Stranded Colourwork Cowl

Stranded Colourwork Cowl by Nicky Barfoot

What is Being Made

The Stranded Colourwork Cowl is a cosy, double-sided cowl neck accessory inspired by 1940s knitwear. This downloadable knitting pattern creates a warm, versatile piece designed to add colour and style to coats and jackets. The cowl is worked as a tube and then folded to create a double-layered fabric, making it both functional and visually interesting from both sides.

Design and Inspiration

Drawing from the elegant style and thrifty approach characteristic of 1940s knitwear, this pattern embraces vintage aesthetics while serving as an excellent stash buster. The design incorporates a 50-row repeating pattern that is worked 5 times throughout the project, creating a cohesive and balanced colourwork design.

Techniques Used

This pattern provides an excellent introduction to stranded colourwork knitting in the round. Stranded colourwork, also known as Fair Isle knitting, involves carrying yarn colours across the back of the work to create intricate motif patterns. The cowl is worked in the round, which means stitches are worked continuously in a spiral rather than back and forth in rows. The finished tube is then folded to create the double-sided fabric, adding both warmth and visual interest.

This project is ideal for knitters wishing to practice and develop their stranded technique, as it provides structured practice with traditional motif colour work without the complexity of a larger garment.

Stitches and Construction

The pattern uses fundamental knitting stitches worked in the round to create the stranded colourwork design. The 50-row pattern repeat is executed 5 times to achieve the desired length and impact of the design. The construction method of working as a tube and folding creates a reversible fabric with colour work visible on both sides.

Yarn and Materials

This pattern is designed for DK weight yarn, a medium-weight yarn that works well for detailed colourwork. The pattern uses seven different yarn colours:

• Yarn A (Yellow): 175m/191yds
• Yarn B (Brown): 175m/191yds
• Yarn C (Dark Pink): 35m/39yds
• Yarn D (Green): 53m/58yds
• Yarn E (Pale Pink): 35m/39yds
• Yarn F (Turquoise/Light Green): 53m/58yds
• Yarn G (Grey): 53m/58yds

The pattern features two main background colours (yellow and brown) with small amounts of contrasting colours used for colour pops throughout the design. The designer's sample was created using Rowan Felted Tweed DK yarn, a traditional choice for colourwork projects. This pattern is perfect for using up yarn scraps and stash yarn, as the accent colours require only small yardages.

Difficulty Level

Rated as intermediate, this pattern is suitable for knitters with some experience who are ready to tackle stranded colourwork techniques. While not a beginner project, it is designed as a manageable introduction to this traditional technique, making it an ideal stepping stone for developing colourwork skills.