My first offering.

Having finally got my initial post out there I’m so excited to actually start sharing my patterns.

Last week I posted a picture of my black Tassel Cowl. I came up with it just for myself at first and I

then took it along to my Learn to Knit class as a way to introduce texture. It’s a great quick knit for a rainy weekend. It’s also knitted flat, then seamed. So if you want to knit a cowl but haven’t got to grips with working in the round, this is just the ticket. To make it even more convenient, this week I’ve been adapting the original pattern so that it just uses one ball of wool. You could use any Chunky yarn; as a guide this particular wool is 167 yards/ 152 meters to 100g.

You’ll need:

1 ball of King Cole, Big value chunky, Black.

1 set of 6mm needles

wool/darning needle for seaming.

Tassels - It’s a good idea to make these first.

You need to make 14 tassels.

Method:

Cut 14 strands of wool 6.5 inches long to tie the tassel through the top and onto the cowl.

Cut 14 strands of wool 5.5 inches long to bind the top of tassel.

Stage 1 - For each tassel wrap the wool loosely 8 times around a card such as a bankcard.

Stage 2 - Tie your 6.5” strand under the wool at the top and tie tightly.

Stage 3 – Remove the tassel from the card and bind close to the top with the 5.5” strand.

Stage 4 - Cut through the loops at the bottom to create your tassel.

When you have 14, set them aside till later.

Cowl:

Cast on 90st

You can use whatever cast on method you are confident with. I have started using what’s called ‘Long tail’ or ‘Double cast on’; it’s really stretchy, neat and once you have the technique it’s really quick. There are loads of good videos on this – my favourite is this one: http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/long-tail-cast-on

The cowl is knitted in English Moss stitch It is really simple, really cosy and doesn’t make the piece curl like some stitches do. Just remember, it’s worked over an even number of stitches.

Row 1 – Knit 1, Purl 1  repeat these 2 st to the end of row.

Row 2 – Purl 1, Knit 1  repeat these 2 st to the end of row.

Repeat these 2 Rows for approx 48 rows or until you have the desired size, leaving enough to cast off and seam ( I Left approx 36” ). 

Bind off all stitches.

Lay the piece flat and evenly space the tassels along the bind-off edge. Remember, the ends meet so only put a tassel at one corner.

You can now start tying the tassels in place, and threading the ends back into the tassel.

When they are all in place, fold the two sides into the middle of the piece and seam up.

Feel free to seam up with what method you are confident with.

If you haven’t used ‘Mattress stitch’ before it’s worth looking it up so the seam is invisible.

Sew in all the loose ends and it's done!

You can also find the pattern at http://www.ravelry.com/designers/rosie-bill and add pictures of your finished cowl. I’d love to see what variations you come up with.

I made this cowl as a variation for absolute beginners. It's the same method of cast on, with 90st but it's knitted in Garter stitch and I thought the blue would go better with these Pompoms. 

I’d love to see what variations you come up with.

Happy knitting.