Valley Yarns New Directions Cowl Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns New Directions Cowl

Project Overview

The New Directions Cowl is a beginner-friendly knitted cowl designed by Kirsten Hipsky. This downloadable knitting pattern creates a finished cowl measuring 6 inches wide by 40 inches around, making it an ideal neckwear accessory for layering and warmth. The design features a distinctive two-part construction that combines a wide section with a long section, joined together through seaming for a unique directional aesthetic.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a cowl—a circular neckwear accessory that drapes around the neck without requiring a fastening. The New Directions Cowl is specifically designed as a two-part garment, featuring contrasting sections that create visual interest and allow knitters to showcase yarn texture and color variation. The finished dimensions of 6 inches wide by 40 inches around provide comfortable coverage and draping for most wearers.

Techniques Used

The New Directions Cowl employs several fundamental knitting techniques suitable for beginners:

• Casting on: The pattern begins with casting on 80 stitches for the wide section foundation
• Picking up stitches: The long section is created by picking up and knitting 24 stitches along the left edge of the wide section, a technique that allows seamless integration between pattern sections
• Seaming: The two sections are joined together by sewing the stitches of the long section to the right edge of the wide section, creating the final cowl structure
• Blocking: The finished cowl is blocked to set the stitches and achieve proper dimensions
• Weaving in ends: All loose yarn ends are sewn into the fabric for a polished final appearance

Stitches Used

The New Directions Cowl uses a limited stitch vocabulary, making it accessible for knitters developing their foundational skills:

• Garter stitch: The primary stitch throughout the pattern, created by knitting every row. This stitch produces horizontal ridges on both sides of the fabric and is used to establish the gauge of 16 stitches and 32 rows equaling 4 inches
• Knit stitch (k): The fundamental stitch used in most rows of the pattern
• Purl stitch: Incorporated selectively in Row 1 of each repeating section (with knit stitches only at the edges), creating textural variation within the predominantly garter stitch fabric

Materials

The New Directions Cowl requires minimal materials, making it an economical project:

• Yarn: 2 skeins of Valley Yarns Amherst, a 100% merino wool yarn in the Lake colorway. Each skein contains 109 yards and weighs 50 grams, providing approximately 218 yards of yarn total for the finished cowl
• Needles: US size 9 (5.50 mm) needles, or the size required to achieve the specified gauge of 16 stitches and 32 rows per 4 inches in garter stitch
• Additional supplies: Yarn needle for seaming sections together and weaving in loose ends

Design Details

The New Directions Cowl features a distinctive construction method that divides the project into two distinct sections. The wide section is created first, measuring the full width of the finished cowl, and consists of eight ridged sections on the right side of the fabric created through the repetition of a six-row pattern sequence. The long section is then picked up from the edge of the wide section and knit to approximately match the dimensions of the wide section before the two pieces are seamed together. This approach allows knitters flexibility in adapting the pattern to different yarn choices while maintaining the intended finished dimensions. The pattern note indicates this design shares the same fun, multi-directional concept as the Multi-Directional Cowl, reimagined in the soft, cuddly texture of Valley Yarns Amherst merino wool.