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Get Double the Warmth with This Cowl Knitting Pattern

July 24, 2023 by Sarah White

One of the potential problems with colorwork knitting, at least when it comes to stranded or Fair Isle styles of knitting, is that you don’t always want to have the back of the work on display. Other knitters will appreciate the beauty of perfectly aligned floats (and I actually once had a storebought sweater that included floats as a design element) but most people won’t, and they also have the potential to snag on things, say, if you’ve knit a stranded scarf with the back side exposed.

The Kenora Cowl pattern from Laura Chau eliminates that problem by having you knit a lining in a contrasting color that covers up your floats.

In all you need three colors of yarn for this project — two for the front side colorwork and one for the inside lining. The inside can be worked with a thinner yarn, and I love the idea of throwing in a mohair or cashmere yarn on the inside for extra warm fuzzies.

The pattern can be worked in either fingering or worsted weight yarn, and it begins with a provisional cast on to work the geometric checkerboard pattern on the outside of the cowl, then you release those stitches to work the lining. The pieces are joined with a modified three-needle bind off, so there’s no seaming involved.

The colorwork portion is only charted, but it’s very repetitive and easy to follow, so even if this is your first time reading a chart (or your first time doing stranded colorwork) this is a great project to try.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

Looking for more fun colorwork cowls? I recently shared the Hawi Honey Cowl, which is another great one for learning colorwork knitting. Or use up all the random bits leftover from other projects on the Ellensburg Cowl.

[Photo: Laura Chau]

Next Pattern:

  • Ava Cowl Knitting Pattern Offers Colorful Warmth
  • Get Cozy with the Warmth Shawl
  • Check out this Amazing Double-Knit Cat Cowl Knitting Pattern
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Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.

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