Purple Rain

Purple Rain Cowl by Crystal

What is Being Made

Purple Rain is a knitted cowl designed to celebrate enduring friendships and meaningful connections. This piece is created flat and then finished by grafting the ends together, resulting in a beautiful, seamless loop. The cowl features a finished circumference of 25 inches (63.5 cm) and stands 9.5 inches (24 cm) high, making it a versatile neckwear piece suitable for layering and everyday wear.

Design Inspiration and Concept

This design by Crystal Hiatt was created to honor unconditional and infinite friendships. The pattern acknowledges the reality of distance and time passing between friends, while celebrating the unmistakable joy and warmth experienced when reconnecting. The designer notes that friendships can pick up exactly where they left off, as if no time has passed at all.

Knitting Techniques Used

Purple Rain employs the flat knitting method, which means the cowl is worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round. This approach offers several advantages for pattern clarity and ease of execution. Once the flat piece reaches the desired length of 50 inches (127 cm), the two ends are grafted together using a seamless joining technique. Grafting creates an invisible seam and ensures the cowl maintains its professional appearance and comfortable fit around the neck.

The pattern features a repeating lace design that the designer describes as mesmerizing to knit. Working with lace patterns requires attention to detail and familiarity with yarn overs and decreases, making this an intermediate-level project suitable for knitters with some experience.

Stitches and Abbreviations

The pattern utilizes fundamental knitting stitches and lace techniques, including:

• Knit (K) – the basic knit stitch
• Purl (P) – the basic purl stitch
• Purl 2 Together (p2tog) – a single decrease that combines two purl stitches into one
• Purl 3 Together (p3tog) – a double decrease that combines three purl stitches into one
• Cast On (CO) – the foundation row of stitches
• Repeat (rep) – pattern sequences that are worked multiple times across rows

The lace pattern repeats throughout the cowl, creating visual interest and texture. The combination of knit, purl, and decrease stitches forms the characteristic openwork design typical of lace knitting.

Yarn and Materials

Purple Rain is designed for worsted weight yarn, a medium-weight category that provides good stitch definition and drape. The pattern requires 237 yards (217 meters) of yarn to complete the project.

The sample cowl was knitted using Malabrigo Yarn Rios, a premium yarn composed of 100% superwash merino wool. This particular yarn is available in 210 yards (192 meters) per skein, meaning approximately 1.1 skeins are needed for the project. The sample was worked in the colorway Purpuras, a rich purple shade that inspired the cowl's name. Superwash merino wool offers excellent softness, breathability, and easy care properties, making it ideal for a garment worn close to the skin.

Gauge and Needle Information

The pattern gauge is 18 stitches and 21 rows per 4 inches (10 cm) when worked in the pattern stitch, flat, and blocked. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for obtaining the finished dimensions and ensuring the lace pattern displays properly. Knitters should swatch before beginning the project and block their swatch to verify gauge accuracy, as blocking can affect stitch and row counts in lace patterns.

Skill Level

This cowl is rated as an intermediate knitting project. While it uses basic stitches, the combination of lace pattern work, flat knitting, and the grafting technique required to finish the cowl make it suitable for knitters who have completed several projects and are comfortable reading pattern repeats and managing yarn overs and decreases.

Format and Availability

Purple Rain is available as a downloadable PDF pattern from independent designer Crystal, allowing knitters to access the complete instructions immediately upon purchase and reference them while working on their project.