Frog Land: Crazy for Cowls

I've moved on from an early flurry of fingerless mitt knitting, now I'm into cowls. I'm generally a late adopter - I only started wearing cowls last spring, and like most things I finally adopt (ipod, kindle), I wonder why I waited so long. They are fabulous!

Last spring I knit a small cowl, loosely based on the Infinitude Scarf, out of fuschia Debbie Bliss Fez. I love the yarn, but not the cowl - I was impatient to finish it quickly, and made it much too small. I could just about get it around my neck twice, barely.

So I've frogged it and plan to start the Welted Cowl pattern from Vogue Knitting Holiday 2010.

Same concept, more coverage. I should learn one of these days that it doesn't pay to cut corners.

UPDATE:

Completed welted cowl in Fez over Christmas. LOVE it!

I especially like cowls that you can wrap several times around your neck, but there are some very nice small quick cowl patterns out there. Earlier I tried Madelinetosh's Honey Cowl with the Fez, but I felt the yarn was too soft and fluffy, and didn't show off the stitch pattern well. I think this would work better with a single plied yarn (like Madelinetosh tosh merino dk, coincidentally).

An even quicker knit I just discovered last week (and promptly knit over the weekend) is Purl Soho's Bandana Cowl. This is a brilliant little pattern that incorporates the best qualities of a cowl and a shawlette - stays in place AND covers the chest area.

I knit mine in the new Debbie Bliss Paloma, which is a super chunky yarn, so I had to modify the pattern slightly. By the time I finished the short rows in the lower triangle portion the cowl was already getting too long, so I only knit 2 rows between the decrease rows, instead of the 3 rows the pattern called for.

The Eggplant Bandito

I love the finished project, and the yarn. I had planned to do it with Rowan Drift in the nomad colourway, which has a purple-black heathered appearance (what this has to do with nomads is anyone's guess). But I realised that would probably create too dense a fabric, so I went with the Paloma instead. Paloma is a luxurious 60% baby alpaca / 40% merino wool blend, plaited in a chain to give bulk without extra weight. It is amazing. I would love to knit a more substantial garment out of it, because it would knit up so light and snuggly. But it is really far too expensive for my budget - I'll have to stick to Rowan Cocoon, which I can just about afford.

There is one last cowl I've been working on for almost a year - the Mohair Bias Loop by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. I'm doing it in a lovely rusty melange Annie Blatt wool/mohair. But I'm knitting it at a glacial pace because it is straight stockinette in mohair, for God's sake!