Nubra Cowl & Fingerless Mitts Knitting Pattern

Nubra Cowl & Fingerless Mitts in Juniper Moon Tenzing

What is Being Made

The Nubra cowl and fingerless mitts set is a coordinated pair of accessories named after a valley in the Himalayas. This downloadable knitting pattern from the Karakoram Collection by Juniper Moon Farm creates a cowl with finished circumference of 20 ¼ inches and length of 10 ¾ inches, paired with fingerless mitts featuring a 7 ¾ inch circumference. Both pieces are designed to be worn together as a complementary accessory set.

Techniques Used

This pattern introduces knitters to stranded colorwork, a fundamental technique in color knitting where two colors are carried across the back of the work to create patterned designs on the front. The colorwork section is strategically limited to a small portion of the finished pieces, making this an ideal project for those new to the technique. The pattern employs in-the-round knitting using circular needles for the cowl and double-pointed needles for the mitts, creating seamless tubular garments. Additional techniques include increases using the make-one method and decreases using slip-slip-knit and knit-two-together stitches to shape the mitts around the hand and thumb.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette stitch in the round – the primary stitch throughout both pieces, creating a smooth, classic knit fabric
• Stranded colorwork – a charted pattern section worked in two colors simultaneously
• Make-one increase (M1) – used to add stitches for shaping
• Slip-slip-knit (ssk) – a left-leaning decrease
• Knit two together (k2tog) – a right-leaning decrease for shaping the mitts

Materials: Yarn and Needles

This pattern is designed for Juniper Moon Farm Tenzing yarn, a premium fiber choice. The cowl requires 2 balls of Tenzing in color #03 Gingersnap (main color) and 1 ball in color #09 Alfalfa (contrasting color). The fingerless mitts use the same yarn and colors in smaller quantities.

The pattern calls for multiple needle sizes to accommodate different knitting tensions and the demands of colorwork. For the cowl, you will need US 4 (3.5 mm), US 5 (3.75 mm), and US 6 (4 mm) circular needles, all 16 inches in length. For the mitts, the same needle sizes are used but in double-point needle format. The gauge is established at 22 stitches and 32 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch in the round using US 5 (3.75 mm) needles. Most knitters will need to switch to the larger US 6 (4 mm) needles when working the stranded colorwork sections to maintain consistent gauge, as carrying two colors of yarn tends to tighten stitches.

Additional Notions

Beyond yarn and needles, this project requires a tapestry needle for weaving in ends, stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and shaping points, and scrap yarn or a stitch holder for temporarily securing the thumb stitches on the mitts during construction.