Moss Stitch Cowl

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

Blogger for 6 years and counting, I am a passionate creator who loves to tinker.

Comments (15)

  1. I love the colour and the texture of the moss stitch! And you have perfect weather to snuggle into it!

  2. Jill January 16, 2012 — 9:43 AM

    That color is really beautiful, and one of my absolute favorites. The cowl is gorgeous and I’m sure it keeps you toasty!

  3. I love the color of the yarn. And I bet it keeps you warm!

  4. Lauren January 16, 2012 — 10:02 AM

    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 :)

    1. Liz January 16, 2012 — 3:30 PM

      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.

  5. Karen January 16, 2012 — 10:10 AM

    It looks really cute, and even better really WARM!

    1. Liz January 16, 2012 — 3:30 PM

      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. :)

  6. Stacie January 16, 2012 — 10:42 AM

    I love it! You are forcing me to learn to knit!

  7. Eileen January 16, 2012 — 10:50 AM

    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!!

  8. Meg January 16, 2012 — 12:46 PM

    A lovely color on you and it looks so warm!!!! Fabulous work!

  9. Kristen January 17, 2012 — 3:03 AM

    Wow, it looks so fab and cosy! Ohhh, alpaca next to the skin, so soft and lovely. Great snood!

  10. Casey January 17, 2012 — 7:23 AM

    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.

  11. 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!

  12. Jane January 18, 2012 — 12:43 PM

    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!!

  13. That is a cowl to die for. It’s GORGEOUS!

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