Ventura Cowl

Ventura Cowl by Sharon Slarke

What is Being Made

The Ventura Cowl is a warm and elegant knitted cowl designed by Sharon Slarke. This downloadable knitting pattern creates a luxurious neck accessory with a circumference of 114cm (45 inches) and a width of 22cm (8½ inches), making it a substantial and versatile piece suitable for layering or wearing as a statement accessory.

Craft and Technique

This is a knitting project worked in the round, which creates a seamless tubular fabric ideal for cowls. The pattern combines traditional ribbed construction with lace elements, creating visual interest while maintaining the warmth needed for a functional neck accessory. The beginner-friendly difficulty level makes this an accessible project for knitters new to lace techniques, as the lace elements are integrated into a supportive ribbed structure rather than being worked throughout.

Stitches Used

The Ventura Cowl features two primary stitch patterns that work together to create the finished design:

• Lace Squares Stitch: A 12-round repeat pattern worked over a multiple of 8 stitches. This stitch combines knit and purl stitches with yarn overs (yrn) and purl two together decreases (p2 tog) to create openwork squares. The pattern alternates between ribbed sections and lace sections, with plain knit rounds interspersed to give the fabric structure and prevent it from becoming too delicate.
• Ribbed Leaf Stitch: A decorative stitch pattern worked over a multiple of 12 stitches that incorporates leaf-like motifs. This stitch uses yarn forwards (yf) increases combined with knit two together decreases (k2 tog) to create the characteristic leaf shaping, while purl and knit stitches form the ribbed background that provides elasticity and structure.

Materials and Gauge

The Ventura Cowl is worked using worsted weight yarn (also called 10 ply), with the pattern specifically written for Cascade 220 Heathers in 100% wool. The pattern requires 2 skeins of 100g each (approximately 201 meters or 220 yards per skein). However, any worsted or 10 ply yarn of similar yardage and fiber content can be substituted.

The project is worked on 5mm needles (or the size needed to obtain gauge). The recommended gauge is 18 stitches and 26 rows to 10cm (4 inches) when working the Ribbed Leaf Stitch on 5mm needles. Notably, the pattern specifies that gauge is not critical for this piece, making it forgiving for knitters who may not achieve exact gauge specifications.