Eifel Cowl

Currently, I love knitting with cotton because it is lovely to wear in summer. But since I am always feeling chilly, I like to wear a cowl in bed - here cotton is also my material of choice.
For this cowl I wanted something to sit snugly around my neck but a bit wider near the shoulders. That's why I used short rows for shaping - but in case of this cowl they are done in a contrast color and therefore provide a decorative element as well.

The Eifel is a low mountain range west of Cologne. I thought the name was suitable because of the modest height of the cowl and the peak decoration from the short rows.




This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.




Materials

• about 50 grams of fingering weight yarn in two colors - of the main color (orange in the photos) I used about 40 grams and 10 grams of the contrast color (white in the photos)
• 3.25mm knitting needles (straight or circulars)
• scrap yarn (for provisional CO)
• a tapestry needle for grafting

Size and Gauge

• I had the follwing gauge: 21 rows in garter stitch gave 5 cm in height, and 12 stitches in garter stitch gave 5 cm in width. 
• The finished cowl measures about 19 cm in height - and about 44 cm in circumference at the top, and about 66 cm in circumferenc at the bottom.

Suggestions how to change the size can be found below.

Techniques

• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provision CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits. Since the wraps are in a different color than the wrapped stitch, it looks better if the wraps are picked up. Here's a YouTube video that shows how to pick up your wraps (also by Very Pink Knits).
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.

Instructions

With scrap yarn provisionally CO 45 stitches.
Setup row: k all stitches in Main Color (MC)
Ridge 1 (Contrast Color, CC): k3, w+t, k to end
Ridge 2 and 3 (MC): k to end, turn, k to end
Ridge 4 (CC): k6, w+t, k to end
Ridges 5 and 6 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 7 (CC): k9, w+t, k to end
Ridges 8 and 9 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 10 (CC): k12, w+t, k to end
Ridges 11 and 12 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 13 (CC): k15, w+t, k to end
Ridges 14 and 15 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 16 (CC): k18, w+t, k to end
Ridges 17 and 18 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 19 (CC): k21, w+t, k to end
Ridges 20 and 21 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 22 (CC): k24, w+t, k to end
Ridges 23 and 24 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3

Ridge 25 (CC): k27, w+t, k to end
Ridges 26 and 27 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3

Ridge 28 (CC): k30, w+t, k to end
Ridges 29 and 30 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3

Ridge 31 (CC): k33, w+t, k to end
Ridges 32 and 33 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3

Ridge 34 (CC): k36, w+t, k to end
Ridges 35 and 36 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 37 (CC): k33, w+t, k to end
Ridges 38 and 39 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 40 (CC): k30, w+t, k to end
Ridges 41 and 42 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 43 (CC): k27, w+t, k to end
Ridges 44 and 45 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 46 (CC): k24, w+t, k to end
Ridges 47 and 48 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 49 (CC): k21, w+t, k to end
Ridges 50 and 51 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 52 (CC): k18, w+t, k to end
Ridges 53 and 54 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3

Ridge 55 (CC): k15, w+t, k to end
Ridges 56 and 57 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3

Ridge 58 (CC): k12, w+t, k to end
Ridges 59 and 60 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 61 (CC): k9, w+t, k to end
Ridges 62 and 63 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3
Ridge 64 (CC): k6, w+t, k to end
Ridges 65 and 66 (MC) = Ridges 2 and 3

Repeat ridges 1 to 65.
Cut yarns but leave a tail long enough for grafting of MC . Put the stitches from the provisional CO on your second needles and graft in garter stitch with main color.

Weave in ends.

How to Change the Size
If you have different gauge or if you want to change the size of the piece, here are a few suggestions:

• For a narrower cowl, CO fewer stitches.
• If you want a cowl that is much longer you could just knit the sequence (row 1 to 65) one more times. 
• As you may have notice when reading the pattern, there is a sequence of short rows in a contrast color. These short rows are knitted every 3rd ridge and each short row ridge in the contrast color is either 3 sts longer or 3 sts shorter than the short row ridge knitted before. In this pattern, the length of the short rows starts at 3 sts and grows to 36 sts before decreasing back to 3 sts. Each of this up-and-down sequences measures about 22 cm at the shorter side and about 33 cm at the longer side.
  So, if you want a length inbetween you could shorten this sequence, e.g. knit ridges 1 to 24 (the CC short row is now 24 sts long), and then continue with ridge 49 (here the CC short row is 3 sts shorter, namely 21 sts long) and continue to ridge 66. Then repeat this until you've reached the desired length.

Wedges Wrap

Combine your favorite colors to create a very special piece that will keep you warm – in winter as well as in summer nights. It's a rectangular wrap or wide scarf with a bold graphical pattern which is knitted with short rows and intarsia technique.

This pattern is available for purchase

• on Ravelry 
• on LoveKnitting and
• on Payhip

The PDF includes a written version and a shorthand version of the pattern. It also contains a chart to show how the short rows stack up to form the wedges.






