Bandana Cowl
Working at Purl Soho, I have a front row seat to the parade of effortlessly chic people that give our neighborhood its renowned style. From here I can report that, for men and women alike, this season’s prevailing trend in neckwear is the bandana. Jauntily tiedaround the neck, it tops off everything from Sunday’s T-shirt and jeans to Friday’s night-on-the-town dress! The bandana is a sassy, casual touch that suggests that the wearer possesses an innate stylishness. It’s the perfect accessory for those cool mornings when you’ve hit snooze a few too many times and need to turn “thrown–together–in–a–rush” into “casually glamourous”!
My Bandana Cowl is inspired by my desire to make “effortlessly chic” even more effortless. I was so excited to create something with the same freshness as the tied bandana but without the fiddly aspect of actually having to tie anything!
I chose to make my Cowl out of Swan’s Island Bulky, a brand new yarn made from a beautiful blend of undyed merino and alpaca that feels wonderfully soft against the skin. The yarn creates a dense, rich fabric that’s cuddly perfection for the chilly days of fall!
Update
OCTOBER 14, 2012
Our original Bandana Cowl is a Purl Bee favorite, knit up in Swans Island beautiful merino Bulky. We love it too! But we couldn’t resist the temptation to get even cozier with the help of Jade Sapphire’s extraordinary 8 Ply 100% Mongolian Cashmere. Carefully selected, gorgeously spun and lovingly hand dyed, it doesn’t really get any better than Jade Sapphire’s cashmere!
UPDATE: NOW IN PLENTY!
MARCH 6, 2022
We revisited this favorite pattern to give it the very special Plenty treatment. As un-scratchy as wool gets, this 100% extra fine merino is soft and squishy with a distinctive spin and very lively bounce. Oh, and it only takes one skein of Plenty to whip up a Bandana Cowl… Casting on now!
Materials
- 1 skein Swans Island Bulky, naturally dyed colors are 100% Organic Merino and undyed colors (Natural, Oatmeal and Seasmoke) are 85% Organic Merino and 15% Alpaca. Each skein is 130 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 130 yards required of Swans Island Bulky or another worsted weight yarn. We used the color Oatmeal.
- A US 10 (6.0 mm), 16-inch circular needle
- Jumbo Locking Stitch Markers, 3 total (optional)
For a truly cozy cowl, here is another beautiful option:
- 2 skeins of Jade Sapphire’s 8 Ply Cashmere, 100% Mongolian cashmere. Each skein is 100 yards/ 55 grams; approximately 130 yards required.
Gauge
16 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Size
Finished Neck Opening: 17¼ inches circumference, comfortably stretching up to 5 inches
Finished Height From Point: 13½ inches
Notes
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
SLIP SLIP KNIT PASS (S2KP)
Slip 2 stitches together knitwise with yarn in back, knit 1, pass the 2 slipped stitches over the knit stitch. [2 stitches decreased]
For more help with this technique, please visit our Slip Slip Knit Pass tutorial.
SHORT ROW SHAPING: WRAP AND TURN (WRP-T)
On the right side: Keeping yarn in back, slip next stitch purlwise from left needle to right needle. Bring yarn to front. Return slipped stitch to left needle. Bring yarn to back. Turn work so wrong side is facing you.
On the wrong side: Keeping yarn in front, slip next stitch purlwise from left needle to right needle. Bring yarn to back. Return slipped stitch to left needle. Bring yarn to front. Turn work so right side is facing you.
For a step-by-step video and photo tutorial of how to work this technique, including how to work wrapped stitches with their wraps, please visit our Short Rows: Wrap + Turn Tutorial tutorial.
Pattern
Cast on 89 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Place a marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.
Set-up Round: Purl all stitches.
Round 1: K43, S2KP (see Notes, above), knit to end of round. (87 stitches)
Round 2: P42, S2KP, purl to end of round. (85 stitches)
Round 3: K41, S2KP, knit to end of round. (83 stitches)
Round 4: P40, S2KP, purl to end of round. (81 stitches)
The next section is worked back and forth in short rows, building from the point of the bandana to the back of the neck. You’ll be turning the work between each row instead of continuing around the needle. For a great Short Row Tutorial, click here!
Row 5: K42, wrap and turn.
Row 6: P3, wrap and turn.
Row 7: Knit to the wrapped stitch, knit the wrapped stitch making sure to pick up the wrap, k1, wrap and turn.
Row 8: Purl to the wrapped stitch, purl the wrapped stitch making sure to pick up the wrap, p1, wrap and turn
Repeat Rows 7 and 8 eighteen more times. Don’t worry if you lose count; you’ll know you’re done when you wrap and turn the stitches right next to the marker!
