Pivot Cowl
Considered for word of the year by the Oxford Dictionary, “hygge” is in the air! Use it as a noun, adjective, or verb, hygge is a Danish term that basically means getting cozy and feeling content. Danes traditionally tap into its spirit throughout the long winter months, and so obviously, knitting is totally hygge… And so is our Pivot Cowl in warm and toasty Cashmere Merino Bloom!
I love the simplicity and graphic quality of garter stitch and played with both for our Pivot Cowl. A short-row triangle neighboring simple rectangles creates a ton of visual interest, as well as a gentle curve along the bottom of the cowl. The result is a beautiful drape, a flattering fit, and a very engaging knit!
The Pivot Cowl may look intimidating to make, but that wouldn’t be very hygge… It’s a lot easier than you may think! Grab two skeins of our absolutely gorgeous Cashmere Merino Bloom and do like the Danes do! – Joelle
Designed by Purl Soho founder and co-owner, Joelle Hoverson.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoPivotCowl, and #PurlSohoCashmereMerinoBloom. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 2 skeins of Purl Soho’s Cashmere Merino Bloom, 75% extra fine merino wool and 25% cashmere. Each skein is 218 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 325 yards required. We used the color Honey Pink.
- US 5 (3.75mm) straight or circular needles
Gauge
20 stitches = 4 inches in garter stitch
48 rows (24 “ridges”) = 4 inches in garter stitch
Size
Circumference around top edge: Approximately 20 inches
Circumference around bottom edge: Approximately 29 inches
Height: Approximately 10 inches
Notes
Wrp-t (wrap and turn):
- On the right side: Keeping the yarn in front, slip the next stitch purlwise from the left needle to the right needle. Bring the yarn to the back. Return the slipped stitch to the left needle. Bring the yarn to the front. Turn the work so the wrong side is facing you.
Because the piece is in garter stitch, you do not have to pick up and knit the wraps when you get to them.
Construction
You will start your cowl at the bottom 17-inch edge and knit in the direction of the diagram’s arrow. In the end, the cast on will be at the top edge of the cowl. After knitting the 17 x 10-inch rectangle, you will pivot the piece, pick up along its selvage, and work short rows to form a triangle, again knitting in the direction of the arrow. To finish, you will knit a rectangle and then join its stitches to the remaining selvage with a simple 3-Needle Bind Off.
Pattern
Knit a Rectangle
Using a Long Tail Cast On, cast on 85 stitches.
Row 1 (wrong side): Knit.
Row 2 (right side): Knit.
NOTE: Once you have worked a few inches, place a removable stitch marker or piece of scrap yarn on the right side of the piece to help you keep track of the sides as you continue. It also helps to note that the cast-on tail is at the lower left corner as you face the right side.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until there are 60 ridges on the right side (approximately 10 inches from the cast-on edge), ending with a wrong-side row. (A “ridge” is two rows of garter stitch.)
Next Row (right side): Loosely bind off in knit stitch, leaving the last stitch live on the needles.
Pivot + Knit A Triangle
With the right side facing you, use the empty needle to pick up (without knitting) 60 stitches along the left selvage of the rectangle. Pick up one stitch in each ridge.
Row 1 (right side): With the needle that’s holding the remaining bind-off stitch, knit through the back loop of each stitch. [61 stitches on the needles, including final bind-off stitch from previous step]
Row 2 (wrong side): Knit to last 2 stitches, k2tog. [60 stitches]
Row 3: Knit to last 2 stitches, wrp-t (see Notes, above).
Row 4: Knit.
Row 5: Knit to 1 stitch before previous wrapped stitch, wrp-t.
Repeat Rows 4 and 5 until last stitch remains, ending with a right-side row and 1 stitch remaining on the right needle.
NOTE: You have just created a triangle with the short rows. In the end, the selvage side of the triangle will be along the bottom edge of the cowl, and the opposite point will be at the top edge of the cowl.
Knit Another Rectangle
Row 1 (wrong side): Knit to end of row.
Row 2 (right side): Knit to end of row, including the stitch that remained from working the short rows.
Knit even for 3 inches (or until the top edge measures 20 inches), ending with a wrong-side row.
