Cascade Yarns FW Geometric Reflections Cowl Knitting Pattern

Cascade Yarns FW Geometric Reflections Cowl

What is Being Made

The Geometric Reflections Cowl is a seamless, circular knit cowl designed by Michael Harrigan for Cascade Yarns. This intermediate-level project creates a finished cowl measuring 6 inches in height with a 19½ inch circumference, making it a versatile neckwear piece suitable for layering and everyday wear.

Techniques Used

This cowl is constructed using several key knitting techniques that define its construction and visual appeal:

• Bottom-Up Construction: The cowl is worked from the cast-on edge upward, allowing you to try on the piece as you progress and easily adjust the final length if desired.
• Seamless, Worked in the Round: Using a 40-inch circular needle, the entire cowl is knitted continuously in the round without seaming, creating a smooth, professional finish with no interruptions in the stitch pattern.
• Stranded Colorwork (Fair Isle): The Geometric Reflections Fair Isle Chart features a repeating 8-stitch pattern worked over 51 rounds, incorporating four distinct colors to create geometric motifs. Fair Isle stranding involves carrying unused yarn colors inside the fabric, creating a dense, insulating textile.
• Corrugated Ribbing: The cowl begins and ends with 10 rounds of corrugated ribbing, a special technique where knit stitches and purl stitches are worked in alternating colors. This creates a textured, elastic edge that provides structure and helps the cowl maintain its shape.

Stitches Used

The stitch work in this cowl is straightforward but requires attention to colorwork consistency:

• Knit Stitch (K): The primary stitch used throughout the cowl, worked consistently in the round.
• Purl Stitch (P): Used exclusively in the corrugated ribbing sections at the beginning and end of the cowl, worked in alternating colors to create the distinctive textured edge.
• Fair Isle Stranding: While not a unique stitch, the Fair Isle technique involves working knit stitches with two colors per round, carefully managing tension as you strand the unused color across the back of your work.

Materials

The Geometric Reflections Cowl is crafted from premium materials that ensure durability and comfort:

• Yarn: Cascade Yarns Cascade 220 Fingering weight, 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. This yarn provides 273 yards per 50-gram skein, offering excellent yardage for delicate colorwork. The project requires four skeins total: one each of color #9674 (Pine Grove), #9594 (Orchid Haze), #8885 (Dark Plum), and #9592 (Sage).
• Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm) circular knitting needles, 40 inches in length, or size needed to achieve the specified gauge of 33 stitches and 35 rows over 4 inches in the Fair Isle pattern when blocked.
• Notions: A yarn needle for weaving in ends and one stitch marker to indicate the beginning of rounds.

Pattern Summary

The pattern begins with casting on 160 stitches in Pine Grove (Color A) using the long-tail cast-on method. After joining in the round and knitting one plain round, you work 10 rounds of corrugated ribbing using alternating colors for the knit and purl stitches, establishing the elastic foundation. The main body consists of 51 rounds of the Geometric Reflections Fair Isle Chart, where you work the 8-stitch repeat across all 160 stitches, carrying and stranding the four colors to create the geometric pattern. After completing the chart, you knit one round in Dark Plum (Color C) and bind off loosely using the standard knit bind-off method. The finished cowl is blocked as necessary and ends are woven in for a polished appearance.