True confession: I don’t really like winter. Or summer, for that matter. I prefer the moderate, comfortable temperatures of spring and fall. However, winter does provide such a lovely backdrop for daily life; I just prefer to see it from the warmth of my living room window. Despite my objection to the cold, I do seem to find great beauty (almost) every time I step outside. Besides, winter lets me enjoy my knitwear every day.
I have three new patterns that were inspired by winter. The first is Frost Heaves Cowl, and it’s available now! (Watch for Snowscape Cowl and Hat to be released soon!) This pattern has been churning in my head for a couple of years now. First of all, the nerd in me just loves that there is a word for the geological phenomenon. Frost heaving happens when the top layer of soil starts to thaw as groundwater refreezes and pushes the soil upward. There’s a bunch of science involved, but the effect is completely fascinating to me. The cables in this cowl mimic the swollen mounds of earth, and the lacy, shivering ribs resemble the broken soil.
From the pattern:
As the world begins to wake from its deep freeze, magical things happen underground. Groundwater freezes and expands, causing the upper layer of thawing soil to swell and split. Many of us see the effects of frost heaving as buckles in the road—nature’s speed bumps. But in open fields, the resulting mounds of dirt and stone that appear out of nowhere are simply fascinating. Frost Heaves Cowl mimics the heaving and breaking apart of the ground. Intuitive lace and deeply furrowed ribs lead into latticed cables that are just as mesmerizing as frost heaves themselves. I-cord edges worked as you
This heavy-worsted weight cowl is worked lengthwise with two options for joining the ends. The Intrepid version is bound off and sewn together; the Heroic version combines a provisional cast-on, duplicate stitch, and Kitchener for a flawless finish. I’ve made videos for both, so I’ll be there to lend a hand either way.
I had the idea for the cowl a couple of winters ago as I was walking my dog and noticed a bit of frost heaving in my neighborhood. I knew that the cowl needed to be gnarly with cables and texture. I found the perfect yarn to pair with it at the Knitting Pipeline Retreat last February. Rachel from Dyeabolical Yarns was vending, and I fell in love with her Merino Worsted in the Okie Dokie Artichokey colorway, an earthy olive green. The yarn is incredibly squishy and the color is perfect, so I knew it would really show off the deep cables I had been dreaming up. After charting and swatching and charting and swatching some more (and being delayed by other designs and projects along the way), here we are a full year later.
Dyeabolical Merino Worsted is really a heavy worsted or Aran weight. Each skein has about 180 yards/100 grams. I used about 140 yards, or 78 grams. Rachel hasn’t been feeling well, but she has dyed up small batches of this yarn in a few gorgeous colorways. Check out her Etsy shop to grab the yarn while you can!
Now, I don’t want you to be afraid to knit this cowl. I always say that every knitter has a bit of bravery inside. If there’s something you want to knit but you think it’ll be too challenging, just break it down into steps and figure it out. I try to write patterns that are clear enough for anyone to follow. If there are any parts I think might be tricky, I give tips or record videos to walk you through.
If you’ve never knit cables before, they aren’t as hard as you’d think. It’s just a matter of rearranging stitches and then knitting them in a different order than you had been. Lace? That’s just a combination of a decrease (turning two stitches into one) and a yarnover (wrapping the yarn over the needle without actually working into a stitch) to balance the stitch count.
Every knitter has a bit of bravery inside. How brave are you?
The cowl is knit flat (lengthwise) and then seamed to form a loop. This is the trickiest part, but I’ve made videos to help you. I wanted my sample to look seamless, so I started with a provisional cast-on. I chose the super easy version of knitting a few rows in waste yarn before jumping in on Row 1 of the chart in my real yarn. This let me work the yarnovers needed for that row. When I reached the end of the cowl, I came up with a unique combination of duplicate stitch (to pick up the stitches from the first row) and Kitchener (on the last row of live stitches). The only way I can find my seam is by hunting for the ends. (I’m seriously proud of this, folks.) I call this the Heroic version. (You can check out the video for extreme grafting here.)
Understanding that this may be a little more than some people want to tackle (even though it’s really not that hard if you break it down), I simplified the cowl to use more familiar techniques. The Intrepid version uses a long-tail cast-on and standard bind-off. The two ends are then sewn together. The only drawback is that there is a visible seam. Still, I think the result is a great alternative. (Watch the video for this version here.)
I encourage you to preview both videos to determine how brave you are feeling. One of my test knitters knit the Heroic version and said she’d choose this method every time. She has already purchased another skein of yarn to make another. That makes me so happy!
You can buy the pattern from my Ravelry store. The pattern is 30% off through February 16, 2019. Use FROZEN at checkout to take advantage of the deal. But wait! Newsletter subscribers get a bonus discount! Sign up to get your special code!
