Last week I was looking for a quick project. I wanted instant gratification. My requirements were: 1) it had to be fairly mindless, 2) had to be quick, and 3) had to use yarn from my stash. I happened upon the Jeweled Cowl, designed by Sachiko Uemura. It’s a free pattern on Ravelry.
I had just the yarn I wanted to use up: one skein of Viola Fancy Sock (a sock weight blend of 70% alpaca, 20% silk, and 10% cashmere; 437 yards for 100 grams) in the color Pebble. This yarn is so soft and lovely; it begs to be worn next to the skin. Plus I even had beads in an appropriate color. Perfect!
It was a fun and easy knit: a two row pattern that one can memorize in one repeat. The beads are added using the crochet hook method. My only issue is my own. The pattern calls for lace weight knit on a US 8 (5 mm) needle. I was using a slightly heavier yarn, but having used this yarn before I didn’t want it to be too open or stretchy. So I used a size 7 needle. I might have preferred how my cowl looks if I’d gone down another needle size to a US 6. I’ll have to see.
I’m not exactly sure how I’ll wear it, but Lucy was up for some experiments.
ETA: The pattern calls for a skein of Malabrigo Lace yarn, which has 470 yards. You can stop at any point, so if you use a yarn that has less than that — which I did — you can stop when your yarn is running low. I stopped after 49 of the 52 called for pattern repeats because I was low on yarn (although I could have done at least one more repeat) and because I just wanted to stop. I could tell my cowl was already wide enough.
