Candy Stripe Cowl
Our Candy Stripe Cowl takes two colors of our new self-striping Novella yarn, adds simple garter-stitch stripes, and stripes upon stripes, it’s like a candy store in here!
What may look like a mind-boggling knit is actually so simple a beginner can do it! It’s just a matter of alternating two different colors of Novella, each with its own self-striping pattern.
A “self-striping” yarn is dyed in a pattern of colors, so that when you knit it, the colors form repeating stripes, thick ones if your knitting is narrow and skinny ones if it’s wide.
Novella is just that kind of yarn but with an additional twist. Not just a series of colors, Novella has two colors spun together throughout its overall multi-color repeat. For example, you can see below that the sky blue section of the yarn is a mix of vivid blue and pale blue and that the same is true for every color. The effect is softly marled colors with a beautiful depth and fascination.
The brightly colored Candy Stripe Cowl is actually a mix of the two colors above, two rows of Flower Patch, then two rows of Salt Water Taffy. They mingle serendipitously but always beautifully… It’s impossible to go wrong! Look how different, but equally lovely, the mix of Desert Ridge is with simple Heirloom White (below). You can really see the distinctive stripes but the shifting color remains soft and undulating and just beautiful!
Aside from all its colorful tricks, Novella is, at its heart, a wonderful yarn to hold in your hands and wear around your neck. Made in Italy, it is 92% extra fine merino, which is the softest merino there is, plus 8% mulberry silk. The merino lends body and bounce to the yarn (and fun to your knitting experience!), while the silk adds luster to its surface and also beauty to its drape.
To make a Candy Stripe Cowl, you will only need two balls of Novella in two colors. We have five Candy Stripe Cowl Bundles to choose from, or explore your own combo by picking two colors of Novella that you think will pleasantly surprise you!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Gianna Mueller. 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, #PurlSohoCandyStripeCowl, and #PurlSohoNovella. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
Pick up two balls of Novella in two colors or one of our Candy Stripe Cowl Bundles. It comes in five playful palettes and includes…
- 2 balls of Purl Soho’s Novella, 92% extra fine merino and 8% mulberry silk. Each ball is approximately 142 yards/ 50 grams.
- Color A: 1 ball; approximately 142 total yards required
- Color B: 1 ball; approximately 142 total yards required
You will also need…
- US 6 (4 mm), 24-inch circular needles
Samples: We used Salt Water Taffy + Flower Patch and Desert Ridge + Heirloom White for our cowls!
GAUGE
22 stitches and 44 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch
NOTE: We used every last yard for our cowls! To avoid running short, please re-use your swatch yarn (and avoid cutting it, if you can), double check your gauge, and be conservative with tails!
SIZE
- Finished Circumference at Top: 18¼ inches
- Finished Circumference at Bottom: 24¾ inches
- Finished Height: 10½ inches
NOTES
Slip Stitches
Slip all slip stitches purlwise with yarn in front.
SLIP STITCH COLOR CHANGE
In Rows 1 and 3 of the Beginning section, you will change colors while working a slip-stitch selvage. Here’s how…
Slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front, then hold old yarn over the new yarn (shown above, left: The white is the old yarn and the brown is the new,). Pick up new yarn and move it to the back of work, ready to knit (shown above, right: Note how the new yarn [brown] has caught and “trapped” the old yarn [white].).
Then continue knitting… The result is a pretty, striped slip-stitch selvage!
PATTERN
BEGINNING
With Color A, cast on 136 stitches. We used a basic Long-Tail Cast On.
Set-Up Row (wrong side): With Color A, knit to end of row.
Row 1 (right side): With Color B and working Slip Stitch Color Change (see Notes), slip 1 (see Notes), knit to end of row.
Row 2 (wrong side): With Color B, slip 1, knit to end of row.
Rows 3 and 4: With Color A, repeat Rows 1 and 2.
Repeat Rows 1–4 nine more times, until piece measures approximately 3¾ inches from cast-on edge.
Mark one end of the final row with a removable stitch marker or piece of scrap yarn.
DECREASE
NOTE: You will not work a slip-stitch selvage in this section. Do not cut yarn between stripes.
Row 1 (right side): With Color B, k1, knit 2 together (k2tog), knit to end of row. [1 stitch decreased]
Row 2 (wrong side): With Color B, knit to end of row.
