This is an updated blog post of colour combos to knit our free Simple Cowl pattern using half a ball of Opal 4ply self-patterning sock yarn and a hank of Socks Yeah 4ply.
One of our most popular shop samples is our Simple Cowl.
It's available as a free shop pattern.
The cowl pattern is quite straightforward and is suitable for a first 'in the round' knitting project. You do use a circular needle - either a short circular needle (40cm) or a long 100cm for Magic Loop. Other skills you will use:
- Cast on loosely.
- Work in the round. Use a stitch marker so you can tell when you're starting a new round.
- Knit.
- Purl.
- K1tbl. This means you knit the stitch through its back leg. This twists the stitch to create a raised stitch.
- K2tog. This is where you knit 2 stitches together to decrease by one stitch.
- YO - Yarn Over. In this pattern it means you bring the yarn between your needles before knitting the next stitch. This creates a stitch making a decorative hole.
- cast off in rib.
It uses two types of 4ply sock yarn allowing for lots of colour combinations and ways to wear it. By combining a self patterning Opal sock yarn with a solid colour Socks Yeah 4ply you get a cowl that looks interesting worn bunched up or folded over where you can choose which colour to show off.
The pattern is written to make a tall narrow cowl but it's a versatile pattern and it's easy to modify to make it your own:
- Knit the whole cowl using the self-patterning sock yarn. Simplest option.
- Knit the whole cowl using a solid colour of Socks Yeah 4ply.
- Knit a shorter cowl. Quickest option.
- Stripe it! Stash busting option.
I knitted a short cowl (half the height) using 5 mini balls of Opal 4ply sock yarn, so only 50g of Opal sock yarn.
When we first launch the Simple Cowl we shared some ideas for colour combos. But since the Opal sock yarns are mainly limited edition I've put together some new combos.
This time I've picked out some current Opal sock yarns and then partnered them with different Socks Yeah 4ply shades. Opal comes in 100g balls (or 10g balls if you get mini balls) and Socks Yeah 4ply comes in 50g hanks.
To knit one tall cowl you only need half of the 100g ball of Opal and one 50g hank of Socks Yeah 4ply. So you could get one ball of Opal and 2 different hanks of Socks Yeah 4ply to make 2 different tall cowls.
Obviously, you could also knit:
- a short cowl with one 50g hank of Socks Yeah 4ply
- a tall cowl with one ball of Opal sock yarn
- a tall cowl with two hanks of Socks Yeah 4ply
- two short cowls with one ball of Opal sock yarn
- a short cowl and one pair of trainer socks from one ball of Opal sock yarn.
- a tall cowl and a pair of trainer socks with one ball of Opal sock yarn and one hank of Socks Yeah 4ply.
See what I mean about it's versatility?
So, the latest colour combos...
Opal Showbiz 4ply in shade 11397 combined with
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 130, Carnelian, a burgundy pink or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 111, Benitoit, a dark denim blue or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 122, Quartz, a stoney beige
Opal Showbiz 4ply shade 11394 combined with
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 111, Benitoit, a dark denim blue or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 1003, Argon, a neon orange or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 1002, Krypton, a neon green.
Opal Showbiz 4ply shade 11393 combined with
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 104, Sphene, a yellow or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 121, Melanite, a charcoal grey or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 112, Sugilite, a dark purple.
Opal Showbiz 4ply shade 11395 combined with
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 122, Quartz, a stoney beige or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 108, Chryso, a light teal or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 106, Kunzite, a lilac.
Opal Showbiz 4ply shade 11391 combined with
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 122, Quartz, a stoney beige or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 104, Sphene, a yellow or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 115, Jadeite, a light green.
Opal Hundtwassers 4ply shade 2104 combined with
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 130, Carnelian, a burgundy pink or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 110, Malachite, a dark green or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 122, Quartz, a stoney beige
Opal Hundtwassers 4ply shade 2104 combined with
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 111, Benitoit, a dark denim blue or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 1002, Krypton, a neon green or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 116, Ruby, a pink.
And here's one with six options!
Opal Hundtwassers 4ply shade 1432 combined with
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 122, Quartz, a stoney beige or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 121, Melanite, a charcoal grey or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 1001, Helium, a neon yellow
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 113, Topaz, a bright teal or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 1002, Krypton, a neon green or
Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 116, Ruby, a pink.
In terms of the knittability of the Simple Cowl, here are a few reasons why it is a perfect travel/holiday project...
- it’s knitted in the round on circular needles - so it's more portable to carry around.
- it's knitted using one needle - so you don't need to carry multiple sizes.
- there is nothing too taxing, so you can pick it up and put it down, or chat and drink without worrying about losing your place (just make sure you mark the start of your round).
- once you cast off, and sorted your ends, you can wear it. Although it does benefit from a gentle wash and a flat drying.
These are exactly the same reasons why we recommend the 3 Colour Cowl too.
To recap:
You can download a free copy of Simple Cowl knitting pattern here (and we have paper copies in the Pittenweem shop).
You can see our selection of Opal sock yarn here (watch out for 6ply and 8ply which are too thick for this pattern) and our Socks Yeah 4ply range here.
