Book Review: 60 Quick Cowls

In a knitting group that I belong to on Facebook, someone recently asked what the big deal is about cowls. Why would someone knit a cowl instead of a scarf, she wondered.

Personally, I like the fact that all your knitting effort goes where you need it most, around your neck rather than hanging down your body.

Cowls also tend to be quicker projects because there is usually less knitting involved than in a 6-foot-long scarf, and people can see most of your knitting handiwork even when you’ve got a coat on (where a scarf might be tucked into your coat).

If all those reasons aren’t enough to get you interested in cowls, maybe the book 60 Quick Cowls: Luxurious Projects to Knit in Cloud and Duo Yarns from Cascade Yarns will pique your interest.

Another in the 60 Quick series published by Sixth & Spring Books, this one uses two Cascade yarns that combine merino wool and baby alpaca in different weights.

The book opens with a little information about the alpaca, which is nice I guess if you’ve never knit with or heard of alpacas before, but doesn’t really affect your understanding of or appreciation for the fiber if you’ve worked with it before.

It goes on to include 60 cowl patterns — the vast majority rated easy or intermediate, with none for beginners and only two for experts — covering a range of embellishment options and styles, from ponchos to loose loops and short cowls that hang close to the neck.

Many knitting techniques are represented here including textured stitches, stranded knitting, slip stitches, stripes, intarsia, cables, bobbles, lace and entrelac. One project is mostly crochet — granny squares with a knit edging.

There’s so much variety here (check out all the patterns on Ravelry) that there’s likely to be something to suit just about everyone. Some of my favorites include a chunky Fisherman’s Rib cowl in a solid color, a sweet little monochrome project using welts, a zig-zag combo of lace and textured stitches and a brightly colored, stripes and chevron number that slides down over the shoulders.

Book specifications: 156 pages, paperback with interior flaps, 60 patterns. Sixth & Spring Books, published November 2015. Suggested retail $17.95

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.

Have you read?