English Rib Cowl Knitting Pattern

November 1, 2023 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

English rib is a stitch pattern that’s similar to brioche knitting in that it’s worked with yarn overs and knit two togethers to make a super squishy ribbed pattern.

For this cowl project from Mirella Moments, you’ll use DK weight yarn and work the project flat to make a close-fitting cowl that’s great for cold weather.

Of course a project like this is super easy to modify, too, if you want to. Since it is worked flat, if you want to make it wider, you can cast on more stitches (you need to have an odd number to make the pattern work out, but any number is fine). You could also try knitting with worsted weight yarn instead of DK (and increase the size of the needles used accordingly) to make the project bigger.

And if you want a deeper cowl, just knit more rows before you bind off.

You can work it in a solid color as shown, or try adding stripes. Because the pattern is ribbed it won’t be a super smooth color change, but you can try it on a swatch and see if you like the look before you commit to it.

This would be a great project for gift knitting (which is kind of our theme this month) because the single-row repeat is easy to learn and memorize, the knitting goes pretty quickly, and you only need about 200 yards of yarn. And most people could use a cowl to help them keep cozy in cold weather.

You can grab the free knitting pattern from Mirella Moments. They use the same stitch pattern on the Folgate headband, if you want to make a coordinating set (it uses worsted weight yarn).

And if you’re ready to learn brioche, the Northwind Headband is a great first brioche project!

[Photo: Mirella Moments]

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Knits Inspired by a Book Series

I hadn’t heard of Laura Sebastian’s fantasy series Castles in Their Bones until I stumbled upon Mary P. Hunt’s knitting patterns inspired by the series, but if you’re already a fan (of this series in particular or fantasy in general) you’re sure to enjoy these designs.

The book series, in case you’re curious, follows triplet princesses who each marry a prince on their 16th birthday as part of their mother’s master plan to take over the whole continent of Vesteria. (Thanks, GoodReads!)

I don’t know how I found the (all these links ahead are to Ravelry, FYI) Star-Touched Hat knitting pattern, but it was the first one I saw. There’s also a coordinating cowl and mittens if you want to complete the full set.

All of them prominently feature stars and have a sort of Art Deco feel. They call for DK weight yarn in two colors, so you could make them all to match or use different colors for each.

The hat comes in five sizes, ranging in circumference from 18.5 to 22.3 inches (or 47 to 57 cm). It can be worked with a short brim or a folded brim.

The mittens come in small and large adult sizes, with extended sizes for both (more length is included in the extended sizes). These feature a cool Latvian braid at the top of the cuff, which is a fun skill to learn.

And the cowl is one size, on the smaller side as cowls go, measuring about 13.5 inches/34.5 cm tall and 26 inches/66 cm around.

The designer suggests you can hold a bit of metallic thread along with your yarn to give it more of a sparkly, regal, celestial feel, but that’s totally up to you!

As mentioned above you can get all of these patterns on Ravelry. As of this writing there doesn’t seem to be a discount from buying all three, but maybe that will change.

[Photo: Mary P. Hunt]

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