A Simple Project for the Seasonal Transition

I will probably still be wearing my scarves and shawls for a long time (because it’s often cool in the mornings and, well, I like them), and for me there is always time and reason to knit another shawl or cowl. And actually, I just knit a scarf the other day I still need to share with you!

Anyway, I’ve had my eye on this Bandana Cowl from Purl Soho for a while. It’s an old pattern, but as you know if you’ve ever looked at Purl Soho, their patterns are timeless classics you’ll want to knit and wear for years.

This simple bandana cowl is no exception.

It’s worked in the round, with a bit of Garter Stitch edging and some short rows to make the front longer than the back. A little shaping cuts down on the bulk in the back, too.

The project is worked in bulky yarn so you can knit it up in a flash, and you could probably even use a bulky cotton yarn blend to make it a little cooler for spring if that’s your thing.

[Photo: Purl Soho.]

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There’s a lot to like about the Eloise Bandana from Katryn Seeburger. This cute little colorwork triangle can be worked as a bandana or kerchief size or a bigger shawlette.

It’s worked in two colors of fingering weight yarn so you can use whatever yarn you have in your stash and just make it as big as you can (since it is worked from the bottom up).

You can see the two sizes from the photo, and also two colorwork options: strawberries and lily of the valley.

But that’s not all the choices you have. In fact, there are 34 different charts you can choose from to knit onto your project. Some of the options include happy faces, a lobster, a pumpkin, a snail and a butterfly. There are cherries, peaches, tomatoes and radishes.

There’s even a blank square you can use to draw your own little design if you want to use something else. Or keep it blank and make it a plain checkerboard design.

And while both of these shawls use the same icons throughout, you could also use different designs throughout if you want. Say a fall version with a bat, pumpkin, leaf and acorn, or a summer beach theme with sailboat, fish, lobster and a bird? I keep suggesting four different icons because the larger size has four rows of squares, but the smaller has three, so you could do stripes of the same icon or alternate a couple of different ones, whatever you like.

Look through the finished projects on the Ravelry project page to see lots of different options, from rows to individual icons. There are also some projects that are smaller than the suggested size to make a smaller bandana. You could also keep going a make a bigger shawl working increases in the same way as you have been going.

Check out all the details and grab a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Katryn Seeburger]

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