Mene Cowl

Look up into a clear sky on a cold winter night and you might spot Mene, the Greek lunar goddess, also known as Selene, driving her moon chariot across the heavens. With a hand knitted cowl around your neck, you are beautifully cosy as you indulge in some evening star gazing.

Just as Mene, the Greek personification of the moon, drifts across the night sky, small moon motifs work their way across the Mene Cowl, knitted in elegant wispy mohair. The background is also worked with a strand of mohair, this time held with a strand of woollen laceweight yarn to create a shimmering marled background for Mene’s moon motifs to race across.

CONSTRUCTION

The cowl is worked side to side on the bias, and after knitting, is joined by seaming. If you’d prefer, you can work a provisional cast on and, after knitting, join the two ends by grafting them together. This will require a spare set of needles (same size as main needles). 

The Mene Cowl is a great canvas for using up small leftovers of mohair silk laceweight yarn, with each 2-round stripe of CC using only 0.25g. As there are 18 of these 2-round stripes, you could create a pattern of coloured stripes (as seen in mustard sample). Perhaps 9 colours with two stripes each or 3 colours with 6 stripes each? The possibilities are endless! 

You might also like to use a 4ply / fingering weight yarn in place of the suggested MC, needing approximately the same yardage as the suggested MC, ensuring that gauge is the same.

YARN

PURPLE SAMPLE

Main Colour: hold the following two yarns together - 

Jamieson & Smith, 2 Ply Lace Yarn (laceweight; 169m / 185yds per 25g ball; 50% Shetland wool, 50% wool) 

1 ball in Shade L3 (pale pink/fawn) 

AND Rico Design, Essentials Super Kid Mohair Silk (laceweight; 200 m / 219 yds per 25 g ball; 70% mohair; 30% silk); 1 ball in Shade 36 (vibrant purple) 

Contrast Colour: Rico Design, Essentials Super Kid Mohair Silk, 1 ball in Shade 30 (silver)

MUSTARD SAMPLE

MC: Jamieson & Smith, 2 Ply Lace Yarn, 1 ball in Shade L28 (yellow) 

AND

Rowan Kidsilk Haze (laceweight; 210 m / 229 yds per 25g ball; 70% mohair, 30% silk), 1 ball in Eve Green (684) 

CC: 4.5g total of mohair silk lace yarn in three colours

NOTE: Sample used approximately 4.5g / 40.5m (44.5yds) of CC with each 2-round stripe of CC using approximately

0.25 g /2.25m (2.5 yds)

GAUGE, NEEDLES & NOTIONS

Gauge

19 sts x 34 rnds = 10 cm / 4” measured over pattern on bias after blocking

Needles

4.5 mm / US 7 DPNs or 80cm circ. circular needle for magic loop

Notions

5 stitch markers 

Safety pins or lockable stitch markers (for seaming, optional) 

Tapestry needle 

Crochet hook & waste yarn (for alternative cast on) 

Spare needles as above (for grafting, optional)

SIZE

One size: 56 cm / 22.5 in circumference x 14 cm / 5.75 in deep (see schematic in photos for further information)

PATTERN ATTRIBUTES

bias, chart (with written equivalents), in the round, grafting (optional), provisional cast on (optional), seaming (optional), one piece, schematic, sideways, stripes, textured, video tutorial, written pattern.

Pattern includes full written instructions, a chart (with equivalent written instructions), photographs, a schematic and has been professionally tech-edited.