Rows 3 and 4: With Color A, repeat Rows 1 and 2. [1 stitch decreased]
Repeat Rows 1–4 seventeen more times, making sure to have a few yards of Color A left over. [100 stitches remain]
With Color A, bind off all stitches knitwise, leaving a long tail.
SEAM
Fold piece in half so wrong sides are together and the selvages are aligned.
Following our Seaming Garter Stitch tutorial, and beginning at the bind-off edge, use the tail to sew selvages together, stopping when you reach the stitch marker at the beginning of the Decrease section. Sew through the final stitch a couple of times to secure.
FINISHING
Weave in the ends and gently wet block!
Good morning. This would work with 2 balls of the same colour yarn too, wouldn’t it?
Hi J,
That’s a great question! Yes, you could definitely use 2 balls of the same color of Novella for this cowl and it will look stunning! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!
All the best,
Cat
Love the pattern shape and potential for color movement. Thoughts on knitting the neck section in the round?
Thanks so much.
Kay Stuntz
Hi Kay,
Thanks for your question! You can definitely knit the “Decrease” portion of the cowl in the round as opposed to flat! To do so, you’d just need to alternate one round of knits followed by a round of purls, all while doing the decreases as instructed. For this pattern, when you get to the “Decrease” section, you can just join in the round for “Row 1 (right side)” and knit one round instead. Then, for the next round, just purl all stitches! Afterwards, do all knits for Round 3 and then all purls for Round 4. Repeat rounds 1 – 4 until you have 100 stitches left, bind off knit-wise, and you’re all set!
Since you will be knitting stripes in the round with your colors A and B, here’s our Stripes in the Round tutorial (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/stripes-in-the-round/) for how to carry up the colors as you knit!
I hope this helps, and please let us know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Cat
Any Christmas color combinations that you’d recommend?
Hi Angela,
Thanks for your question! Fall Dahlias, Fairy Tale, and Farmers Market have a Christmas vibe, so any combination of these would be fabulous for the holidays! Alternating one of these shades with Novella in Heirloom White would also be very festive and let the colors pop even more. I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
Would there be a way to do this in the round, so that you wouldn’t have to seam it?
Hi Kelly,
You could totally incorporate knitting in the round for this project so you wouldn’t have to do any seaming! After completing the split hem in the “Beginning” section (this part would be knit flat), you can knit the “Decrease” section in the round by alternating one round of knits followed by a round of purls, all while doing the decreases as instructed. When you get to the “Decrease” section, you can join in the round for “Row 1 (right side)” and knit the round instead. Then, for the next round, just purl all stitches. Afterwards, do all knits for Round 3 and then all purls for Round 4. Repeat rounds 1 – 4 until you have 100 stitches left, bind off knit-wise, and you’re done!
Since you’ll be knitting stripes in the round with your colors A and B, here’s our Stripes in the Round tutorial (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/stripes-in-the-round/) for how to carry up the colors as you knit! I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
Any suggestions on sizing this cowl for an 8-year-old granddaughter? She’ll love the colors, I know. I’m planning on making matching cowls for her and her mother. Thanks!
Hi Janine,
Thanks for your comment! To make a smaller version of this cowl, just cast on 124 stitches rather than the original number so the bottom hem is smaller and measures 22.5 inches based on the gauge in the pattern. Then, you can proceed with knitting the pattern as written, working through the “Decrease” section as you normally would until you have 88 stitches left on your needles! This way, the top circumference of the cowl is smaller as well and measures 16 inches. Then, just bind off and you’re all set!
We recommend checking your work as you go and adjusting the length of the cowl, i.e. the number of rows, based on what’s best for your project. And when making pattern adjustments, we especially recommend doing a gauge swatch to make sure your gauge is consistent with the pattern. Here’s our guide on swatching if you’d like more information (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2020/08/20/all-about-gauge/)!
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
Hi – What adjustments would you suggest to make the cowl child sized? Presumably I’d need to use double pointed needles? Thoughts? Just ordered a bunch with the hope I can do this!
Hi Susan,
Thank you for your question! To make a smaller version of this cowl, you can just cast on 124 stitches instead so that the bottom hem of the cowl measure about 22.5 inches based on the gauge in the pattern. Then, you can proceed with the pattern as written, working through the “Decrease” section until you have 88 stitches left on your needles so the top of the cowl now measures 16 inches. Then, just bind off to complete your cowl!
