I was delighted when Cygnet asked me to design something in their beautiful Boho Spirit yarn for a Black Sheep Wools retreat weekend. This incredibly soft roving yarn comes in an array of fabulous, variegated shades with a subtle sheen, which shows off the stitch patterns used in this cowl beautifully. The idea of people gathering together on the retreat to knit this is also partly what gives the cowl its name.

Shaped by simple decreases this conical cowl is designed to lie in cosy folds around your neck and shoulders. The main body of the cowl features the Estonian 3 into 3 gathered stitch, a pretty stitch often found in traditional Estonian lace patterns. This was the other contributing factor to the naming of the cowl.

Method: Worked in the round from the bottom up this cowl begins with the decorative Channel Island cast on. This has the added advantage of creating 2 stitches at a time making casting on the large number of stitches required for the bottom edge much quicker!

The start of the round is placed at the back of the neck where the decreases are slightly further apart (the pattern jog helps indicate this for the wearer of the finished cowl).

The cowl ends with a rolled hem worked on smaller needles which provides a soft top edge around your neck and face.

The pattern contains 2 pdfs; one with written instructions and a chart for the Gathered Stitch pattern, the second pdf The Channel Island Cast On contains a photo tutorial for this technique.

The Gathered Stitch pattern used in this design is both charted and written out. You do not need to be prepared to read and work from charts in order to enjoy knitting this design!

Size: This pattern is written in one size, actual measurements -
top edge circumference 25 ½” (65 cm) approx.
bottom edge circumference 43” (109 cm) approx.
depth 10¼” (26 cm) approx.

Yarn: This pattern was written for Boho Spirit yarn by Cygnet.
If you wish to use a different yarn, please bear in mind the Boho Spirit is a thick DK/ thin worsted weight yarn. Make sure you do a generous swatch to check not only your tension/ gauge but also to confirm that you are happy with the drape of your chosen yarn.

The cowl shown used the following shade and quantity:
Cygnet Boho Spirit in 6943 Dream approx. 410 metres (448 yards)

Gauge: 13 Gathered Stitches and 48 rows to 6” (15 cm) measured over Gathered Stitch Pattern worked in the round and using larger needles. Please note this is over 6” not the more usual 4”.