Recently, I learned to knit on circular needles. (We’re talking really recently, like…within the last month.)
So, I had no idea how to knit in the round. Heck, it’s a miracle I actually managed to figure out how to do any knitting at all. It completely mystified me for thirty years.
Anyway, my first project on the circular needles, I was sooooooooooo sure I counted properly. I counted three times. Granted those three times were all in the car while my husband was driving and I get motion sickness, so I was ready to throw up by the time I finished the second count, but still, you have to be REALLY certain you have the right count when you’re knitting in the round or else you could end up with a borked project like this one:
When you end up with an extra stitch, just start over. Seriously.
If I can offer one bit of advice for knitting in the round when you have a particular pattern to achieve it’s this: if you find yourself with an extra stitch or a missing stitch, just start over. You are sure to discover it before you’re very far into your project, so just save yourself and start over right now. You don’t want to deal with the embarrassment of having someone who actually knows what they’re doing look at your project and laugh themselves stupid. Note: If someone does that, smack them. That is so not nice. They will thank you later for putting them on the straight and narrow. Maybe. Well, probably not (because who thanks someone for smacking them??) but they should.
And now we’re moving on and we’re going to forget all about the fact that I screwed up the project I was so excited about.
So, here is the finished cowl…and don’t feel alarmed at the crappy picture taking. It’s late, I’m tired, and I’ve had only a couple hours of sleep in the past two days, so I don’t give a crap what the picture looks like. (I may have also had a few too many drinks this evening, but if you were staring at the Christmas to-do list I have to stare at, you’d drink too.)
Easy Knit Cowl
Now, if you already know how to knit with circular needles, you are well ahead of where I was when I started planning this cowl. Yay you!
If you don’t know how to knit in the round, let me know in the comments and I can post links to some fairly decent knitting tutorials. That said, I’m going to assume you aren’t as dumb as me and don’t have to look up how to join your chain.
For this cowl I used Naturally Caron’s Country yarn, a #4 medium weight, merino blend in “Ocean Spray” color. I used the needles recommended for gauge which was #9 US or 5.5 mm. I used 29 inch circular needles, but if you use a chunkier yarn, you’ll likely need longer needles unless you adjust the number of stitches.
The nice thing about this cowl is that it’s so simple, but it’s also extremely easy to customize. You can change the length, the width, the yarn, whatever. As long as you count properly, you can still end up with a fantastic cowl that is uniquely yours.
Here’s my pattern, but feel free to adjust according to your preferences:
Cast on 140 stitches (if you change this, it NEEDS to be an even number or you’ll end up with a column of ugly like I had in the first project. Yes, I have since completed circular knitting projects properly without the uglies. Thank God.)
Join round tightly with a knit stitch, marking your starting stitch with a stitch marker or a bit of yarn (works best if it’s a different color from the yarn you’re working with).
Purl next stitch.
Continue the pattern of knit, purl, knit, purl all the way around, making certain that your initial stitch is a) in the same column that you marked earlier and b)is a knit stitch since that’s what you started with.
I kept going until my cowl was 12 inches wide because I wanted to be able to fold or slouch it without feeling like I was suffocating myself with a super wide cowl. Make yours as wide or thin as you like, but I think about 12 inches is a great width unless you use lace weight yarn and want a bit more draping.
Cast off and weave in the ends.
It’s basically that simple. Yes, it takes time, but it’s super easy, so this is a great project even for beginners like me.
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Girl child #1 who was being incredibly picky about the stupid bag yesterday has declared her love for it today. According to her less grumpy self today, she loves it more than the bike she picked out for Christmas. Color me happy!
