I live at the heart of winter. The cold strikes you right to the bone, while the wind cuts you to the quick. Trendy fashion scarves made with acrylic that you can buy for 2 for $10 languish in stores, because they just don’t keep us warm. I need a warm cowl, but I want a pretty one. The inner layer of this cowl is slightly more fitted than the outer, helping it to stay in place whether you have it scrunched down on your neck or pulled up to keep your nose warm.

This pattern calls for two sizes of yarn, bulky for the lace outside, and fingering held double for the inside layer. Worsted would also work, but I prefer the lighter weight two strands of fingering seems to have. The cowls shown were knit using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Super Chunky and Knit Picks merino sock yarn (Pinkish version) and Malabrigo Gruesa and Three Irish Girls Carys BFL sock (Blue version). This is a good beginner lace project. Both samples were knit in one day by experienced knitters. The blue version used a skein and a third of the Malabrigo, and about an eighth of a skein of the Three Irish Girls.

Skill level: Confident beginner. Stitches used: knit, purl, yarn over, ssk, k2tog, kitchener stitch (grafting).