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Knit a Knight! Transform a Cozy Cowl into a Fun Costume Helmet

October 23, 2025 by Sarah White

I love it when knitters are inspired by each other’s projects. It’s always great to me to see other people use my knitting patterns, but especially so when they do things with them that I’d never thought of. 

I imagine that must be the way Jennifer Weissman feels when she sees this project from Laura Turnbull. 

Laura took Jennifer’s Architexture Cowl and added a sort of hood so that it looks like a helmet for a suit of armor (albeit a cozy suit of armor!). 

To look at Jennifer’s project first. The Architexture Cowl (which you can buy on Ravelry) is a worsted weight (she says you could also use bulky to make it bigger) kind of bandana cowl, where there’s a point at the center front but the back is just straight rounds. It’s worked from the bottom up and includes easy textured stitches and lots of ribbing at the top to make a cozy cowl. 

The pattern includes written instructions and charts if you want to use them. 

Laura chopped off some of the ribbing at the top and changed it to close fitting hood (or helm, as they call it) that includes shaping for the head and the face. I love the little triangle on the forehead that mimics the shape of the bandana part of the cowl. And this new section uses the same stitch patterns as the original, so you’re not doing anything new there. 

The addition to the original pattern is a free download on Ravelry, but you’ll need to buy a copy of the original pattern, too, in order to make the project. 

This piece just looks so cool and would be great for a role playing or con situation, or even just to wear to keep your head and neck warm when it’s cold outside. You do you. 

[Photo: Larua Turnbull]

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Have you read?

Book Review: Knitting the U.S.A.

Knit a colorwork hat inspired by every state in the United States with Knitting the U.S.A. by Nancy Bates. Like her previous book of hats inspired by US national parks, this book includes a colorful hat design for every state. 

The book opens with a very brief section on the basics (which is about choosing colors, gauge, picking a cast on method, using duplicate stitch and blocking). A few more techniques are explored at the back of the book, but this is a book that assumes you know how to knit, read a chart and work colorwork knitting. 

Patterns are arranged by geographical location with no clear organization within the sections (not alphabetical, geographical, by date admitted to the Union, etc.). That may only annoy me, but it did so now you know. 

Each state has an image like a postcard showing what inspired the hat (snow-capped trees for North Dakota, a grassy field of horses for Kentucky, a racoon for New Jersey to name a few) and a few paragraphs about iconic things and experiences in that state (Massachusetts has a lot of bricks, South Carolina lots of food). 

A list of the colors used in the pattern is given, as well as needles, notions and gauge. All the designs say they fit an average adult head and are meant to come out around 20.25 inches or 51.5 cm around. 

There is a little bit of written instruction for each hat, and the colorwork is given as a chart. Hats are worked from the bottom up and feature ribbing along the bottom. 

The patterns are cute and colorful, though as with any big book like this lots of designs could cover lots of states. Arkansas for instance (since I’m from there I always have to bring it up!) has a sort of textured, not quite chevron design worked in three colors to highlight our hills and forests. It’s pretty but you’d never know it was supposed to represent any state, particularly Arkansas. 

Still, these hats are fun and if your state is more distinctive (or even if it isn’t) you might want to knit your state or the hat from your favorite place to travel or where you were born or where someone is moving and have fun knitting your way across America in hats. 

About the book: 232 pages, hardcover, 50 patterns. Published 2025 by Weldon Owen. Suggested retail price $32.50. 

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