Old Compass cowl

To celebrate the matching hat pattern release you can get a 15% discount on all three Old Compass designs with the code OLDCOMPASS until Friday, December 5th, end of day, CET.

Enjoy!

Personally, I love the sort of big, sturdy cowl that you can basically disappear in, and I also love colorwork and stripes, so I threw all those elements into the pot together, and out came this fun design. It was originally planned as the neckline for a sweater design, but I decided I wanted a bit more flexibility, which means it can be worked as an addition or companion to the (upcoming) sweater pattern or as an independent project. As it´s reversible, with different patterns on each side, you get two looks in one. It also makes a very useful “swatch with a purpose” for the sweater.

PATTERN NOTES:

The Old Compass cowl is worked as a long tube in the round in two different patterns. The striped section is worked slightly longer than the other section to provide a slim color frame at the top and the bottom for the colorwork side. The cowl is slightly funnel shaped, which is achieved by changing the size of your needles through different sections.

Starting with a provisional cast-on at the top of the striped section, a few stripes are worked bottom up before changing to the colorwork section, which is worked from the top down. The remaining part of the striped section is then worked bottom-up again until the final length is reached.

Finally, the live stitches are joined to the provisional cast-on stitches using the Kitchener stitch technique.

You can easily adjust the design to your size preferences or to allow for gauge discrepancy by casting on for more or fewer pattern repeats for the colorwork section and working the chart more or fewer times than the pattern states.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:

62 cm / 24¾“ circumference at the top

64.5 cm / 25¾” main circumference at the center

68 cm / 27¼“ circumference at the bottom

28 cm / 11¼” height

YARN:

Holst Garn Supersoft 100% Uld (100% wool; 287 m (314 yds)/50 g).

Samples shown in the following colors:

MC1: Vintage Heather, MC2: Silver Grey, CC1: Marlin, CC2: Topaz, CC3: Scarab, CC4: Sage Blue

You need 2 cakes/balls of MC1 and 1 cake/ball each of the other five colors.

You can purchase a yarn kit in original colors at holstgarn.dk.

Or any other fingering/light fingering weight yarn that gives you a fabric you like at the listed gauge.

YARDAGE:

MC1: approx. 321 m/351 yds.

MC2: approx. 227 m/248 yds.

CC1: approx. 75 m/82 yds.

CC2: approx. 52 m/57 yds.

CC3: approx. 32 m/35 yds.

CC4: approx. 69 m/75 yds.

NEEDLES:

For CW section:

CW needle 1: 3.25 mm/US 3 circular needle (60 cm/24” or smaller) or DPNs.

CW needle 2: 3.5 mm/US 4 circular needle (60 cm/24” or smaller) or DPNs, one size larger than CW needle 1.

CW needle 3: 3.75 mm/US 5 circular needle (60 cm/24” or smaller) or DPNs, one size larger than CW needle 2.

For striped section:

Stripe needle 1: 2.75 mm/US 2 circular needle (60 cm/24” or smaller) or DPNs.

Stripe needle 2: 3.0 mm/US 2.5 circular needle (60 cm/24” or smaller) or DPNs, one size larger than stripe needle 1.

Stripe needle 3: 3.25 mm/US 3 circular needle (60 cm/24” or smaller) or DPNs, one size larger than stripe needle 2.

Note: If you prefer a straight cylinder over a funnel shape for your cowl, you can of course knit each section with just one needle size.

GAUGE:

The given gauge is worked with CW and stripe needle 2 for convenience.

CW: 28 sts and 36 rnds in 10 cm/4” on CW needle 2 in colorwork, worked in the round (blocked).

Stripes section: 28 sts and 42 rnds in 10 cm/4” on stripes needle 2 in stockinette, worked in the round (blocked).

OTHERS:

Tapestry needle

Crochet hook (approx. 3 mm/ US 2½)

Stitch marker

Waste yarn

Additional circular needle