Tonic Water

Tonic Water Cowl by BabyCocktails

What is Being Made

Tonic Water is a knitted cowl designed by Thea Colman of BabyCocktails. This is a versatile neck accessory measuring 12 inches wide by 50 inches long, making it suitable for wrapping around the neck multiple times or wearing as a generous single loop. The cowl combines stockinette stitch edges with a central lace pattern, creating visual interest and texture.

Craft and Techniques

This is a knitting project classified as intermediate difficulty, making it suitable for knitters with some experience beyond basic techniques. The construction begins with a cable cast-on for a neat, finished edge. The cowl is worked flat in the round using a chart-based lace pattern that repeats throughout the length of the piece. The design incorporates stockinette stitch borders on both sides, which are specifically engineered to create a neat seam when the two ends are sewn together to form the cowl shape. This thoughtful construction detail ensures a professional finish.

Stitches and Stitch Pattern

The Tonic Water cowl features a combination of fundamental knitting stitches:

• Stockinette stitch forms the 3-stitch borders on each side of the lace pattern, providing structure and a smooth, classic finish
• Garter stitch creates the selvedge edges (the first and last 3 stitches of knit rows and all stitches on wrong-side rows)
• Lace pattern based on a charted design that repeats across 18 columns, worked over 32 rows. The lace section is repeated twice across the width, with a partial repeat of columns 1-16 to complete the stitch count

The lace pattern creates an openwork design that adds elegance and visual complexity to the cowl while maintaining breathability in the fabric.

Materials and Gauge

The Tonic Water cowl requires DK weight yarn, with the pattern calling for 2 skeins of Plucky Knitter Cozy (260 yards per skein) in a main color, plus an additional 50-75 yards of accent color yarn for contrast. The sample shown was knitted in Wintry Mix and Rapunzel colorways.

Knitting is worked on US #8 (5mm) needles. A darning needle is required for weaving in yarn ends after completion.

The gauge for this project is based on a blocked swatch, with one repeat of the 3-column chart measuring 5 inches wide and 4 inches deep. Achieving proper gauge is important for obtaining the intended finished dimensions of 12 inches by 50 inches.

Construction Details

The cowl begins with casting on 58 stitches using a cable cast-on method. After the initial setup rows in stockinette stitch, the knitter transitions into the charted lace pattern, which is worked repeatedly across the length of the piece until the cowl reaches the desired length. The strategic placement of stockinette stitch borders ensures that when the two ends are sewn together, the seam is nearly invisible and maintains the integrity of the design.