Reversible Cowl
Here’s how I battle arctic winds and wintry mixes: two supremely cozy layers of Purl Soho’s Line Weight merino around my neck! It’s a toasty solution, as well as a beautiful one. Our Reversible Cowl is a conspiracy of a few thoughtful details, elegant simplicity and two gorgeous colors.
The gorgeous colors in this case are the mysterious and sultry Black Green paired with its inner wild child, Green Turquoise. Green Turquoise is an incredibly saturated gemstone of a color, a wonderful secret to have tucked inside on serious days and, flipped to the outside, a bold pop of color to let loose on not-so-serious days!
Our Reversible Cowl was inspired by our Reversible Hat and is constructed in much the same way: You knit a gently shaped tube with one color, continue on with the second color (reversing the shaping), fold the second color inside the first and graft their ends together. Simple! Choose your favorite two-color combo of Purl Soho’s Line Weight and cast on! -Whitney
Update: New Colors!
September 30, 2016
We’ve given our Reversible Cowl a color update! Dipping into this season’s Line Weight palette, these favorite old projects have brand new personalities: natural and woodsy, timeless and beautiful.
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Whitney Van Nes.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoReversibleCowl, and #PurlSohoLineWeight. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- Color A: 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Line Weight, 100% merino. Each skein is 494 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 235 yards required. We used Black Green.
- Color B: 1 skein Line Weight; approximately 247 yards required. We used Green Turquoise.
- US 4 (3.5 mm), 16 or 20-inch circular needlesWe used Green Turquoise.
- US 4, 16 or 20-inch circular needles
For the Provisional Cast On you will also need…
- A few yards of smooth scrap yarn
- A crochet hook to fit the size of the scrap yarn
- A spare circular needle, US 3 or smaller, 16 inches or longer
Gauge
28 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, blocked
Size
Finished circumference at top: 20 inches
Finished circumference at bottom: 22 1/4 inches
Finished height: 12 1/2 inches
Pattern
Begin at Bottom
With Color B, use a Provisional Cast On to cast 156 stitches onto the US 4, 16 or 20-inch circular needle.
Place a marker and join for working in the round, being careful to not twist the stitches.
Knit until piece measures 1/2 inch from cast on edge.
Purl 1 round.
Knit 1 round.
Cut Color B and join Color A.
Knit until piece measures 2 1/2 inches from purl round.
Decrease to Top
Decrease Round 1: [K37, k2tog] 4 times. [152 stitches]
Knit until piece measures 5 inches from purl round.
Decrease Round 2: [K36, k2tog] 4 times. [148 stitches]
Knit until piece measures 7 1/2 inches from purl round.
Decrease Round 3: [K35, k2tog] 4 times. [144 stitches]
Knit until piece measures 10 inches from purl round.
Decrease Round 4: [K34, k2tog] 4 times. [140 stitches]
Knit until piece measures 12 1/2 inches from purl round.
Cut Color A and join Color B.
Knit 1 round.
Purl 1 round.
Increase Back to Bottom
Knit until piece measures 2 1/2 inches from second purl round.
Increase Round 1: [K35, make 1 right (m1R)] 4 times. [144 stitches]
Knit until piece measures 5 inches from second purl round.
Increase Round 1: [K36, m1R] 4 times. [148 stitches]
Knit until piece measures 7 1/2 inches from second purl round.
Increase Round 1: [K37, m1R] 4 times. [152 stitches]
Knit until piece measures 10 inches from second purl round.
Increase Round 1: [K38, m1R] 4 times. [156 stitches]
Knit until piece measures 12 inches from second purl round.
Cut Color B, leaving a 42-inch tail.
Finish
First, weave in all the ends, except the 42-inch tail.
Now, removing the scrap yarn, slip the live stitches of the Provisional Cast On onto the spare needle.
Bring the Color B section inside the Color A tube so that their purl sides are facing each other.
Thread the 42-inch tail onto a tapestry needle and holding the working needle and the spare needle parallel, use the Kitchener Stitch to graft the edges together.
Weave in this final end. Since only the right side is accessible at this point, simply sew the tail diagonally under the knit stitches, come back the other way and trim.
