Tag: cowl

The Gathering

On By maraewestIn KnittingLeave a comment

The Gathering - Cowl - OutlanderI can’t even begin to express how much I have fallen in love with this cowl. Not just because it was inspired by a great TV show (that’s based on a fantastic book called Outlander), but because it’s so quick and versatile. However, this cowl is no longer in my possession. It was the first of two knitted gifts I sent off for Christmas. This particular cowl went to my stepmother who absolutely loves the Outlander show.

It was my stepmother’s love of Outlander that sent me on a quest to find a pattern inspired by the show. I wanted to make something special for her that she’d enjoy wearing in the cooler weather, especially since she lives in Colorado. I came across several different variations for this particular cowl, but I ended up choosing The Gathering by Kalurah Hudson.

 

As per usual, I modified the pattern a bit. The original pattern calls for a minimum of 16 to cast on but I did 24 to make it longer. I also skipped the twists because I prefer to have it flat when folded down.  The yarn I used was the same as in the pattern, which is the Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Barley.

I got to test out my provisional cast on skills again as well as actually doing the kitchener stitch to bind it all together. Hopefully I will be making myself a version of this cowl so I can get more practice with both (but I’ve got to wait until I burn through a lot more yarn since I don’t have any super bulky yarn in the stash)

The really fun part of the whole process was using the giant size 50 needles which are a whopping 25mm. I’m really hoping that I’ll find some other great patterns to use with these needles, aside from another version of this cowl that I’ll make for myself.

This cowl is fantastically stretchy, so it can be easily pulled down over the shoulders without the top flopping around your neck all loosey goosey.

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Autumn Multi Fuctional Cowl – Skirt – Hood

On By maraewestIn CrochetLeave a comment

Autumn Cowl - Skirt FinishedSince finishing this project I have worn it once as a skirt and twice as cowl. I’m liking it very much in both areas. Though I think I like it just a bit more as a cowl. Unfortunately, not even adding a second color got the cowl to be long enough to also work as a hood.

I finished the pattern as originally called out, which surprised me a little, though I do have a tendency to crochet a bit tight. I still had some of the flax colored yarn left, so I added a few extra single crochet rows after realizing that I didn’t have enough to add a full row of star stitches.

I sewed up the side and tried it on and, as I suspected, it was not long enough for me to comfortably wear as a skirt. I looked through my color options and chose Patons Silk Bamboo in Sapphire. I had two skeins of this particular yarn and I thought I could probably add a three more rows of star stitches. Not to mention it was shiny like the flax colored yarn.

Unfortunately, I had a bit of trouble getting the star stitches to work since I was trying to do them in the round instead of going side to side and I was working from the starting edge. I probably could have crochet a set and then stitched it to my finished piece, but ended up just doing single crochet stitches instead to give a smoother finish for the part that would likely end up covered by a shirt anyway. The bamboo yarn was also slightly thinner than the Bernat Soy Natural Blends, which also contributed to my deciding to just do single crochet.

I added two rows to the starting edge for accent. Then I flipped to the other end and added 7 rows of single followed by a row of double crochets done with four double crochets followed by a chain 1 and skipping the next stitch to create a space. I then finished it off by adding one more row of single crochets and ran a ribbon through the spaces.

I’m pretty proud of the result and I love the vibrancy of the sapphire against the flax. It’s also nice to have a cowl in a different color palette than my pink and black one so I can always have something warm around my neck without clashing too horribly.

And as noted in my WIP from last week, the original pattern can be found here.

Work in Progress Wednesday – Autumn Multi Functional Cowl – Skirt – Hood

On By maraewestIn Crochet2 Comments
Naiyaru's Autumn Multi Functionl Cowl Skirt Hood
© Naiyaru

This particular piece is something I pinned ages ago, nearly one of the first crocheted things I pinned. I really liked the look of the star stitch and to be quite honest, I’ve always wanted to make a skirt and this seemed like a good project to try just in case I decided that I didn’t like how it looked as a skirt (since I’m not exactly a small girl and can be quite self conscious).
You can find a rough pattern by Naiyaru here. I’m pretty sure that I won’t have enough yarn to make it as long as Naiyaru calls out the pattern since I’m having to make it a fair bit wider so that I can wear it as a skirt, but I think I have a few other colors I can add to the skirt if I want to give it a bit more punch and give it the length I’d be comfortable wearing it at. I also highly recommend watching the first few rows in the tutorial video on the page Naiyaru links to for the star stitch since the initial row for the star stitch in the video is for starting from the foundation chain.

Unfinished Star Stitch - Cowl - SkirtThe yarn I’m using is Bernat Soy Natural Blends in Flax. Which, as per most of my yarn hoard, is a discontinued style. It is a 50% soya and 50% acrylic combo. The yarn is very soft and has a bit of a shine too it. As it stands in the picture I’m a bit over halfway through my yarn and it definitely doesn’t seem like it’s going to be nearly long enough to cover my behind.

I did try and initially crochet this in the round, but my foundation chain kept twisting, so I will have to sew up the side when I’m finished. It is coming out nice and thick since the yarn is held double. I’m thinking it’ll be a great winter accessory for here in Texas on the coldest days and a fantastic skirt.