I love a surprise, so it should be no surprise that Fisherman’s Rib worked with two colors is one of my favorite stitches to knit. With the magic of a single simple technique, a pattern that you’d assume, at first glance, would make horizontal stripes, in fact, creates vertical ones!

Two-Color Cotton Cowl | Purl Soho

The simple technique: working into the stitch below! New to it? Fear not! Our video tutorial will make you a “k1b” expert, as you knit up this pretty Two-Color Cotton Cowl. Watch your single-row striping transform into broad, textured, vertically-striped ribbing. Like brioche stitch, but with a fraction of the abbreviations!

Two-Color Cotton Cowl | Purl Soho

With its interlocking stitches, using two colors to work Fisherman’s Rib is fun and surprising. Pick soft and summery colors like we did for our Two-Color Cotton Cowl, or dip into Cotton Pure’s palette of 43 beautiful colors to create your own color expression! -Laura

Two-Color Cotton Cowl | Purl Soho

Designed by Purl Soho designer, Laura Ferguson.

Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoTwoColorCottonCowl, and #PurlSohoCottonPure. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Materials

Two-Color Cotton Cowl | Purl Soho
  • 2 skeins of Purl Soho’s Cotton Pure, 100% organically grown cotton. Each skein is 279 yards/ 100 grams.
    • Main Color (MC): 1 skein; approximately 279 yards required. We used Pink Sand.
    • Contrast Color (CC): 1 skein; approximately 279 yards required. We used Egret White.
  • US 4 (3.5mm), 40-inch circular needles
  • US 6 (4mm), 40-inch circular needles

Gauge

16 stitches = 4 inches in stitch pattern, on smaller needles

Size

Finished Dimensions: 10½ inches wide by 57½ inches in circumference

Notes

WORKING INTO THE STITCH BELOW

  • k1b [knit one below]: Insert the tip of the right needle into the stitch below the next stitch from front to back, knit normally (wrapping the yarn around the needle and pulling it back through the stitch below) and let the stitch above fall from the left needle.
  • p1b [purl one below]: Insert the tip of the right needle into the stitch below the next stitch from back to front, purl normally (wrapping the yarn around the needle and pulling it back through the stitch below) and let the stitch above fall from the left needle.

For more information about these techniques, be sure to visit our Working into the Stitch Below Tutorial!

SINGLE ROW STRIPING

In this pattern, you will alternate yarn each round. Although the finished fabric doesn’t look like stripes in the round, the technique for switching yarns is the same. Learn how to do it with our Stripes in the Round Tutorial.

Pattern

Begin with Stockinette Stitch

With MC, cast 230 stitches onto the larger circular needles. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.

Place marker and join for working in the round, being careful to not twist the stitches.

Work in stockinette stitch, knitting each stitch, for six rounds.

Continue in 2-Color Fisherman’s Rib

Change to smaller needles.

Round 1: With MC, * k1b (see Notes), p1, repeat from * to end of round.

Round 2: With CC, * k1, p1b (see Notes), repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 until piece measures 10 inches from the beginning rolled edge, ending with Round 1.

End with Stockinette Stitch

Change to larger needles.

With MC, work in stockinette stitch for five rounds.

Bind off knitwise.

Finish

Weave in the ends and block as desired.

Two-Color Cotton Cowl | Purl Soho