If you follow me on Instagram you saw the lovely new version of my Moody Cowl pattern before Christmas. Now that the holidays are over I’m finally catching up on my knitting work and I realized that I didn’t share it with you here!
The Moody Cowl gets its name from the colour palette it was designed in. Those three colours were dark and moody and work together so beautifully. The pattern was designed in Black Cat Custom Yarn Let’s Get Worsted in Void Talon, Foundry, and In The Navy.
Original Moody Cowl
Choosing Yarns and Colours
Because it has such a distinguished mood, I thought it would be fun to switch things up a bit and show the pattern off in a lighter and brighter (and less ‘moody’) colour palette. I’ve also been trying new-to-me yarns lately so for this project I decided to choose Peace Fleece Worsted in Palomino, Wild Mustard, and Chestnut. Peace Fleece Worsted is a blend of wool and mohair making it warm, slightly fluffy, and very cozy. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to arrange the three colours in the colourwork pattern so I did some swatching first to try out a couple of combinations.
Peace Fleece Skeins! Swatching
In keeping with the lighter brighter mood, I decided to go ahead with the bottom swatch in the above photo. Palomino is my main colour and Wild Mustard and Chestnut alternate as the stripes. I do like that top swatch, though. I might just do another one in the future in that combination!
Knitting The Cowl
The colourwork technique used in this pattern is slipped stitch colourwork. It’s a simple way to create a pretty colourwork design. It’s especially great for colourwork beginners. Use one colour to knit each round and slip stitches from the previous round in the different colour. You will still have floats on the wrong side of the knitting and there are a couple of things to be careful of with floats in circular knitting.
When we knit in the round, the knitting gets scrunched up on the circular needle as we go. That means the floats can easily become too tight. It’s important to stretch out the knitting as you go to lengthen each float. Also, when it’s time to change colour at the beginning of a round wrap the old yarn around the new to prevent a gap between rounds. The photo below on the right shows the reverse side of my cowl with floats and with the twisted colours at the beginning of the rounds.
Finishing
Washing and blocking a colourwork item is almost as important as washing and blocking lace. The stitches and floats and twisted yarns can make the item lumpy and bumpy but it will all come out in the wash. Stitches will fluff and even out, colours will sit together better, and the floats flatten out too. Fancy blocking techniques are not needed here. It’s the washing and flat drying that are important.
My new Moody Cowl has come in handy this winter on Vancouver Island where snowstorms have been the norm instead of the exception. I hope I’ve inspired you to give this pattern a try if you’re also in need of a warm winter accessory. I can’t wait to see the colours you choose!