide by 7 inches deep after blocking, making it a substantial layering piece suitable for versatile styling. The finished dimensions provide comfortable coverage for the neck and shoulder area while maintaining a refined silhouette.

Techniques Used

This intermediate-level knitting project employs several essential colorwork and construction techniques:

• Knitting in the Round: The cowl is constructed using circular needles to create a seamless tubular fabric, eliminating the need for seaming and ensuring consistent tension throughout the piece.
• Corrugated Rib: This textured stitch pattern combines knit and purl stitches in alternating colors, creating a dimensional ribbed effect that adds visual interest and elasticity to the cowl.
• Fair Isle (Stranded) Colorwork: The design incorporates traditional Fair Isle stranded knitting techniques, where two colors are carried across the row to create intricate patterned sections. The colorwork charts are sourced from Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting, a respected reference for authentic Fair Isle design.

Pat Hensley's pattern notes emphasize proper colorwork technique: maintaining consistent hand positioning (keeping the main color in one hand and contrast color in the other) helps achieve even tension and prevents loose or tight stitches where colors change. Using stitch markers after each pattern repeat aids in catching mistakes early in the knitting process.

Stitches Used

The Dyanna Elizabeth Cowl utilizes fundamental knitting stitches combined with colorwork elements:

• Knit (K): The basic knit stitch forms the foundation of stockinette stitch sections and contributes to the overall fabric structure.
• Purl (P): Purl stitches are incorporated within the corrugated rib pattern and may appear in other textured sections.
• Corrugated Rib: A combination of knit and purl stitches worked in two colors simultaneously, creating a textured, elastic fabric.
• Fair Isle Stranded Colorwork: Charted colorwork patterns that require carrying both the main color (MC) and contrast color (CC) across rows, with stitches selected from the chart to create the design.

Materials and Specifications

Yarn: The pattern calls for 250 yards of fingering weight yarn. The sample cowl used 155 yards of main color (MC) in dark and 80 yards of contrast color (CC) in variegated, allowing for flexibility in color selection while maintaining the overall yardage. Fingering weight yarn (also called 4-ply) is a fine yarn that produces detailed stitch definition, essential for displaying Fair Isle colorwork patterns clearly.

Needles: Size 3 US circular needles (or the size required to achieve proper gauge) are recommended for this project. Circular needles are necessary for knitting in the round and maintaining the seamless construction.

Gauge: The pattern specifies 6.5 stitches per 1 inch in stockinette stitch. Achieving correct gauge is critical for obtaining the finished dimensions and ensuring the cowl fits properly around the neck.

Pattern Flexibility

The Dyanna Elizabeth Cowl pattern allows for size adjustments in multiples of 60 stitches, enabling knitters to customize the width to their preferences. This scalability makes the pattern adaptable for different neck sizes and desired coverage levels.

This downloadable PDF pattern from independent designer Pat Hensley is formatted for personal use and includes detailed charts on the final page, providing a complete guide for creating a sophisticated, colorwork-enhanced cowl suitable for intermediate knitters seeking to develop or practice Fair Isle stranded knitting techniques.