This project has been ‘stewing’ in my brain for at least a year and I’m totally jazzed that I was able to get it completed so quickly.
Back when I only knew how to crochet, I bought 2 skeins of Blue Sky Bulky (50% Alpaca & 50% Wool) yarn from Nina, one of my local yarn stores. They had a gorgeous knitted version on display I was inspired by and I bought it thinking I could just crochet it instead of knitting it.
I went home and tried it out, and failed miserably. The yarn was so thick… the crochet stitches ate up so much yarn and as a result my scarf looked too small and very stiff; nothing like the lovely knit version I saw at Nina. I frogged the project and re-wound it up in a ball and it’s been sitting in my stash ever since.
Fast forward two years and some months, I now know how to knit and I found myself at Nina once again. I asked about the knitting pattern they once had and they were able to direct me to the proper needle size that I would need and gave me a pattern for the cowl from forever ago.
These are the needles I had to use to knit up my infinity-cowl:
I included the pen in here for a better size comparison. These are US size 19 needles.
The ‘pattern’ really wasn’t much of a pattern I soon found. You just cast on however many stitches you want for the width of the scarf and then moss stitch until you get to your desired length/run out of yarn, whatever comes first.
For the newbie knitters, moss stitch is just Purl 1 Knit 1, all the way across one row. The second row is the opposite; you knit where there are purls and purl when you come to a knit stitch. (It’s just the opposite of ribbing.) It creates a nice bumpy texture, a lovely stitch pattern.
On my cowl I believe I cast on 15 stitches and worked until I ran out of the two skeins of yarn. My goal was to use up this yarn from my stash since I knew I would never make anything else with such a chunky yarn, so I tried to make it as wide as possible with having enough length to go around my neck at least once.
This meant that I had to frog it (ie undo completely) once; initially I had cast on 19 stitches and I didn’t have enough length on the cowl to be able to fit comfortably around once. So I ripped it out and cast one once again with fewer stitches with a decent result.
You may have noticed that I’m working on de-stashing both my yarn and my fabric this year. I truly do have plenty of fabrics and yarns that I can choose from at home before I need to go out to the store. So here’s to de-stashing and having a wonderful time doing so! :)
In: Knitting
I love the colour and the texture of the moss stitch! And you have perfect weather to snuggle into it!
That color is really beautiful, and one of my absolute favorites. The cowl is gorgeous and I’m sure it keeps you toasty!
I love the color of the yarn. And I bet it keeps you warm!
Pretty! I loooove that color! I’m working on a cowl right now – well, it’s blocking and then I have to graft the ends together. But first I have to learn how to graft. hahahah
Oh, and I wanted you to know that I went to the yarn store yesterday and bought the yarn to make my first cardigan. I start this week. So excited! You and a couple other bloggers have inspired me :)
YAY! Knitting is like portable sewing. I still tend to sew when I’m at home but I do lots of knitting on my lunch break and on my commute, or if I’m waiting around anywhere like the doctor’s office.
I myself don’t know how to graft either. But good luck. I’m sure there’s some good youtube videos you can find on that topic.
It looks really cute, and even better really WARM!
Thanks so much. I actually haven’t taken it out for a ‘test drive’ yet since it’s been relatively warm the last few days. I’m sure this week will provide me with a chilly day to try it ouy on. :)
I love it! You are forcing me to learn to knit!
Lovely color and texture. I’ve got a bulky weight yarn that’s been in the stash forever that I may just have to whip up into this so thank you for the inspiration!
I hear you on working from the stash. I’ve recently moved and it was only then I realized just HOW MUCH has accumulated!!
A lovely color on you and it looks so warm!!!! Fabulous work!
Wow, it looks so fab and cosy! Ohhh, alpaca next to the skin, so soft and lovely. Great snood!
I’m in love with the color–so pretty! :) Hooray for stash busting as well; I’m hoping to do more of that once I get into the spring/summer sewing, since I’ve managed to amass quite a collection of lightweight fabrics. ;) lol.
So cute! I normally shy away from knitting with such huge needles, but this is just awesome. And I love that it’s using up your yarn stash in such a satisfying way!
Ohhhhhh this makes me wish I had bulky in my stash! I LOVE THIS. And unfortunately I vowed I would not buy more yarn until I cut my current yarns in half… :-(
It looks terrific, Liz!!
That is a cowl to die for. It’s GORGEOUS!