Easy Peasy Stranded Cowl in Cascade Yarns Pacific Chunky - C349 - Downloadable PDF

Easy Peasy Stranded Cowl – Pattern Summary

About This Pattern

The Easy Peasy Stranded Cowl is a free, downloadable PDF knitting pattern designed by Shannon Dunbabin and published by Cascade Yarns. It produces a single adult-sized cowl with a finished circumference of 25 inches and a height of 10.5 inches — a versatile, wearable accessory that sits comfortably around the neck. Despite its colorwork content, the pattern is rated Intermediate in skill level, making it an excellent next step for knitters who have mastered basic knitting in the round and are ready to explore stranded colorwork techniques.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a knitted cowl worked in the round as one adult size. The cowl features a classic ribbed border at the base, a bold stranded colorwork motif in the body, and is designed to be both stylish and functional. The finished piece is a closed-loop cowl — not a Möbius — knitted seamlessly in the round from cast-on to bind-off.

Techniques Used

• Knitting in the round – The entire cowl is worked circularly on a short circular needle, eliminating any seaming and creating a smooth, continuous fabric.
• Stranded colorwork (Fair Isle) – The central body of the cowl features a Fair Isle pattern worked from a chart, with 25 pattern repeats around the circumference. Stranded colorwork involves carrying two yarn colors across each round, catching the unused color as a float on the wrong side of the fabric to maintain consistent tension.
• Ribbing – A K2, P2 rib is worked for six rounds at the beginning of the cowl, providing a neat, stretchy border that helps the cowl hold its shape and lie flat against the neck.
• Chart reading – Knitters follow a colorwork chart (Pattern A) to place the two-color design accurately across each round, a foundational skill in stranded knitting.
• Joining in the round – Stitches are cast on and carefully joined without twisting before placing a stitch marker, a critical step in circular knitting.
• Stitch marker use – A single stitch marker is used to track the beginning of each round throughout the project.

Stitches Used

• Knit stitch (K) – The primary stitch used throughout the body and colorwork sections.
• Purl stitch (P) – Used in combination with knit stitches to create the K2, P2 ribbing border.
• K2, P2 Rib – A two-by-two ribbing pattern repeated for six full rounds to form the lower border of the cowl.
• Fair Isle / stranded colorwork pattern – A charted two-color motif worked in knit stitches in the round, using both the Main Color (MC) and Contrast Color (CC) to create a repeating decorative design.

Materials Required

This pattern is specifically written for Cascade Yarns® Pacific® Chunky, a blend of 60% Acrylic and 40% Superwash Merino Wool. Each skein contains 100 g (3.5 oz) / 120 yards (110 m). The superwash treatment makes the finished cowl easy to care for, while the merino content adds softness and warmth.

• Main Color (MC): 1 skein of Pacific Chunky in color #105 Dutch Blue
• Contrast Color (CC): 1 skein of Pacific Chunky in color #158 Copper Brown
• Needles: US 10 (6.0 mm) circular knitting needle, 16-inch or 10-inch length
• Notions: 1 stitch marker, yarn needle for finishing

Gauge

The pattern calls for a gauge of 16 stitches