Our Beautyberry Cowl is just the lift you may need as color fades from the landscape and Old Man Winter rolls around!

Beautyberry Cowl | Purl Soho

This pattern is a pleasure and a surprise to knit. A lovely reversible fabric, its alternating colors may look like stranded colorwork, but really, you only use one color per round and work every other stitch into the row below. No fear, our Working Into The Stitch Below tutorial shows you how!

Beautyberry Cowl | Purl Soho

Made in our Super Soft Merino, the Beautyberry Cowl is toasty warm without weighing you down. Its bulky weight also means quick knitting and the right touch of drama!

Beautyberry Cowl | Purl Soho

This single ply of 100% Peruvian merino is loosely spun, which increases its soft touch and also helps trap air to insulate you from the winter cold.

Beautyberry Cowl | Purl Soho
Beautyberry Cowl | Purl Soho

Super Soft Merino comes in over thirty colors, and it only takes three skeins for a once-around cowl or five for the double-wrap version. Pick the shades that will enliven your winter days and cast on!

Beautyberry Cowl | Purl Soho

Designed for Purl Soho by Gianna Mueller, based on our Beautyberry Blanket, originally designed by Laura Ferguson. Click here to see even more of Gianna’s designs!

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

Materials

Beautyberry Cowl | Purl Soho
  • Purl Soho’s Super Soft Merino, 100% merino wool. Each skein is 87 yards/ 100 grams.
    • Color A: 2 (3) skeins; approximately 100 (220) yards required.
    • Color B: 1 (2) skein(s); approximately 45 (95) yards required.
  • US 11 (8 mm), 16- or 32-inch circular needles, depending on size you are making
  • A stitch marker

We used the following colors for our samples…

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Once-Around

Color A: Pink Starfish + Color B: Eggshell Blue

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Twice-Around

Color A: Artemisia Green + Color B: Berry Blue

GAUGE

10 stitches and 23 rounds = 4 inches in stitch pattern

SIZES

Once-Around (Twice-Around)

  • Finished Height: Approximately 9½ inches
  • Finished Circumference: Approximately 24½ (53¾) inches

NOTES

STITCH MULTIPLE

This pattern works over an odd number of stitches.

KNITTING INTO THE STITCH BELOW

NOTE: For more information about this technique, be sure to visit our Working into the Stitch Below Tutorial!

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.

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.

CARRYING UP THE YARN

Rather than cutting the yarn every couple of rows, you’ll want to carry the non-working yarn up the inside of the cowl. For a few tips on carrying the yarn, visit our Stripes in the Round Tutorial!

PATTERN

With Color A, cast on 61 (135) stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.

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

Round 1: Knit to end of round.

Round 2: With Color A, *p1, p1b (see Notes), repeat from * to last stitch, k1.

Round 3: With Color A, *k1b (see Notes), k1, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.

Round 4: With Color B, *p1, p1b, repeat from * to last stitch, slip 1 purlwise.

Round 5: With Color A, *p1b, p1, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.

Round 6: With Color A, *k1, k1b, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.

Round 7: With Color B, *k1b, k1, repeat from * to last stitch, slip 1 purlwise.

Repeat Rounds 2-7 seven more times, then repeat Rounds 2-6 once.

Cut Yarn B.

Next Round: With Color A, knit to end of round.

Bind off loosely, going up one or two needle sizes if necessary.

FINISHING

Weave in remaining ends and gently steam block.

Beautyberry Cowl | Purl Soho
Beautyberry Cowl | Purl Soho