Nightfall Cowl
With more reasons than usual to weather the weather this winter, our Nightfall Cowl will wrap you in soft warmth from sundown to bedtime.
Using a simple iteration of brioche stitch known as honeycomb brioche, this cowl’s super lofty texture captures the heat, while its squishy touch delivers on cozy. Follow our pattern for the double-wrap cowl, shown here, or whip up a single-loop version for a lighter layer.
And knowing that the nights ahead may be require some extra comfort, we brought in one of the softest, coziest yarns we know, Cashmere Merino Bloom. In twenty-two gorgeous colors, we just added five new beauties to the palette, including this mysterious (and appropriate!) Night Blue. Bring on the night!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Jake Canton. Click here to see even more of Jake’s designs!
Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoNightfallCowl, and #PurlSohoCashmereMerinoBloom. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 2 (3) skeins of Purl Soho’s Cashmere Merino Bloom, 75% extra fine merino and 25% cashmere. Each skein of this light worsted/DK yarn is 218 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 300 (638) yards required. We used Night Blue.
- US 6 (4 mm), 16- or 20-inch circular needles for Once-Around size, or 32- or 40-inch circular needles for Twice-Around size
- A stitch marker
Gauge
14 stitches and 42 rows = 4 inches in stitch pattern
Sizes
Once-Around (Twice-Around)
Finished Circumference: 22¾ (53¾) inches
Finished Height: 11 inches
Sample: The cowl shown here is Twice-Around.
Notes
Slip Stitches
Slip all slipped stitches purlwise.
Stitch Multiple
This stitch pattern works over an even number of stitches.
Brioche Abbreviations
YOS [yarn over slip]: Bring yarn forward, slip 1 purlwise, bring yarn over right needle.
Bp2tog (brioche purl 2 together): Purl next stitch together with its paired yarn over.
For tips on working the steps of Brioche Stitch, please visit our Brioche Stitch Tutorial!
And for a demonstration of the techniques required in this stitch pattern, please watch our Two-Color Honeycomb Brioche Stitch Tutorial. For Rounds 1 and 3, you will follow the instructions for pushing aside the previous row’s yarn over and knitting the paired stitch, demonstrated in Row 1 in the video.
Pattern
Cast on 80 (188) 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: *K1, YOS (see Notes), repeat from * to end of round.
Round 1: *K1, pushing previous row’s yarn over (yo) to the left of its paired stitch, knit the paired stitch, slip the yo with yarn in back (wyib), repeat from * to end of round.
Round 2: *YOS, bp2tog (see Notes), repeat from * to end of round.
Round 3: *Pushing previous row’s yarn over to the left of its paired stitch, knit the paired stitch, slip the yo wyib, k1 repeat from * to end of round.
Round 4: *Bp2tog, YOS, repeat from * to end of round.
Repeat Rounds 1-4 until piece measures 11 inches from cast-on edge, ending with round 4.
Bind off knitwise.
Weave in ends and gently wet block.
Learn About Cashmere Merino Bloom + All Our Beautiful Yarns
Soft, supple, and toasty warm, Cashmere Merino Bloom is an absolute knitting joy! A light worsted/DK-weight yarn, it is made with 25% of the most exquisite cashmere in the world and 75% extra fine merino wool and benefits from both fibers: cashmere for over-the-top softness and beautiful bloom and merino for resilience, durability, and even more softness. Cashmere Merino Bloom has an incredible hand feel with a gentle halo that illuminates your knitting… A gorgeous choice!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of (mostly free!) Cashmere Merino Bloom patterns and cast on!
More Light Worsted/ DK Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of light worsted/ DK weight yarns
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fiber
- Shop cashmere yarn
- Shop merino wool yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
This looks so warm and cozy!
If I wanted to do this in two colours, as in the tutorial for the two-colour honeycomb brioche stitch, would I do the cast on, set-up round, then rounds 2 and 4 with the main colour; and rounds 1 and 3 with the contrast colour? Thank you in advance!
Hi Anna,
Thanks for writing in! Yes, that sounds correct! I think that will be a great idea for this cowl!
Please let us know how this turns out, happy knitting!
Gianna
Happy to come back and report it worked out wonderfully!
Love the concept of using the Honeycomb 2 tone brioche stitch for this pattern. May I ask what 2 colors you used? Thank you!
I used a petrol-like blue and green (sorry, didn’t get a message from her, you are probably knitting other things by now…)
Sorry but I really don’t get this – why does the pattern refer to the Brioche Stitch Tutorial when it isn’t using brioche stitch in the pattern? And then a two-color honeycomb brioche stitch tutorial when the pattern is not using two colours? I’m totally confused. Really sorry.
Best wishes, Marit
Hi Marit,
Thanks for writing in! We shared those tutorials as a recourse to go along with this pattern! We shared the Brioche Stitch tutorial for customers who may be new to Brioche to show exactly how to work the Yarn Over Slip and Brioche Purl 2 Together, which are two very basic and important components of Brioche that we use here in this pattern! We also shared the Two-Color Honeycomb Brioche tutorial because this pattern is a Honeycomb Brioche Stitch and the tutorial demonstrates the techniques required for this stitch pattern, but we advise in the note section how to follow the tutorial using 1 color instead of 2.
I hope this clarifies things for you! Happy knitting!
Gianna
I really enjoy the models . thanks!
Hi Monique!
Thanks for writing in! We love our models and are so glad to hear that you do too! I will be sure to pass this along!
All the best,
Gianna
Are there yarns you might suggest?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out! For this pattern we used our Cashmere Merino Bloom yarn! You could also use any light worsted/DK weight like our Good Wool, Understory or Flax Down! I do recommend working a gauge swatch to double check you are still consistent with the pattern when changing yarns!
Happy Knitting!
Gianna
I would love to knit this with an all cashmere yarn. What would you suggest? Thank you!
Hi Liza,
Thanks for reaching out! For an all cashmere yarn I would recommend Jade Sapphire Zageo 6-Ply for this cowl!
All the best,
Gianna
Hello. I love this nightfall cowl
Before I order the Cashmere Merino in the Night Blue , I wanted to ask you
Is the colour more blue grey or more purple blue. In the picture the colour looks quite purple which I love but then I look at the skein and it doesn’t look the same
Thanks Jan
Hi Jan,
Thanks for reaching out and for your kind words! The Night Blue color is true to the photographs! It is a more purply undertoned deep blue shade!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
I am a long time knitter, probably an intermediate. I cannot figure out these directions, every time I knit the pattern I come up with a different # of stitches. The directions are confusing and there’s no indication of how many stitches should be at the end of each row. Can you do something to clarify the directions and the # of stitches in each row. I’m getting very frustrated.
Thnaks
Hi Naomi,
Thanks for reaching out! I am sorry to hear that you are frustrated with the pattern! Since this is a brioche stitch and you are working with yarn overs and bp2tog it is difficult to put a stitch count since it changes every row, thank you for expressing your interest though and I will be sure to pass this along to the rest of the team!
All the best,
Gianna
I am an ok knitter. Have been knitting for the last 10 years, have managed to make a handful of wearable sweaters (and a bunch of non-wearable ones), managed to learn intarsia, fair isle. But I got very concerned about my ability to do this pattern when reading e comments about ladies who are lifelong master knitters not managing to keep the right number of stitches, having great difficulty with the patter.
I have to say, after reviewing the videos and practicing on my swatch it is not only easy, but meditative. It’s a lovely, repetitive patter that you fall into a groove in.
The key is follow the pattern exactly. If the last stitch is YOS don’t forget to make your very last stitch the yarn over. Everything you need is right there in the pattern. Just follow it exactly. I would say an experienced beginner could easily do this. And the pattern that emerges is so intensely satisfying. I love the pickle green I got. It is multidimensional not just one flat green. There are flecks of different shades of green and some yellow to give it depth. And it is satisfyingly soft.
Forgot to mention, don’t sweat the number of stitches. Just follow the pattern exactly and it works out perfectly.
Hi Beverly,
Thanks you for reaching out! I am so glad to hear that you have enjoyed knitting this cowl and thank you so much for sharing your experience with this stitch. I completely agree with you and find the honeycomb brioche to be very easy and meditative! Also yes, the amount of stitches in each row doesn’t matter as much as making sure you follow the repeat exactly! Hopefully your story will encourage other knitters to give this a try!
All the best,
Gianna
I am new to this brioche stitch and can’t seem to get past the first couple of rows. Is the set up row’s very first K1 the same stitch used to join in the round? Or do you join in the round with a knit stitch, then begin the *K1, YOS* ?
Hi Laurie,
Thanks for reaching out! When you join the work in the round with the very 1st knit stitch and then go straight along with the yarn over!
I hope this clarifies things, happy knitting!
Gianna
Hi-
Question–I too am a bit confused starting out and specifically with Round 1. Set up row ends with a slip and Yo. Round 1 begins with a K1. Do I knit what was the set up row’s last slip stitch or YO? That leaves me with 1 of those as my next stitch on the needle but I should be knitting the pair together. Also not understanding slipping the YO with yarn in back. Isn’t that part of the pair I just knitted? I thought the pair is made up of the slip and YO. Sorry, I’ve read the pattern and watched the tutorial multiple times but am still not understanding.
Hi Robin,
Thanks for reaching out! For the set up round you are knitting the first stitch and then working a YOS (Yarn Over Slip) which is a bit different than just working a yarn over! For a YOS you bring the yarn forward, slip 1 purlwise, bring yarn over right needle. You then repeat the K1, YOS for the entire set up round.
I hope this clarifies things, happy knitting!
Gianna
Hey robin
I just figured out the answer to the same question you had about the YO and the confusion with what paired stitch to knit and which to slip. It took quite a few tries to figure it out. The language is a little hard to understand but ultimately is really does explain it.
The YO is part of the pair. It’s the yarn that lays over its “paired stitch”. The “paired stitch” is the actual knitted component of this pair and does not include the YO which lays on top. You’ll move just the top yarn over to the left of the actual stitched part of this pair and knit only this actual stitch. That will leave the actual YO on your left needle and then you’ll slip that YO onto your right needle.
I hope I said that right but I have abandoned this project a few times because I couldn’t understand but I finally got it.
Hello! I am trying to test the gauge and I seem to be struggling with round 1. I am able to get the set up row done with the last stitch being the YOS. Then when I knit 1 to begin round 1, my next stitch isn’t a pair, it’s a single knit stitch. I seem to be missing a stitch somehow but am not sure how. Any help would be appreciated!
Hi Tory,
Thanks for reaching out! Since the pattern is written for in the round knitting, when you finish the set up row and begin round 1 you are starting by knitting the original stitch which is a knit stitch and not a YOS so that the next stitch is the YOS and can be knit with its paired stitch! I would recommend checking out our Swatching for Circular Gauge tutorial since it is a bit of a different technique than swatching for a flat pattern!
I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out with any more questions going forward!
Warmly,
Gianna
Thank you so much for your help! I was able to figure out the pattern and love how it’s turning out. However, the vertical area where I start a new row is forming a funny looking set of stitches that does not look like the rest of the pattern. Is this to be expected?
Hi Tory,
Thanks for reaching out again! I am so happy I could help, I am not sure what may be the problem behind that without seeing whats going on, so please feel free to send a photo of your work to our email customerservice@purlsoho.com and we can troubleshoot further from there!
Warmly,
Gianna
Could you recommend a needle size and number of stitches for a cowl with this yarn with a more basic seed stitch? Thank you!
Hi Shari,
Thanks for reaching out! I would recommend using the same needle size as we use in this pattern and working a gauge swatch in seed stitch to determine your cast on #! I suggest checking out our All About Gauge tutorial it is an excellent resource to use!
Warmly,
Gianna
I’m loving how this is coming together-it turns into a very meditative and methodical rhythm! I’m almost done and reading ahead to the cast off-how do you handle the yarn overs? Do they get paired to cast off? I guess a bk2tog for that stitch? Thanks in advance!
Hi Jen,
Thanks for reaching out! You will bind off knitwise, knitting the yarn overs with their paired stitch!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
I am confused from the start! I am doing a Twice Around Cowl. Do I need to cast on 188 stitches?
Hi Patty,
Thanks for reaching out! No worries! That is correct, for the Twice Around size you will cast on 188 stitches.
Warmly,
Gianna
Is this a good pattern to learn / experiment with brioche?
Hi Isabelle,
Thanks for reaching out! If you want to jump right in this could be a good a good project to learn brioche! It is a bit more complex than some but I would say it is still manageable for a beginner. If you wanted to start off super easy just to get the basics down I would recommend starting with our Brioche Scarf In Worsted Twist and then moving up to this cowl!
Warmly,
Gianna
I purchased Cashmere Merino Bloom recently for another project and have fallen in love. Such a dream to knit and the resulting fabric is beyond soft. I was wondering what ply this yarn is. I think it may be 4 ply from the stockinette stitch it makes.
Hi Candice,
Thanks for reaching out! Cashmere Merino Bloom is absolutely lovely (one of my favorites as well!) I am so glad that you have enjoyed it! CMB is actually a thicker 2 ply yarn, this helps give it the exquisite squishiness!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
Hi Purl 👋
Love this pattern and yarn…I have never knitted the brioche stitch but am excited to try this ..but .instead of a cowl I would like to make this as a scarf 🧣 ….your instructions would be greatly appreciated….happy Knitting 👏👏👏
Hi Elaine,
Thanks for reaching out! You can certainly make this pattern as a scarf! I would recommend checking out our Latticework Wrap, it is the same stitch pattern but includes the wrong side row instructions (which you will need for working a scarf, since the cowl is worked in the round and doesn’t include wrong side directions.)
You can follow this pattern still using Cashmere Merino Bloom and and you can work it in one color rather than 2!
I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out with any more questions!
Warmly,
Gianna
Thanks sooooo much..can’t wait to begin this new project 👏👏👏👏
This was a wonderful project and I love my finished project! I chose the single loop size but only used one skein instead of two to reach the 11 inches. The good news is that it fits over my head and I can make another one! Was my gauge way off? I was not sure how to measure gauge with this particular stitch.
Hi Edana,
Thanks for reaching out! Is your finished circumference 22¾” or different? If it is different it is possible that your gauge was a bit off, and it can be tricky to measure gauge in brioche, the gauge should measure 14 stitches and 42 rows = 4 inches in stitch pattern.
Looking forward to your response!
Gianna
I’ve completed the cowl in the larger size and then wet blocked it as recommended. Now that it has has dried, I’m sorry that I did as it has lost its spring and the stitch definition is also not nearly as visible. I’m really disappointed – perhaps it should not have been blocked although the starting edge was very curled. Is there some way to remedy this? (I used a tiny bit of Purl Soho soap, soaked it, gently pressed out the excess water and used blocking mats with T pins.)
Hi Catherine,
Thanks for reaching out! I am sorry to hear that you are disappointed! Please feel free to send some photos of you work to our team at customerservice@purlsoho.com and they can troubleshoot further from there!
Warmly,
Gianna
Thanks for your reply Gianna. I will take some photos and send it on.
I have started this cowl. I love the stitch pattern but am getting a definite “seam” at the start of the round. Is there any way to avoid or minimise this? If jogless colourwork and garter are possible, is jogless brioche too?
Hi Carla,
Thanks for reaching out! Please send our customer service team a photo of your work to customerservice@purlsoho.com and they can troubleshoot the seam you are getting!
Warmly,
Gianna
Thanks, Gianna. I sent an email, but I don’t think there is a way to work this stitch pattern without some disruption at the start of the round. I’ve been studying other honeycomb brioche projects in the round on Ravelry, and the most helpful suggestion I found was to disguise it with buttons! 🙂
Hello- this is my first time doing a brioche pattern and I am struggling with extra stitches each time. I keep having three instead of two to knit together but it looks like it might make sense to drop the stitch and knit the two. If I continue the pattern like this will it work? Or am I doing it wrong?
Hi Kat,
Thanks for writing in. It’s a bit hard for us to visualize the issue you’re running into, so would you be able to send along a photo of your project to customerservice@purlsoho.com? We’ll be able to help out better from there!
All the best,
Lili