The Cecropia Cowl is inspired by the beautiful moth my husband and I found on our way home from the local peony garden. It was the first time either one of us had seen a silk moth of this size in person. After tons of Googling and reading about how short and tragically beautiful their lives are, it just made sense to memorialize the species in a knitting pattern.

This cowl features unique ribbing that includes right and left twists to create a braided cable. The colorwork chart includes a border that mimics the moth’s antennae, as well as several nature-inspired motifs around the main moth graphic.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Needles
24” / 60 cm circular needles in size US 3 (3.25 mm)

24” / 60 cm circular needles in size US 5 (3.75 mm) or any needle that achieves gauge/desired size

Yarn & Yardage
Two high-contrasting colors in DK weight yarn

Sample uses Pink Adobe Dyeworks 100% Merino superwash DK (245 yd / 224 m per 100 g) using colorway Moth (beige) as main color and Cecropia (brown multi) as contrast color

If knitting edge ribbing in CC…
MC: 178 yds / 163 m
CC: 204 yds / 187 m

If knitting edge ribbing in MC…
MC: 236 yds / 216 m
CC: 152 yds / 139m

Notions
Tapestry needle
3 stitch markers
Scissors

SIZING

Size & Finished Measurements
One size
Approximately 13” W x 13” H (33 W x 33 cm H) when finished and blocked

Gauge
24 stitches and 28 rows rows for 4” (10 cm) square measured over colorwork pattern in the round after blocking

If sharing your progress and finished piece on Instagram or other social networks, please use the hashtag #CecropiaCowl so I can admire your beautiful work! Happy knitting, friend!