torto beginner’s cowl

sometimes i challenge myself.

sometimes someone else fuels the fire.

this time elizabeth, owner of lys “auntie zaza’s”, asked for a cowl pattern.

IMG_3281crop

‘something,’ she said, ‘for a beginner, but interesting.  maybe with a cable.’

it’s funny how working to simplify this cowl

down to the very basics and

finding the most straightforward ways to construct it around the cable

was harder than designing a more complex piece.

IMG_3238collagei think that’s because i wanted every stitch to count.

if you’re learning to cable,

you want bang for your buck, you know?

long, wide cables are minimal on fuss

and maximize the drama.

IMG_3273cropb&w&cropif you’re going to try your hand at knitting in the round,

you want to not get two rows in

only to realize that you twisted it into a mobius by mistake.

since this cowl’s ribbing is knit flat,

by the time you join to knit in the round

it’s easy, almost foolproof, to see when you’ve got the twists out.

IMG_3247cropwashproblem solved.  now if only there was an easy way

to do gorgeous colorwork with 5 shades per row…

‘time’ taken from 15:32 in job.

darker cowl is cascade eco+ in ‘berry’.

lighter cowl is debbie bliss rialto chunky in ‘sea green’.

3 thoughts on “torto beginner’s cowl

  1. You look more yourself in these pictures! 🙂 I like the cowl a lot. The cable where the flat ribbing joins is genius! Love it.

    • thanks. don’t know how many times i have joined something to knit in the round only to find out a few rnds later that i’d twisted the cast on row and would have to start again. when i do things in the round now i tend to work a few rows flat on purpose and then seam them up later to be sure i’ve got everything untwisted. this is just an intentional version of my own quirky fix. smile.

      • I almost always knit or rib, whatever, a few rows when I begin socks. That way I can tell! Would I be able to make this cowl shorter? It looks as if I could make it twenty two inches or so, just so it’s one round around my neck. I think I could figure it out from the pattern. 🙂

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