Leftover yarn from the sweater makes a warm and cushy cowl

This week, I’m knitting with Universal Yarn Odette which is a light blend of fine superwash merino and alpaca, combined with the strength of nylon. Its open and airy chain construction exudes a heathered and feathery halo that is perfect for a multitude of projects.

Yesterday, I made a pair of socks knit to a fingering weight gauge with Bordeaux. They are cushy, soft, and warm. Perfect for keeping my feet warm during my winter walks. But I also need to keep my neck warm, so today I’m making a funnel shaped cowl using left over yarn from the Olympia Pullover I made on Day 3. I’m not using all seven colors today, just four of them; Bordeaux, Winter Wheat, Rusted Orange, and Rose Villa.

I had originally planned on using Odette to make a popular free shawl pattern available from Ravelry, which is why I made swatches of the mesh pattern on Day 2. After doing the color work on the Olympia Pullover, I changed my mind and decided to do some more color work. I wear cowls a lot during the winter and have to give them up for laundering now and then. As such, I needed another one.

This cowl is knit from the bottom up, and decreases along the way to make it narrower at the top. I decided to start with Bordeaux as there was more yarn left over from both the sweater and the sock projects than the other colors. Gauge is not as important for this project, but it will affect the overall size. I decided to use a US 6 [4.0mm] needle since that’s what I’d used on the color work section of the sweater and was happy with the result.

How much of each color is needed for this project is difficult to say. I can tell you that I still had left over yarn after completing the cowl, just not as much. The total weight of the cowl is 1.75oz or 50 grams, which implies that it used 241yds [220m] in total.

It’s best to use a stretchy cast on and off so it can easily be pulled over your head. The stretchy cast on method I use most often is a variation of the Long Tail cast on. The difference is that I alternate the position of the tail yarn over my thumb for knit vs. purl stitches. I use this method when casting on stitches for top down socks and it provides ample stretch when putting them on or off. For the cast off, I’ve included instructions for Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. It’s become a favorite of mine.

For this project, I used:

finished measurements 22” bottom circumference, 12”h, 14” top circumference

materials

yarn

• 4 Leftover colors of Odette in Bordeaux (A), Winter Wheat (B), Rusted Orange (C), and Rose Villa (D)

needles

• US 6 [4.0 mm] circular knitting needles, 16” or 32” for Magic Loop, or dpn’s

notions

• tapestry needle to sew in ends

abbreviations

BOR   beginning of round

Dec   decreased

K   knit

K2tog knit two stitches together

P    purl

PM   place marker

St(s)  stitch or stitches

YOP yarn over purlwise

YRN yarn round needle

Funnel Shaped Cowl

With Color A, loosely cast on 136 sts, PM to denote BOR

Work 6 rounds in 2×2 ribbing (K2, P2)

The Pattern

Knit 8 rounds.

Knit 8 rounds with colors A & B as follows: *K2 A, K2 B, repeat to end of round, drop A

With B, Knit 4 rounds.

Decrease round: *K15, K2tog, repeat from * to end of round (8 sts dec 128sts)

Knit 3 more rounds.

Knit 8 rounds with colors B & C as follows: *K2 B, K2 C, repeat to end of round, drop B

With C, Knit 4 rounds.

Decrease round: *K14, K2tog, repeat from * to end of round (8 sts dec 120sts)

Knit 3 more rounds.

Knit 8 rounds with colors C & D as follows: *K2 C, K2 D, repeat to end of round, drop C

With C, Knit 1 round.

Decrease round: *K13, K2tog, repeat from * to end of round (8 sts dec 112sts)

Knit 4 more rounds.

Decrease round: *K26, K2tog, repeat from * to end of round (4 sts dec 108 sts)

Knit 1 round.

Knit 8 rounds with colors D & A as follows: *K2 D, K2 A, repeat to end of round, drop D

With A, knit 1 round.

Decrease round: *K25, K2tog, repeat from * to end of round (4 sts dec 104 sts)

With A, work 10 rounds of 2×2 ribbing (K2, P2).

Cast off using Jeny’s Surprising Stretchy Cast Off.

Weave in ends.

Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off

K1, YRN, K1; Pull both st & YRN over K st

YOP, P1; Pull both st & YOP over P st (twice)

*YRN, K1; Pull both st & YRN over K st (twice)

YOP, P1; Pull both st & YOP over P st (twice)

Repeat from * until all stitches have been worked.

I love the way the 4 colors work together on this cowl. When worn around the neck, it will scrunch up but all 4 colors can still be seen. I’m very pleased with the end result and happy that I could make good use of the leftover yarn.

Knitting with Odette has been an extremely pleasant and very surprising experience. The way this yarn adapts to different gauges using various needle sizes, what I refer to as the chameleon factor, was very surprising indeed. But also, the yardage a single 1.75oz [50g] skein yields. The way the yarn puffs up when knit at a looser gauge produces a light fabric with a lovely drape. Originally, I thought that the muted, heathery colors of Odette may not do the Olympia Pullover justice, but I was wrong. They are beautiful together.

I hope this week’s posts have encouraged you to try new or challenging projects. There are so many techniques, stitch patterns, and color work designs available to us knitters. If you haven’t tried it before, try it now. There’s a wealth of knowledge available at your fingertips; you can call a friend, ask the designer, reference an online tutorial, or Google it to find a world of YouTube videos to show you how. Sounds a little like “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, doesn’t it?   

I’ve really enjoyed working with Universal Yarn Odette this week. Look for me on Ravelry (castalot) to see other projects I intend to make with this yarn.

Until then, stay safe, be healthy, and carry on knitting!

This is part 5 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 4: The strength and beauty of Odette make a perfect pair of socks