New Crochet Pattern: Weightless Cowl

It's the first day of 2018. I can hardly believe it. The last couple of years have been very busy and very challenging in a number of ways. I hope that life calms down a bit for me and that I can be much more active in the fiber community this year. I want to kick off 2018 by releasing a new pattern right away. The Weightless Cowl is available on Ravelry and Craftsy.

Float away to crochet bliss while you create this lovely cowl. The gradual widening from top to bottom makes it easy to style. This simple, elegant cowl is worked in the round with the right side facing. It isn’t difficult to create, using different sizes of hooks to decrease instead of decreasing the number of stitches.

This pattern is a part of my new Cerebral Crochet Series. I've been looking for a way to unite my three passions: fiber arts, teaching/learning, and psychology. I think I may have found it!

So, what is the Cerebral Crochet Series? Well, the cerebrum is the part of our brains responsible for complex functioning, including what we would colloquially refer to as "thinking." Every pattern in the Cerebral Crochet Series will include some researched facts that relate to the name of the pattern.

For your entertainment, a few fun facts about weightlessness are included at the end of the Weightless Cowl pattern. I'm really excited about this series! Let me know what you think in the comments.

Willow Cowl: Take Two

In my Vogue Knitting Live pictures, I was wearing a freshly knitted cowl. It was another Willow Cowl, made with gorgeous yarn that my friend, Toni, gave me. I had fun making the first cowl and wanted to try a second that was true to the pattern. I enjoy the result... but I won't be repeating a pattern again. I have found that I much prefer making something new each time, whether it be designing or working up someone else's pattern. However, I'm happy I made this cowl. It is very wearable and the colors are very me. I didn't block it; I like it the way it is. It's squishy and has a lot of movement. (I'm also lazy about blocking!)

Crochet Basketweave Cowl in the Round

One of my most popular blog posts of all time is my basketweave stitch tutorial. It's easy to understand why; this is a fun stitch to work up, and the results are very attractive. One of my favorite basketweave projects has been my Carefree Crossbody Bag pattern. I also enjoy the basketweave stitch for times when mindless crocheting is necessary, such as on my commute or when distracted and chatting with my weekly fiber group. So, when I had some extra Berroco Ultra Alpaca hanging about, I decided to work it up in basketweave.

Sometimes you aren't sure what you are making until after you've begun. Such was the case with this particular project. This was my first time working the basketweave in the round, and boy was it fun. It looks crisper and cleaner than basketweave worked in rows because only the fronts of the stitches show on the outside. What my item eventually ended up becoming was an asymmetrical infinity scarf. I also included a little twist (ba dum tss!) on the basketweave by working up the lighter yarn in basketweave cables to vary the texture in addition to the color.

Working the scarf in the round made the finished product very warm. This is because the pocket in the center traps warmth. It would be an excellent choice for a very warm winter accessory.

Of course, Ranna didn't seem to mind the warmth. She is convinced that this scarf is actually some kind of cat bed. She murred and meowed while trying to get comfortable in it.

All in all, I definitely recommend working up basketweave in this way.

Unexpected Knit Cowl

Sometimes projects don't turn out how you thought they would. When that happens, it can be a bit discouraging. However, finding the unexpected value in a project gone awry can help you to relax and save you a bit of heartache.

Remember this scrap project that I started forever ago? Well, I completely stalled out on it. I got bored. I was knitting round and round and round... and... *yawn*. It did not end up being the giant scarf that I had planned on. So, I reassessed my work and found the value; I turned it into a small cowl instead by blocking it out fairly aggressively.

As it turns out, I really like it this way! It was a good way to use up some nicer fingering weight scraps. It was also a nice mindless project to work on at my fiber group while we chatted. Hopefully I can carry this momentum into other stalled projects.

Have you had any projects turn out differently than you expected?

New Crochet Pattern: Buttercream Cowl

It's been a while since I've posted, hasn't it? My life has gotten fairly busy... a good kind of busy, I promise! However, don't think I've abandoned my crochet pursuits. In fact, I have a brand new pattern to share with you right this minute! It's the Buttercream Cowl. It's available on Ravelry and Craftsy.

The Buttercream Cowl is a squishy delight that will warm you up in the fall and winter. It’s such fun to whip up a project so quickly with big, soft yarn and a large crochet hook. Pick out a cute button to showcase on this chunky, fun accessory.

Finished Knit Willow Cowl

I recently finished the Willow Cowl by Amelia Lyon. Many of the wonderful women in my Sunday stitching group have worked on it at one point or another. Others' versions were so pretty and fun that I decided to tackle it myself. Honestly, this is the first knit item that I have made that makes me feel like a knitter. If I remember correctly, it is my sixth project. I learned some new skills, got frustrated at times, but also triumphed.

My version of the cowl is altered. It seems that I just can't keep myself from making each project personal and changing it a little. I didn't do any of the decreases that the original pattern called for, making my cowl bunchy, squishy, and more open than the designer's. I also did fewer repeats. The reason I made these changes is that I have a weird thing about accessories being too close to my neck, and the original version pretty much hugs the wearer's neck. In fact, I often take my necklaces off halfway through the day, even if they are down past my collarbone! A necklace extender may be in order...

