Something For You

I made a little something for you guys.

We have some really pretty silk ribbon that has been flirting with me for months, and the deep red inspired me. I paired it with the beautiful Rowan Belle Organic DK from Amy Butler's line of yarn in the creamy white Moonflower colorway.


I knit this cowl with DK yarn on US8 needles, two sizes larger than recommended, to achieve a nice drape. If you choose to use a different weight yarn, I would suggest going up a few needle sizes from the recommended needle as well. This cowl is close-fitting, but casting on more stitches will result in a larger piece with more drapes and folds. You could add more eyelets and more ribbon to create more ruching. Enjoy!

Close Knit Ruched Cowl

by Leah Bandstra

Yarn: 2 balls Rowan Belle Organic DK (Moonflower, #13)
Needles: US8 16" circular
Other: stitch marker, 1 yard of silk ribbon (machine or hand stitch the ends to prevent fraying)

Finished Size: 13” long and about 22” around
Gauge: 4.5 stitches/inch in stockinette on US8

Instructions:
Cast on 100 stitches with your 16" circular needle. Join in the round (don't twist), placing marker at the beginning of the round.

Purl 2 rounds.

Knit 2 rounds.

At the beginning of the next round:

*K2, YO, K2TOG, knit until 4 stitches remain, K2TOG, YO, K2. (eyelet round)

Knit 6 rounds.*

Repeat between the *s until your piece measures about 13”, ending with and eyelet round. I have 12 eyelet rows at this point.

Knit 2 rounds.

Purl 2 rounds.

Bind off (loosely) in purl. Weave in your ends. Thread your ribbon through the eyelets. Pull the ends to gather up the side.

Amy Butler Knits

Amy Bulter has been inspiring quilters and apparel sewists for years with her stunning fabric collections and patterns. In fact, her graphic modern designs were part of what attracted me back to sewing several years ago. Amy is a knitter as well, and she has brought her eye for color and design to her first book of knitting patterns and her own line of yarn from Rowan.

Rowan Belle Organic is a blend of organic cotton and wool dyed in the rich, vibrant shades we love from Amy's fabric collections. The colors are meant to coordinate with her fabric lines, so you can mix and match knitting and sewing and stay within the same color palette. The combination of wool and cotton in this yarn really highlights the best properties of each of these fibers. The yarn is soft with a nice drape, yet durable to wear and forgiving to knit. Rowan is producing this yarn in both aran and DK weights, and we have both at Close Knit.

Midwest Modern Knits is loaded with projects and inspiration. There are several sweaters, legwarmers, scarves, wraps, fingerless gloves, and headbands to keep you toasty. Amy has included designs to beautify your home, as well, with a blanket, mug cozies, and several pillows, including the amazing colorwork covers shown below. The photography and styling are clean and beautiful, as you might expect from such a talented and experienced designer.
If you love Amy's work from the fabric world or are just discovering it for the first time through knitting, you won't be disappointed in her amazing new collection of patterns and her beautiful new yarn.