Jude Cowl Knitting Pattern

Jude Cowl in Rowan Alpaca Classic

What is Being Made

The Jude Cowl is a luxurious knitted cowl designed by Quails Studio. This intermediate-level project creates a finished cowl with a circumference of 70cm and a depth of 25cm, making it a versatile neckwear piece suitable for layering and everyday wear. The cowl is worked in the round using a combination of ribbed and cable stitch patterns to create visual interest and texture.

Knitting Techniques Used

This pattern employs several intermediate knitting techniques that add depth and sophistication to the finished garment:

• Cable Knitting: The primary decorative element features multiple cable crosses worked throughout the piece, creating raised twisted columns of stitches that run vertically along the cowl.
• Ribbed Edging: The cowl begins and ends with a 2/2 rib pattern (knit 2, purl 2), which provides elasticity and a neat, finished appearance at both edges.
• Stitch Increases: A strategic increase row transitions the piece from the ribbed cuff to the wider cable section, using purl-front-back (Pfb) increases to add stitches while maintaining pattern continuity.
• Seaming: The finished cowl is joined using mattress stitch or back stitch, creating a seamless or nearly invisible join along the side seams.

Stitches Used

The Jude Cowl incorporates the following essential stitches and stitch abbreviations:

• Knit (K) and Purl (P): The foundational stitches used throughout the ribbed sections and cable backgrounds.
• C4B (Cable 4 Back): Slip 2 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the back of the work, knit 2 stitches, then knit the 2 stitches from the cable needle. This creates a cable that twists to the right.
• C4F (Cable 4 Front): Slip 2 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the front of the work, knit 2 stitches, then knit the 2 stitches from the cable needle. This creates a cable that twists to the left.
• 2/2RP (2/2 Right Purl): Slip 2 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the back, knit 2 stitches, then purl the 2 stitches from the cable needle. This combines knit and purl stitches in a cable cross.
• 2/2LP (2/2 Left Purl): Slip 2 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the front, purl 2 stitches, then knit the 2 stitches from the cable needle. This is the reverse cable cross of 2/2RP.
• Pfb (Purl Front Back): Purl into the front and back of the same stitch to create an increase while maintaining the purl texture.
• P2tog (Purl 2 Together): A decrease stitch used in the ribbed sections to shape the piece.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

The Jude Cowl is worked using Rowan Alpaca Classic yarn, a luxurious fiber blend that provides softness and drape. The pattern calls for 3 balls of Rowan Alpaca Classic (25gm each), photographed in the colorway Champagne 127, though other colors in this yarn are suitable for the design.

Two pairs of needles are required to work this project:

• 3.25mm (UK size 10 / US size 3) needles: Used for casting on and working the initial 2/2 rib pattern, which helps establish elasticity and a neat edge.
• 3.75mm (UK size 9 / US size 5) needles: Used for the main cable pattern sections after the increase row, allowing the cables to develop properly with the correct tension.

The pattern also requires one cable needle for executing the cable crosses that form the distinctive textural elements of the cowl.

Tension and Gauge

Achieving the correct tension is essential for this project. The pattern specifies a gauge of