Materials

• about 250 grams of DK weight yarn in your main color (I used Rico Essentials Merino DK, but other yarns will do as well)
• about 100 grams of DK weight yarn in contrast color 1
• about 100 grams of DK weight yarn in contrast color 2
• about 100 grams of DK weight yarn in contrast color 3
• 4.5mm knitting needles (I used circulars, but straight will do as well)

Size
Unblocked the scarf measures about 40 cm in width and 185 cm in length. I guess blocked it would be about 5 cm wider and 20 cm longer.
(Even though I'm a firm believer in blocking (it evens out the stitches and make a garment look better), I didn't block this wrap for a number of reasons. It was big enough already and since I used merino which stretches quite a bit. Beside the stitch tension looked good and (on a more practical note) the blocking mat I use wasn't quite big enough.)

Necessary Skills
Besides being able to knit plain garter stitch you need the following knitting skills to complete this wrap:

• Short rows with wrap and turn
• Intarsia

Helpful skills (but not absolutely necessary):

• Weaving in ends while knitting
• Stranding yarn upwards

This blogpost has been featured at New Tuesday Pin-spiration Link Party. Thank you!

Citrus Fruit Potholder

This "fruity" potholder will brighten up your kitchen and bring a summery atmosphere to your home. Since it's done in intarsia technique, the WS is presentable as well. It is worked flat and in wedges of short-rows.
I always think that potholders, washcloths or other really small items are best if you'd like to explore new knitting ideas or to just try out a new technique. It only takes some leftover yarn and a few hours to try it out, but if it works, these newly acquired skills can be in your next big project. For this little potholder quite a few interesting techniques are used - form a provisional cast-on, over short rows and intarsia, to grafting in garter stitch. Alternatively, this piece can be used as coaster or washcloth.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.






Materials

• about 30 grams of DK or sports weight cotton yarn in two colors - of color 1 you need two skeins or to put yarn of color 1 on a separate bobbin
• 4mm needles or a needle that fits your yarn (I used small dpns, since you only ever have 21 sts on a needle)
• a tapestry needle for grafting and to weave in ends

Techniques

• Intarsia: Changing colors with the intarsia technique - as shown in this YouTube video by knitwithpat; or this YouTube video by Francoise Danoy.
  To knit this piece in intarsia technique you need two skeins of color 1 - see photo below.

• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits.
  Since this washcloth is knit in garter stitch, you don't have to pick up your wraps - except in two rows, i.e. the rows where the wrapping color is different from the color of the wrapped stitch. These rows are indicated in the pattern. Here's a YouTube video that shows how to pick up your wraps (also by Very Pink Knits).
• Throughout the pattern, the following notation will be used: "C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k13, w+t, k13); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)" means "knit 2 sts with skein a of C1; change to C2 and knit 2 sts with C2; change to skein b of C1 and knit 13 sts with this skein, wrap and turn, knit another 13 sts with this skein, change to C2 and knit 2 sts with C2, then change to skein a of C1 and knit 2 sts with it".
   I.e. color is indicated before the knitting instructions for that yarn. the knitting instructions for that yarn are given in brackets after the color and color changes are indicated by a semicolon.
• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provisional CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com. 

Instructions

With scrap yarn provisionally CO21 sts.
Setup row: C2 (k19), C1a (k2)
Ridge 1: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k13, w+t, k13); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 2: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k9, w+t, k9); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 3: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k5, w+t, k5); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 4: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k1, w+t, k1); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 5: C1a (k2); C2 (k1, w+t, k1); C1a (k2)
Ridge 6: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k3, w+t, k3); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 7: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k7, w+t, k7); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 8: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k11, w+t, k11); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 9: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k15, w+t, k15); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 10: C1a (k2): C2 (k to end, turn, sl1, k18); C1a (k2)
Now you've finished the first "wedge".

Repeat ridges 1 to 10 ten more times (i.e. you have now 11 "wedges").

For the last (12th) wedge, knit ridges 1 to 9. Remove the scrap yarn of the provisional CO and catch the stitches on a knitting needle. Your piece should look similar to the one in the photo on the right.

Graft the last row in garter stitch: 2 sts in C1, and the remaining sts in C2.

Weave in ends.


Chart
In addition to the written instructions above, here's also a chart that shows how one wedge is knitted.
The first number written in orange is the number of stitches with skein a of C1, the number written in black is the number of stitches knitted with C2 and the second number in orange is the number of stitches knitted with skein b of C1.

Chart - click to enlarge

This post was featured at Oombawkadesigncrochet's 192nd Link and Share Wednesday, at Ouichrochet's Fiber Tuesday Link Part #111, at Myhusbandhastoomanyhobbies.com's Brag about it Link Party #21-17, at the Linky Ladies's Community Link Party No. 104 and at Sewcando's Craftastic Monday Link Party and at Reviews, Chews and How-Tos Awesome Life Friday #114.  Thank you :)