Noro Braided Cowl Knitting Pattern

Noro Braided Cowl

What is Being Made

The Noro Braided Cowl is an intermediate-level knitted cowl designed to be worn around the neck. This project creates a finished cowl with a circumference of 30 inches (76 centimeters) and a width of 7 inches (18 centimeters), making it a substantial neckwear piece suitable for layering or wearing as a statement accessory.

Construction Method and Techniques

This cowl is worked flat on straight needles using a top-down construction approach, then seamed together to form the finished piece. The pattern incorporates multiple advanced knitting techniques to create visual interest and texture throughout the design.

• Cable work: Cable stitches are featured in the pattern, adding dimensional braided effects that give the cowl its distinctive name and appearance.
• Lace elements: Lace techniques are integrated into the design, creating openwork sections that provide breathability and delicate visual contrast.
• Seaming: The flat-worked pieces are joined together using seaming techniques to create the circular cowl form.
• Top-down construction: The pattern is worked from the top of the cowl downward, allowing for easy adjustments and a natural progression through the design.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques

The Noro Braided Cowl employs a variety of fundamental and intermediate knitting stitches to achieve its braided and laced appearance:

• Knit and purl stitches: The foundation of the pattern, used to create the base fabric and textured sections.
• Yarn overs (yo): Used throughout the lace sections to create deliberate holes and openwork patterns that define the lace elements.
• Knit two together (k2tog): A decrease stitch used in conjunction with yarn overs to maintain stitch count while creating the lace design.
• Cable cast-on: The pattern begins with a cable cast-on method, which creates a strong, elastic edge suitable for a neckwear piece. This technique involves inserting the right needle between stitches on the left needle, wrapping yarn as if to knit, and creating new stitches that are placed back on the left needle.
• Slip stitches: Used for various shaping and joining purposes throughout the pattern.

Materials and Gauge

The Noro Braided Cowl is designed to be worked with Noro Silk Garden yarn in colorway #84, requiring 3 skeins of 50 grams each. This yarn choice provides the cowl with the luxurious drape and color variation characteristic of Noro's signature blended fibers.

The pattern calls for one pair of US 8/5mm straight needles, or the size needed to achieve the specified gauge. The recommended gauge is 16 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches (10 centimeters) in garter stitch when worked on US 8/5mm needles. Checking gauge before beginning is essential to ensure the finished cowl meets the intended measurements and drape.

The pattern begins by casting on 38 stitches and includes increases within the first row to reach 39 stitches, demonstrating the shaping techniques used throughout this intermediate project.