You’ve finished the short rows!
Next Round: With the knit side facing you, knit to the marker, making sure to pick up the wrapped stitch.
Continue with the knit side facing you, working again in the round. Knit 2 rounds, picking up the wrap of the first stitch.
Set-up Round: K18, place marker, k45, place marker, knit to end of round.
*Decrease Round: Knit to two stitches before the first marker, k2tog, slip marker, knit to the next marker, slip marker, ssk, knit to end of round. (2 stitches decreased)
Knit 3 rounds (or for 1/2 inch).
Repeat from * five more times. (69 stitches)
Next Round: Purl
Next Round: Knit
Repeat the last 2 rounds once more.
Bind off very loosely in purl. (I like to go up several needle sizes to bind off. In this case, I bound off with a US #15 needle.)
Weave in your ends and block as desired. Blocking isn’t strictly necessary for this project, but it significantly improves the drape and softness of the yarn. I’m personally convinced that Soak wash makes anything short of a Brillo Pad feel next–to–the–skin cuddly!
Enjoy your Bandana Cowl on all the brisk fall days to come! -Erin
Hi, I am confused about where to start row 5 relative to the point of the bandana. I am using magic loop method and my point is kind of off center on one side of my loop. Before I start row 5 do I need to slide all the stitches onto the cable and find a new starting point for the round? Or, where is the starting point of my first row 5 stitch? Thank you!
Hi Florinda,
Thanks for writing in with your question! I can see how using the magic loop method can be a little bit tricky while doing short row shaping, but you should be able to work these upcoming short rows just fine, especially if you center the point of the bandana on one side of your needles before beginning row 5.
Starting at row 5 you will be working in short rows and not knitting back to your beginning of round marker like in the previous rounds. The point of your bandana should be 40 stitches away from the beginning of round marker, which Row 5 will help establish. After knitting 42 stitches for Row 5, your wrp-t stitch should be just slightly past the point of your bandana (2 stitches past the tip), then you will wrap and turn your work so the wrong side is facing you.
Continuing to Row 6, you will purl 3 stitches before wrapping and turning again. This will bring you back to the other side of your point, which will be perfectly centered between your wrapped stitches.
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Carly
Thank you so much for the reply. I will give this a try. It sounds, though, like magic loop was not the preferred method for this project. What should I have done instead?
Hi Florinda,
Because the circumference of the finished neck opening of this cowl measures 17.25 inches, we recommend using 16-inch circular needles for the project!
All the best,
Lili
Hola no me centra desde la. Vuelta 5. Tejí 42 puntos y gire tejiedo de revez regresé al. Marcador de inicio. Y Tejí 3 puntos y volví a girar. No regresé por el otro lado sino al. Mismo lado donde inicié la prinera fila corta. Ayuda
Hello!
Thank you so much for your question. On Row 5, you will knit 42 stitches to position the beginning of your short rows. Then, you will wrap and turn the 43rd stitch, and begin purling on the wrong side of the work for Row 6. You will turn your work after each row for this short row section! Short rows are only worked across some of the stitches in your row, not all of them, so you are on the right track! If you would like more information about how to work Short Rows, you can check out our tutorial here!
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Margaret
Hi. I am knitting the bandana cowl in beautiful Plenty for the girls in the family. On #2 now. The youngest two would like smaller sized ones. How can I adapt the pattern nicely. Smaller circumference and shorter. They are 11 and 9 years of age. Thanks so much. I am about to order more wool.
Gloria Sternthal
Hi Gloria,
Thank you so much for reaching out, and what a lovely family gift idea! We unfortunately don’t have the resources to rewrite this pattern in different sizes, but if you want to calculate the amount of stitches you will need to cast on for a different size, you will multiply 4 x the desired circumference in inches = amount of cast on stitches.
You will also want to know the halfway point from the begining of round, so that you can have a centered point, and when you begin shortrow shaping, you will want to knit just 1 stitch past that middle stitch before doing your wrap and turn.
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Carly
Hola estoy confundida y no entiendo cuantas vueltas cortas debo hacer… si pierdo la cuenta a qué marcador se supone que debo llegar? Hice vueltas cortas hasta llegar al marcador de inicio y me quedó muy largo.
Hi Jimena,
Thanks for reaching out. It sounds like you’ve done the correct number of short rows! You will work a total of 40 short rows, and you’ll know when you’re done when the wrapped stitches are right next to the stitch marker at the end of the round. Hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili