We love when knits and purls organize themselves into a resemblance of nature. It renews our appreciation of both knitting’s deep well of surprises and nature’s endless beauty!

Wild Grass Cowl | Purl Soho

Our Wild Grass Cowl seems to depict a regiment of marsh grasses, their spikelet tops so convincingly conjured by some right and left twists, plus a couple of double decreases… Amazing!

Wild Grass Cowl | Purl Soho

Oh, are we talking about nature? Enter Flax Down! A rustic but wonderfully soft mix of baby alpaca, extra fine merino, and linen, this single-ply beauty loves a stitch pattern. We used just two skeins of Clover Green for its fresh-cut-grass clarity but hard to go wrong with our straight-from-nature palette of over two dozen colors!

Wild Grass Cowl | Purl Soho

UPDATE: NOW A WRAP IN PARTRIDGE

NOVEMBER 2022

Wild Grass Cowl | Purl Soho

We’ve taken the gorgeous stitch pattern of the Wild Grass Cowl and turned it into a wrap full of texture, movement, and beauty! The down-to-earth beauty of 100% merino Partridge brings the hearty pleasure of the natural world into each stitch of the Wild Grass Wrap. Plump and soft with a fuzzy halo, this single ply yarn has a satisfying density, and its tidy spin is a lovely choice for this textured fabric.

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, #PurlSohoWildGrassCowl, and #PurlSohoFlaxDown. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Materials

Wild Grass Cowl | Purl Soho
  • 2 skeins of Purl Soho’s Flax Down, 43% baby alpaca, 42% extra fine merino, and 15% linen. Each skein is 219 yards; approximately 299 yards required. We used Clover Green. (NOTE: We no longer offer Flax Down, but choose from one of our other light worsted/dk weight yarns.)
  • US 6 (4 mm), 16-inch circular needles
  • A stitch marker

Gauge

24 stitches and 29 rounds = 4 inches in stitch pattern

23 stitches and 36 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Size

Finished Circumference At Base: 26½ inches

Finished Circumference At Top: 23¼ inches

Finished Height: 11½ inches

Notes

Right + Left Twist

RT (right twist): Knit into front of second stitch on left needle, leaving stitch on needle, then knit into front of first stitch on left needle and slip the two stitches from needle together.

LT (Left Twist): Knit into the back of second stitch on left needle, leaving stitch on needle, then knit into the front of first stitch on left needle and slip the two stitches from needle together.

For help with this stitch, please visit our Right + Left Twist tutorial.

Decreases

S2kp (slip 2, knit 1, psso): Slip 2 stitches together knitwise with yarn in back, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over knit stitch and off right needle. [2 stitches decreased]

Sl1, k2tog, psso (slip 1, k2tog, pass slip stitch over): Slip 1 stitch purlwise, knit 2 stitches together, pass the slipped stitch over the k2tog and off the needle. [2 stitches decreased]

Pattern

Begin

Cast on 160 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.

Round 1: *K5, p2, k1, p2, repeat from * to end of round.

Round 2: *RT (see Notes), k1, LT (see Notes), p2, k1 through back loop (tbl), p2, repeat from * to end of round.

Rounds 3-10: Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 four more times.

Round 11: *P2, k1, p2, k5, repeat from * to end of round.

Round 12: *P2, k1 tbl, p2, RT, k1, LT, repeat from * to end of round.

Rounds 13-20: Repeat Rounds 11 and 12 four more times.

Repeat Rounds 1-20 two more times.

Decrease

Round 1: [K5, purl 2 together (p2tog), k1, purl 2 together through back loop (p2tog tbl), [k5, p2, k1, p2] 7 times, place marker (pm)] 2 times. [156 stitches]

Round 2: [RT, k1, LT, p3tog, *RT, k1, LT, p2, k1 tbl, p2, repeat from * to next marker] 2 times. [152 stitches]

Round 3: [K5, p1, *k5, p2, k1, p2, repeat from * to next marker] 2 times. 

Round 4: [RT, k1, LT, p1, *RT, k1, LT, p2, k1 tbl, p2, repeat from * to next marker] 2 times.

Repeat Rounds 3 and 4 three more times.

Round 11: [P2, k1, p2tog, p1, p2tog tbl, k1, *p2, k5, p2, k1, repeat from * to 7 stitches before next marker, p2, k5] 2 times. [148 stitches]

Round 12 (Decrease Round): [P2, k1, p3tog, k1, *p2, RT, k1, LT, p2, k1 tbl, repeat from * to 7 stitches before next marker, p2, RT, k1, LT] 2 times. [144 stitches]

Round 13 (Decrease Round): [P2, slip 1, k2tog, psso (see Notes), *p2, k5, p2, k1, repeat from * to 7 stitches before next marker, p2, k5] 2 times. [140 stitches]

Round 14: *P2, k1 tbl, p2, RT, k1, LT, repeat from * to end of round.

Round 15: *P2, k1, p2, k5, repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat Rounds 14 and 15 two more times, then repeat Round 14 one more time.

Continue

Repeat Rounds 1-10 from the Begin section one time.

Bind off in stitch pattern following the stitch pattern of Round 1. Here’s how…

Bind-Off Round:  K2, pass stitch over, [k1, pass stitch over] 3 times, [p1, pass stitch over] 2 times, k1, pass stitch over, [p1, pass stitch over] 2 times, * [k1, pass stitch over] 5 times, [p1, pass stitch over] 2 times, k1, pass stitch over, [p1, pass stitch over] 2 times, repeat from * to end of round.

Weave in the ends and block as desired.

Wild Grass Cowl | Purl Soho
Wild Grass Cowl | Purl Soho