This is the 7th pattern release for the ebook Just Playing Around.

A simple repeating pattern around the body of this cowl makes for a relaxing but interesting knit. There are enough plain rounds to make the knitting quicker and once memorized the patterning rows just zip on by. A perfect pattern to try out a new technique. Have you ever tried pooling with a hand-dyed yarn?

What is Pooling? Pooling is a different way of looking at hand-dyed yarns. Instead of trying not to have the colours pool (stack on top of themselves within a project to form awkward or unbalanced blocks of a single colour), the yarn is manipulated at the cast-on so that when the project is knit the colours of the yarn will stack on top of themselves through the whole project to form vertical columns of colour. Lace or textural pattern with strong vertical lines will emphasize these vertical lines.

Why Pool? Sometimes we fall in love with a hank of hand-dyed yarn. We will fondle, hang-up, view, and then stress about what to do with this beautiful yarn. It is too colourful to knit lace with, the pattern will be lost in it – and knitting it the regular fashion may muddy up the colours as they blend together! Pooling solves both of these issues. The colours will only blend around the edges, and the lace will show beautifully in the solid colours. Perfection!

If you decide to pool the yarn you are working with read the set-up section carefully.

Materials: 350 to 400m fingering weight yarn, samples were knit with Llama Lace, 350m (pooling version) and Woolfolk Tynd, 400m, 4.0mm US #6 24 inch circ needle, markers and the regular notions.

Gauge: Variable, dependent upon yarn chosen and knitter. Pooling version, 100 % llama, 1 pattern repeat equals 2.25 inches and Tynd version, 100 % merino, 1 pattern repeat equals 2 inches.

Size: pooling version, 16 repeats, 34 inches around and 16 inches deep, excluding fringe. Cowl/wimple, 12 repeats, 20 inches around and 22 inches deep.