Block your cowl and when it’s dry, enjoy it!
Just completed my second cowl. How do you suggest blocking it. Need to shape up the Kitchener stitches a bit.
Thank you.
Hello Karen,
Thanks for reaching out! I would recommend checking out our blocking tutorial for detailed instructions on the process of blocking. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any further questions!
Happy knitting,
Marilla
Hi there!
Would the process be any different if it were a 1×1 rib on a bulky weight yarn? I plan to do beading on one side, don’t want it to shift around 🙂 Your pattern is the closest I’ve found to what I need!
Hi Lauren,
Thanks for writing in! Great question! I think that if you will be using a much thicker yarn and a textured stitch pattern, you will have to do a fair amount of reworking here. Ribbing pulls in a fair bit more than stockinette so you will have to account for that when making your pattern. Additionally, given the bulk of the yarn, you will need to account for how thick the fabric will be when doubled. The turning rows we used here should be the same but you will also need to work the kitchener stitch in the 1 by 1 rib pattern. This can be a bit tricky but there are tutorials out there for doing so.
I would suggest knitting some swatches to work out these issues before beginning!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Hello–will you have the black green and green turquoise in stock again one day? Love this color combo and regret not having bought back in the day! Thanks!!
Hi Cristina,
Thanks for writing in! Sadly, these colors have been discontinued and are no longer available. All of our current (and also lovely) colors of Line Weight can be found here: https://www.purlsoho.com/line-weight.html
Please know that we do add new colors each year and we will certainly keep greens in mind for the future!
Cassy
It’s extremely possible that I am just not seeing the total yardage required notes in the cowl (and hat) patterns. Could you tell me approximately the required amounts for each section of them. All I have seen is a skein of color A and one of color B. Thank you for all of the lovely patterns you make available.
Hi Deb,
Thanks for writing in! For the cowl, we used a little over half of each of the skeins of Line Weight. For the hat, we used under half of each of the skeins. With 1 skein of each color, you should be able to get a hat and cowl. For the set, we used about 10% less than the total yardage of the 2 skeins. This 10% should allow for you to get both a cowl and a hat out of 2 skeins.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
I am having difficulty starting this cowl neck. Do I use the scrap yarn for the provisional cast on and then switch over to Color B?
Hello Jan,
Thank you for reaching out! You use scrape yarn to make your crocheted chain and then use Color B to cast on. Our tutorial has some very helpful photos that I would recommend looking over.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
Please, please bring back these colors of Line Weight Yarn!
Black Green & Green Turquoise! Gorgeous combination.
Thank you.
Hi Victoria,
Thanks for writing in! Sadly, these colors have been discontinued and are no longer available. All of our current (and also lovely) colors of Line Weight can be found here: https://www.purlsoho.com/line-weight.html
Please know that we do add new colors each year and we will certainly keep greens in mind for the future!
Happy knitting!
Julianna
I see that there are currently a limited number of colors available in the Line Weight. Are there plans to add more?
Hi Lee,
THanks for reaching out! I do not believe that there will be a release of new colors in the very near future. In the meantime, you can use any other fingering or light fingering weight yarn. Our Posy would make a nice alternative as would Manos del Uruguay Fino!
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Would I be able to do this with one skein of linen quill and one skein line weight? Would I need to change anything in the pattern? They seem very similar gauge, but thought I’d check just in case! Thanks for the amazing patterns!!!
Hi Emily,
Yes, that would be absolutely wonderful! You might want to knit a gauge swatch in each yarn to make sure, but Line Weight and Linen Quill do indeed knit up to the same gauge most of the time.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Love this one. Full of interesting details, larger base, provisional cast on, kitchener stitch, change colours in the round, and an easy breezy stockinette stitch. The result is an easy-to-wear cowl with this great idea, it is reversible and therefore, fun and warm.
Thank you very much for the clear explanations too!
Hi Corinne,
Thank you so much for the incredibly kind words! It means the world to us. We’re truly so happy to hear that you’re enjoying the Reversible Cowl and hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!
All the best,
Cat