Bind off: With a spare needle and the right side facing you, pick up (without knitting) one stitch in each ridge of the selvage edge of the original rectangle. [60 stitches on each needle]
With the right sides facing out, work a 3-Needle Bind Off.
Weave in ends and block.
I like to wear my Cowl with the seam on the outside!
P.S. There was a small but significant correction made to this pattern on the morning of January 7, 2016, to work the short rows from the front rather than the back. Please accept my apologies for any confusion caused by this mistake and subsequent change! –Joelle
I just finished the last rectangle of the cowl, and when I measured the size of the top and bottom edges of the cowl, I noticed that the circumference around the bottom edge measures less inches than it should. I believe that the problem might be in the short row triangle. Would you tell me how many inches does the selvage side of the triangle along the bottom edge of the cowl should measure?
Thanks so much.
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for reaching out! This is a bit tricky because the bottom of the triangle is a bit curved. I would say that the bottom edge of the triangle is 10.5 to 11 inches. The sample that we measured has also been handled quite a bit and thus has stretched a bit with the original measurement being closer to 9 to 9.5 inches.
I will say that row gauge here does effect the circumference. We have a row gauge of 48 rows (24 “ridges”) = 4 inches in garter stitch. That said, garter is quite stretchy and you can certainly block it to be a bit larger if the gauge is just a little off!
I hope that this help!
Cassy
Hi, How much yardage does this pattern require? I have one skein of Understory from an earlier project and wonder if the 250 yards would suffice. If not, what would be the best way to deal with two different dye lots? For example, would you recommend knitting the big rectangle with one skein and the smaller rectangle and triangle with the second skein?
Hi Marly,
Thanks for writing in! I am happy to help! For this cowl, we used roughly 325 yards of yarn. To use two different dyelots, you could alternate skeins between rows or use one dye lot for the big rectangle and the smaller rectangle at the end and the other for the pivot triangle!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Hello, is this cowl design unisex/ suits for guys in your opinion? 😉
Hi Virgie,
Thanks for reaching out! Yes this can absolutely be a unisex cowl and totally suitable for a man! We have a great variety of colors in the Cashmere Merino Bloom to customize this cowl further and make it even more masculine!
All the best,
Gianna
Hi,
I don’t understand how you knit the final triangle. If you only have one stitch remaining at the end of the wrap and turns, what are you knitting? Thanks.
Hi Jane,
Thanks the the questions. I hope I can clear this up for you. After completing the short rows you’ll simply knit across all stitches to create the final rectangle! Even though there is only one stitch remaining on your right needles the rest of the stitches should still be live. Once you knit across all the stitches without working short rows this will create the final triangle!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
I’ve read through the explanation correcting the first row of wrap and turn. My question is, at what point do I turn the work so I’m (again) on the wrong side. This is Row 3 just after the k2tog to get back to 60 stitches.
So, I’ll be on the right side. Do I first knit all the way across the right side and only “turn to the wrong side) at the last two stitches to begin the first wrap and turn? And, if that is the case, does this repeat each time? That would mean two turns of my work for each wrap and turn? I apologize if this is obvious, but I’m new to wrap and turn and trying to make sense of this! Thank you!
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for reaching out! For the short rows, when it says Row 3: Knit to last 2 stitches, wrp-t, this will be worked over the right side of the fabric, once you turn you will immediately move onto the next row, row 4: Knit (know knitting back across the row on the wrong side of the fabric). This will be consistent throughout the pattern.
I hope this helps and clears things up!
Gianna
Enjoying this pattern but have a question concerning the wrap and turn – triangle. When I finished that section – and started the last rectangle – the spacing between the wrap and turns makes the knitting look strange. Sort of sparse with holes showing instead of full garter – if that makes sense. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Tracie,
Thank you for writing in! It sounds like you are right on track! There should be little gaps between the wrapped stitches since the wrap pulls the stitch to one side, but those gaps should all go away once the row is knit. If you still have concerns about your project, please feel free to email in a photo of your project and the problem area that is giving you trouble, this can help us better visualize what might be happening.
All the best,
Gavriella