The beautiful yarn was given to me by my friend, Toni. It's Blue Moon Fibers Sox that Rock. This pattern is really good for a single skein of multicolored yarn, as a glance through the project pages will attest.

All in all I am quite pleased. However... I think it's time to go back to crochet for a while! My hands miss it.

Mermaid Cowl

Autumn is a magical time. I may be biased (my birthday is in autumn), but I can't help but think that the chill in the air comes with a special spark of excitement, color, and wonder. Because of this it's the perfect season for unveiling my new, magical pattern. Introducing the Mermaid Cowl!

A big thank you to Katie for being my model! Isn't the cowl so fun and whimsical? The stitch pattern was completely invented by me. Although the crocodile stitch and the shell stitch are both excellent, I really wanted my Mermaid Cowl to look a bit more delicate and have a texture that was realistically scale-y. Hence the scale stitch was born! It probably already exists out there somewhere in crochet land, but I haven't seen it.

This pattern is available for sale on both Craftsy and Ravelry. I'd love to know what you think!

Basketweave Cowl

Remember my Basketweave Scarf? Recently I was just itching to work up another project with that stitch. Just my luck, a friend introduced me to Meg White. Meg is a knitter and crocheter who also writes her own patterns. She had come into some free yarn and was sharing with the group I attend on Sundays. How generous! You'll never guess what I scored... more of that awesome Mountain Colors Twizzle yarn in a different color, Big Sky. It was perfect for a basketweave project!

It turned out deliciously squishy if I do say so myself :) I used a 5.5mm hook and not quite one whole skein of the yarn. I still have another one! What shall I make with it?

Did you want to make your own basketweave cowl? Simply follow my basketweave tutorial (linked above) until your cowl is the desired length. Then add a few rows of single crochet with some button holes. Ta da!

Katniss Cowl Pattern Explosion

When the second Hunger Games movie came out this past winter the big talk of fiber town was the grey cowl/vest thing Katniss was wearing at the beginning of the film. I thought that it was just a fad and would die down but man was I wrong. Crocheters and knitters have been in a frenzy over the cowl. Tons of designers have posted their own versions to Ravelry and Craftsy. Etsy buyers have been clamoring to purchase the cowl from crafters of all kinds. Here's what happens if you search for "Katniss cowl pattern" on Google.

Whoa. There are many versions of the cowl in both knit and crochet but none of them are quite right. Some come really close to the original but still... there's something off. I became curious. Who actually made the cowl Jennifer Lawrence was wearing? I learned something quite interesting.

The "Katniss cowl" isn't knit or crochet... it's woven!

Handwoven by artist Maria Dora to be precise. No wonder fiber folks are having such a hard time replicating it perfectly. It's really fun to see the intersection of fandom and fiber arts. What do you think of the Katniss cowl?

Nebula Cowl

It's March. It's almost spring. Did that stop me from designing a cowl? Nope! I had about 260 yards of some lovely Malabrigo Mecha given to me by a friend. When I couldn't find a suitable project for it I thought well gee, I guess I'll just design my own.

She also gave me this neat little button with a bird and a skein of yarn on it. The bird looks pleased with its acquisition.

She told me she picked the yarn out for me because it reminded her of the nebulae I'm always talking about. I love space stuff, especially nebulae, so I was super pleased with her rationale. One thing led to another and the Nebula Cowl was born.

It's really interesting how different this yarn looks in various lighting. I decided to make this a free pattern since it's pretty short and repetitive. All the same, I really enjoy the finished product. I may even keep it! I haven't decided yet.

I had enough yarn left to make a matching hat, but I decided not to include instructions for the hat in the pattern. On my first hat attempt I included more of the cowl's style but ran out of yarn and had to frog it. The second hat attempt was made in triple crochet finishing with a border to match the cowl. I had juuust enough yarn, with about one yard leftover. Whew!

The pattern for the Nebula Cowl is available for free on Ravelry.

Bri Leigh Infinity Cowl

It's been a while since I've published a pattern, hasn't it? The ginormous pattern that I've been working on for a million years (and have finally finished!) can't be revealed until after Christmas. In the meantime, I have just published a brand new cowl pattern. Cowls and other chunky neck wear seem to be on everyone's hooks this season and I wanted to get in on the fun! I have a very dear friend of about 14 years (that's over half our lives!) named Brianne who just adores winter scarves, sweaters, and other cozy items, so I named this pattern after her: the Bri Leigh Infinity Cowl. It's made with bulky weight yarn so it has some sass and the lacy stitches add a feminine touch. Here it is modeled by my obliging friend Katie.

There are two versions of the cowl included in the pattern, the longer and thinner version that is seen above and meant to be worn wrapped twice, and the shorter and thicker version that is wrapped once and has a twist. Here's the second version.

I had a lot of fun writing this pattern because the stitch I chose, shells and v's, is really enjoyable. Plus, it was about time that I publish a pattern in honor of Brianne. She is a loyal friend whose charisma is unparalleled. Fitting that this pattern is bold!

The Bri Leigh Infinity Cowl pattern is available on both Ravelry and Craftsy.