A Cowl for Helen (Free Pattern)

Cowl: made by me | Dress: Liberty of London for Target (thrifted) | Sweater: George (hand-me-down)

I had some leftover yarn from my Cowardly Cowl, so I decided to make a matching cowl for Helen. I found a simple cowl pattern to help determine how much to cast on. Then I knitted a seed stitch border and a stockinette middle. 

I wrote up the pattern in case you're interested in making it for yourself:

A Cowl for Helen

based off of the pattern "Kids Cowl"
Ravelry Pattern Page

Materials:

About 60-80 yards of worsted weight yarn (I used Malabrigo Worsted in Pink Frost)

US size 8 (5 mm) 16-inch circular needles

Stitch holder

Seed Stitch:

Row 1: *Knit 1, Purl 1* - repeat to end of row

Row 2: *Purl 1, Knit 1* - repeat to end of row

Stockinette Stitch:

Knit every row

Pattern:

Cast on 72 stitches using the German long tail cast on. Join in the round, being careful not to twist your stitches.

Knit one row.

Work in the seed stitch pattern for 4 rows.

Work in stockinette stitch until the cowl is your desired length (I knitted until it measured 4 inches from the cast on edge).

Work in seed stitch pattern for 4 rows.

Knit one row.

Bind off loosely. Weave in any loose ends.

Enjoy!

Winter Knitting Wishlist

If I could afford to buy all the yarn I would ever dream of and had the time/motivation to finish each project, this is what I would create:

Top row: 1 [ Pretty Maids via Knitty ] 2 [ Silver Belle via Vogue Knitting ] 3 [ Desmid via Sipping and Stitching ]

Middle Row: 1 [ Bowline Mittens via Stephanie Earp (only available on Ravelry) ] 2 [ Oiseau de Feu via Caoua Coffee (only available on Ravelry) ] 3 [ Elvira via Knitting Glasses ]

Bottom Row: 1 [ Ringwood Gloves also via Knitty ] 2 [ Whirl-it-Kit via Pickles ] 3 [ Tern Socks via Twist Collective ]

With love,

Erica Lea

2 Responses to Winter Knitting Wishlist

1. Kathryn Grace 
   December 22nd, 2010 at 10:52 am Moderate
   I like that sweater! Very cute and feminine and cozyyyy….
2. Alyssa 
   December 24th, 2010 at 10:29 am Moderate
   Oooh, the hat! What an honour to be in such a lovely line-up. I wish I’d taken better photos of Elvira now!

Not Your Ordinary Knitted Dishcloth | Free Pattern

I love hand knitted dishcloths. But I’m not a huge fan of the kind made from worsted weight cotton. Yes, they are better than store bought dishcloths, but they can get very bulky.

I noticed a friend of mine knitting a dishcloth from a single strand of crochet cotton. Of course I had to try my hand at knitting some, and I was well rewarded. The scrubbing power was wonderful, and they were closer to the size of a store-bought dishcloth.

But they took so long to knit.

Then, at a friend’s bridal shower, I was struck by a certain gift: dishcloths knitted from two strands of crochet cotton. Brilliant!

So, I created this pattern. It knits up much quicker than using a single strand, but it still has that lovely scrubbing action!

This pattern is a very good “mindless” knitting project. Grab yourself some crochet cotton and knitting needles, and take it wherever you go!

.

Not Your Ordinary Knitted Dishcloth Pattern

Download PDF

Materials:

• 2 balls of size 10 crochet cotton in contrasting colors of choice
• 1 pair of straight knitting needles, US size 2 or 3, depending on how tightly you knit

Gauge:

Not critical

Directions:

Holding the 2 strands of crochet cotton together, cast on 3 stitches.

Begin increasing:

Row 1: knit.

Row 2: knit 1, yarn over, knit to end of row.

Repeat row 2 until you have 77 stitches, or until desired size is obtained.

Begin decreasing:

Next row: knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, knit to end of row.

Repeat this row until there are 4 stitches remaining.

Next row: knit 2 together, bind off all stitches.

Finishing:

Weave in all loose ends. Wash before first use.

© 2009 by Erica Lea