Wednesday 13 April 2016

Quick knits - Moebius Cowl Scarf and here is my pattern for it

Hello dear Blog friends,


Today I finished another project which I only started a few days ago. This is really a quick project and an easy one as well!

You might recall this earlier post when I had previously made such a twisted cowl, and in fact I followed my own previous pattern again!



This is my funkycrochet pattern for it: Quick Knit Moebius Cowl

This works best for yarn/wool that has got some flexibility and drape.

Cast on 40 stitches, then knit every row. This means that you will get a rib pattern. Knit very loosely so that the finished scarf or cowl will be nice and stretchy. Aim for around 70 cm when making a single cowl, or about 140-150cm when making a cowl that will fit double around the neck.

(Cotton will shrink, so err slightly on the cautious side when calculating the length!)

Remember to cast off in a loose manner as well so that the shape will remain rectangular throughout.
When making a Moebius Cowl, remember to sew the ends together in a (once) twisted way.

Notes: it often helps to make a proof square so you know how many stitches there are to each 10cm. Check the yarn label for guidance, and depending on your own tension, adjust the number of stitches.

The secret here is to use a larger needle size than suggested. When joining new yarn, do so at the beginning of a new row, it is less obvious.

This pattern is suitable for beginners.


Crochet alternative pattern:

For those of you who want to make a similar cowl in crochet, you could start by chaining as many stitches as you need to reach the required width, then start working a row of (UK) trebles, followed by a row of (UK) double crochet into the back loops, then repeat *row of trebles, row of double crochet* until required length.

Alternatively, you could also work entirely with trebles, however, remember to work every row into the back loops to get a similar effect to the knitted scarf/cowl.



Some notes:

I used the discontinued yarn Rico Design Fashion Tasai, an Aran weight yarn with 135m to 50 g. Instead of the usual 5mm needles I used 7mm. It is a wool/acrylic mix which is easy to care for.

I needed a total of 3 x 50g.

The finished size of the scarf (before sewing into a cowl): 30 cm x 150 cm long.



Here you can see the colours which range from different shades of blue, brown, rust, gold to lilac and purple. The colour changes of each ball of yarn are not identical!


This was the scarf as soon as it was off the knitting needles!


Laid out in a straight line - 150cm long




I took these pictures outside just now, hoping that the daylight might show off the colours better (they look pretty realistic above).

Here the colours look different again!




What do you think? Do you like cowls or do you prefer scarves instead?

Feel free to leave me your comments below!

8 comments:

  1. Love this cowl, simple and elegant.
    Well done Ingrid!
    MEredith

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  2. Hi your cowl is beautiful and l love your choice of yarn. It's a shame l can't knit I'm left handed.
    Jacky

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    1. Hi Jacky! If there is a way to crochet left handed then there must be a way to knit left handed, no? (I'm not sure). xx

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    2. I've tried you have to read the pattern back to front. My brain can't cope with that. Luckily I crotchet right handed. That makes things easy.

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    3. If you can learn to read charts, perhaps you can scan the chart and use picture or photo software to reverse the chart.

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  3. I need to make some cowls instead of scarves for a change. I am finding my neck seizes up very easily whenever the cold breeze hits it these days. A cowl will not slip off as easily as a scarf during busy, active days. I plan to look up that yarn to compare it with a similar yarn available locally (Australia)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jodie, unfortunately that yarn was discontinued quite a while ago, this was still from my stash.... Basically it is a 50-50 mix of wool and acrylic with gorgeous colour changes. A cowl is a great idea to keep your neck warm. I love my new windowpane cowl for that reason! :)) I would be interested to see what you can find.

      There is this one: http://www.kingcole.com/knitting-wool/venice-chunky/

      Which has got the some 90m per ball.

      Or this one here: http://www.kingcole.com/knitting-wool/riot-chunky/

      Which has more metres, but some great colours instead.

      Good luck! xx

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