This cowl is knit flat and then seamed, so if you’re knitting this flat, you won’t need to use double pointed needles. But if you’d prefer to knit this in the round, you can definitely use double pointed needles as you progress through the “Decrease” section! To knit the cowl in the round, you would start off knitting the cowl flat to create the hem and then join in the round at the start of the “Decrease” section; then just alternate a round of all knits with a round of all purls, working the decreases as instructed! You can also try 16-inch circular needles for the “Decrease” section as those would likely work well too.
We recommend checking your work as you go and adjusting the length of the cowl, i.e. the number of rows, based on what’s best for your project. And when making pattern adjustments, we especially recommend doing a gauge swatch to make sure your gauge is consistent with the pattern! Here’s our guide on swatching if you’d like more information (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2020/08/20/all-about-gauge/).
I hope this helps, and please let us know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Cat
A wonderful simple idea with a great look!
I made it in rounds because I always try to avoid seams. The decreases add a nice design element to the cowl.
Hi Angela,
Wow, you’re quick! It really is a fun one to knit, isn’t it?
I just mentioned to Ann, another knitter who commented here and asked about why we wrote the pattern flat, that we were avoiding purl rounds. But some people’s purl rounds are other people’s seams… You do have to do one or the other, though!
Thank you for letting us know about your process and success… We love to hear it!
Best,
Whitney
I just ordered the yarn, but is the pattern available in a form that doesn’t require 16 pages of printing? Thank you.
Hi Ruth,
Thanks for your question! Here’s how we recommend printing patterns from our website:
If you’re on your computer, you’ll find a “print” icon in the right column just below the “Save To Favorites” button. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find the “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.
Click on this button, and a window will pop up where you can delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print. When you hover over any image or a text block, it will be highlighted in yellow and a “trash” icon will appear. Just click on this icon to delete anything that’s not necessary to the pattern! For example, you may decide to shorten the pattern by omitting certain images or the list of materials. Then, just click on the “Print” button in the upper left-hand corner of the pop-up window!
I hope this helps! Please feel free to email us at customerservice@purlsoho.com if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Cat
I would love to knit this cowl but I would like to knit it with one color and not do the switch to a different color. Is this possible and if yes, how many balls of yarn do I need? Thank you!
Maria
Hi Maria,
Yes, that is totally possible and a very easy change to make. You’ll still need just two balls of Novella, and you can ignore the instructions to change colors and slip the selvage stitch.
Knitting with Novella is a ton of fun, even with one color… We hope you love it and please let us know if you have any other questions!
Best,
Whitney
Good morning . Is there a way to revert this to print iut? Thank you
Hi Patti,
Thanks so much for your comment! Here’s how we recommend printing patterns from our website:
If you’re on your computer, you’ll find a “print” icon in the right column just below the “Save To Favorites” button. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find the “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.
Click on this button, and a window will pop up where you can delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print. When you hover over any image or a text block, it will be highlighted in yellow and a “trash” icon will appear. Just click on this icon to delete anything that’s not necessary to the pattern! For example, you may decide to shorten the pattern by omitting certain images or the list of materials. Then, just click on the “Print” button in the upper left-hand corner of the pop-up window!
Please feel free to email us at customerservice@purlsoho.com if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Cat
Why not join in the round for X amount of inches then work back and forth for the open edge that loops over your shoulder? You could still make a lively slip stitch edge.
Hi Ann,
You could absolutely do that! The reason we don’t is that garter stitch in the round requires you to purl every other round, but garter stitch flat is all knit stitches. Since most people find knitting easier than purling (and we tend to agree!), we decided to stick to garter stitch flat and opted for a simple seam to whip it into shape!
Thank you so much for asking, and if you decide to go the in-the-round route, please let us know if you need any help!
Best,
Whitney
Hello – What an intriguing yarn and pattern. Is it possible to make a scarf or wrap instead of the cowl using this yarn with a stockinette or garter stitch pattern?
