Cat Bordhi Warm All Winter Hat Knitting Pattern

Warm All Winter Cowl by Cat Bordhi

What Is Being Made

Warm All Winter is a versatile knitted cowl designed by Cat Bordhi that functions as a multi-purpose winter accessory. This innovative design offers three distinct wearing options depending on weather conditions: on mild days, the hood can be pulled back for a relaxed look; on brutally cold days, the opening becomes a slit exposing only the eyes for maximum warmth; and on moderately cold days, the lower half of the opening tucks softly under the chin to keep the head, ears, and neck cozy. The cowl was created in response to Cat Bordhi's experience teaching at Vogue Knitting Live in New York City in January 2011, where she needed protection from harsh East Coast winter weather.

Techniques Used

This cowl is constructed using several key knitting techniques that create both its functional design and visual interest:

• Seamless, worked in the round: The entire cowl is knitted in the round without seams, creating a smooth, continuous fabric
• Bottom-up construction: The cowl is worked from the bottom edge upward toward the crown
• Cable knitting: Cable stitches are incorporated throughout the design, adding texture and visual depth to the finished piece

Stitches Used

The pattern employs a variety of fundamental and decorative stitches to achieve its structure and appearance:

• Knit (k): Basic knit stitch forming the foundation of the fabric
• Purl (p): Purl stitches create textural contrast against knit sections
• Right Cross (RC): A cable stitch worked by placing 2 stitches on a cable needle and holding to the back, knitting 2 stitches, then knitting the held stitches
• Left Cross (LC): A cable stitch worked by placing 2 stitches on a cable needle and holding to the front, knitting 2 stitches, then knitting the held stitches
• Knit through back loop (k1b): A twisted knit stitch that adds subtle texture
• Purl 2 together (p2tog): A decrease stitch that reduces stitch count while maintaining fabric integrity
• Slip, slip, knit (ssk): A left-leaning decrease stitch created by slipping 2 stitches knitwise and knitting them together through the back
• Knit 2 together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease stitch that reduces stitches from left to right

Materials and Gauge

The pattern calls for Frog Tree Chunky Alpaca, a luxurious yarn composed of 100% alpaca fiber. The yardage and weight specifications are 100 grams per approximately 109 yards. The project requires 3 skeins of yarn, shown in the original design using 2 colors: Teal and Cream.

Needles: Size 10 (6 mm) circular needles are recommended, or any needle size that achieves the required gauge. A single 24-inch circular needle can be used for the lower portions of the cowl, but when working the crown shaping, the knitter must transition to either 2 circular needles, 1 long circular needle, or double-pointed needles (dpns) to accommodate the decreasing stitch count.

Gauge: The pattern is worked at a gauge of 4 stitches equals 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) when measured over the stockinette stitch sections. Achieving proper gauge is essential for the cowl to fit correctly and for the face opening to stretch comfortably beneath the chin as designed.

Construction Details

The cowl begins with casting on 135 stitches and joining in the round with care to avoid twisting the edge. A start-of-round marker is placed to track progression through the circular rows. The pattern incorporates repeating sequences of purl and knit stitches combined with cable crosses and decreases, such as the repeat of (p7, k6) and variations including cable stitches like (p7, LC, k2). As the cowl progresses toward the crown, strategic decreases using p2tog and other decrease stitches gradually reduce the stitch count to shape the top of the garment. The final stitch count after early decreases reaches 117