Sunday, November 6, 2011

Warm and Snuggly Just In Time

It's a really good thing that I was in such a hurry to start knitting when my yummy alpaca arrived. The hubs and I had the chance to get away to Charlottesville for a long weekend. And with a winter storm warning and lows in the 30's my snuggly new cowl got a lot of use.

And as much as I detest having my picture taken, I did promise to share my finished product. So focus on the scarf, ok? I mean...not only is the yarn amazing, but those buttons! And the scenery isn't bad either:)

I, of course, don't have pics, but this cowl can be worn in several different ways. Buttoning just the top button, for example, turns it into a capelet. Leaving just the bottom button undone results in a cute little slit that looks great over the shoulder of a turtleneck. Or if it's 35 degrees outside, go ahead and button it all the way up and hunker down:)

Knitting Notes: In all honesty, I have no idea how many stitches, or rows, or what needles I used or anything like that (remember I reknit the thing 5 times!)...but here's the gist of it:) And I'll pretend that the "pattern" is intentionally vague so that you can apply it to any yarn you may choose to use!

After a lot of trial and error on the gauge, I settled on really large needles so the stitches were super loose. This seemed to show off the super-chunky yarn best. Then I cast on enough stitches so that the piece measured about 16 inches wide. From there I worked in garter stitch until it was long enough to wrap around my neck and overlap, as Belle says, "just a smidge" without having to be stretched. At that point I STRUGGLED with the buttonholes. I tried a few different methods and just couldn't seem to get the spacing right. I finally settled on a basic eyelet buttonhole and put in 4 buttonholes. To finish up I added another three rows of garter stitch plus the bind off to reinforce the buttonholes. Then I took the finished product to the local fabric shop to pick out buttons that would fit through the holes, but be pretty snug so they wouldn't slip out while I was wearing it. Ginorma-buttons fit the bill:)

Intentionally vague enough??? :)

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