Hi Barbara,
Absolutely! The Beginning section of the pattern is essentially a garter-stitch scarf pattern. If you cast on the number suggested, you will get a 24.75-inch wide scarf (more like a wrap), but you can cast on any number you’d like. If you’re getting the same gauge as we are, just multiply the width you’d like by 5.5 and cast on that number. For example, a 10-inch scarf would be 10 x 5.5 = 55 cast-on stitches. Then, just follow those four rows for the length of a scarf!
Please let us know if you need any more help, and we hope you have as much fun knitting your scarf as we did our cowls!
Best,
Whitney
Whitney – Thank you! If I want the scarf to be 10 inches wide and 60 inches long, how many skeins would I need. Would 4 skeins be enough?
Hi Barbara,
Great question! You would need 6 balls of Novella to make a scarf in those dimensions. I hope this helps, and please let us know if we can help with anything else!
All the best,
Cat
If you were to make a baby blanket – what no of stitches would give the same effect? for the salt water taffy combination …and how many balls of yarn to complete it?
Hi Mary,
Thanks so much for your question! To make a garter stitch baby blanket inspired by this cowl, you would need 10 balls of Novella for a blanket that measures about 30 inches by 37 inches. I highly recommend double checking that your gauge is consistent with the pattern by knitting a gauge swatch, and here’s our tutorial on swatching if you’re interested in more information (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2020/08/20/all-about-gauge/)! If you’re getting gauge, you can cast on 165 stitches for a blanket width of approximately 30 inches and then knit until the project is 37 inches or the length that you prefer. I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
I am interested in knitting this in the round. I assume I would cast on the same number of stitches, then knit and purl until the desired length. At the split would I just start working back and forth instead of in the round. Is it that simple?
Thanks for your help, I love this look!
Jo
Hi Jo,
Thanks for writing in! This cowl is actually knit from the bottom up, so you would cast on the original amount of stitches, knit the “Beginning” part back and forth in rows to create the split hem, and then switch over to knitting in the round for the “Decrease” section while still doing the decreases as written! When you get to the “Decrease” part, you can join in the round for “Row 1 (right side)” and knit one round instead. Then, for the next round, just purl all stitches. Afterwards, do all knits for Round 3 and then all purls for Round 4. Repeat rounds 1 – 4 until you have 100 stitches left, and lastly bind off knit-wise!
Since you will be knitting stripes in the round with your colors A and B, here’s our Stripes in the Round tutorial (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/stripes-in-the-round/) for how to carry up the colors! I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
This is great! Thanks so much!!!
I have ordered the yarn. Is there a print version of the pattern without all the photos…don’t want to print out 27 pages!
Thank you
Hi Martha,
I would recommend using the “print” function on this page, rather than printing directly from your browser! If you’re on your computer, you’ll find a “print” icon in the right column just below the “Save To Favorites” button. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find the “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.
Click on this button, and a window will pop up where you can delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print. When you hover over any image or a text block, it will be highlighted in yellow and a “trash” icon will appear. Just click on this icon to delete anything that’s not necessary to the pattern! For example, you may decide to shorten the pattern by omitting certain images or the list of materials. Then, just click on the “Print” button in the upper left-hand corner of the pop-up window!
All the best,
Lili
Would it be possible to get swatches of the other bundle colors? There’s a couple I think are pretty but I’m having a hard time picturing them in stripes with each other. Thank you!
Hi Jessica,
I’m afraid that we haven’t yet made swatches for each of the bundle colors. I can absolutely see how useful that would be though, and I’ll let our design team know that there’s interest in seeing this!
All the best,
Lili
Hello! This looks like a great gift idea! Would this pattern work with a Worsted weight yarn! I have Rios malabrigo yarn in my stash.
Many thanks for your inspirational posts!
Hi Harriet,
Yes, you can absolutely make this cowl with a worsted weight yarn! You’ll just need to adjust your cast-on number so that the cowl comes to the correct size.
To figure out your cast-on number, you will want to first knit a gauge swatch in pattern. Once you know how many stitches you are getting per inch, you can multiply that number by the width that you would like and cast on the nearest whole number. Then you can follow the pattern essentially as written!
The only other thing you’ll need to change is how many times you work the repeated rows. This number will be smaller since your gauge will be larger, so I’d recommend just going by measurement instead. The BEGINNING section is worked until the cowl measures 3.5 inches from cast-on, and then you’ll work the DECREASE section until the cowl measures 10.5 inches from cast-on.
I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any other questions on these modifications!
All the best,
Lili