The Solo Skein Series: Jeanette

The first pattern in The Solo Skein Series is actually nothing to write home about. It is so easy, that I can’t even sell the pattern on Ravelry. But it has a place and a purpose. So, let me inspire you.

You need a gift – FAST!

Knitting in stocking stitch without any other stitch pattern, is fast. You can knit this cowl in a couple of hours, without having to think about it.

You are in a negative mental state

There are times in life when we are so overwhelmed, that we can hardly focus on the issues at hand, let alone knit something intricate. Those are the times that we desperately need the rhythmic therapy of knitting needles, but we don’t need anything that will challenge us mentally in the knitting process. This little cowl provides the necessary knitting therapy without adding anything to think about. If you can knit in the round, you can knit this cowl without adding stress to your overwhelmed mind.

You need a gift that looks way fancier than it is

How many balls of self-striping sock yarn do you have? Self-striping sock yarn makes the most amazing cowls! It is the perfect gift for that person who is knit-worthy, but whom you cannot trust with very expensive or rare fibre content yarn. We all know somebody like that; the type of person that will throw your knitted gift into a washer and then a dryer.

You don’t have a full skein of yarn, but still need to knit or make a gift

You can get away with 50g of sock weight yarn. That means that if you have a full 100g skein, you can make two!

So let’s do it!

Requirements

• 3.75 mm circular knitting needles
• 5 mm knitting needle for cast off
• 4.0 mm crochet hook (3.75 if you have – I don’t)
• at least 50g of sock yarn

No, you don’t need stitch markers. Who cares where the round ends? The idea of this cowl is to have a therapeutic knit, so ditch the stitch markers and just enjoy the knit!

Pattern

With the 3.75 mm knitting needles and the crochet hook, set up 120 stitches with the Crochet Cast-on Method. You need this to have a stretchy cast on, and for the two edges of the cowl to look the same.

Here is a tutorial for that cast-on, just in case you need it.

Once you have 120 stitches set-up, join to knit in the round.

Now knit. That’s it. Just knit. Yes, the edge will curl. Blessed is the person who caused a rolled stocking stitch edge to become trendy. I know my mother would have had a hissy fit about it, but that doesn’t matter. It is trendy these days.

Allow the rhythmic clicking of your knitting needles to soothe you.

Knit until you have used up nearly 50 grams of sock yarn and have just enough left for the cast-off. Or knit until the cowl is the length you desire. I like a cowl of about 45 cm tall (about 70g of yarn). Don’t be scared of a longer cowl; some bundling around the neck and under the chin is cozy comfort.

When you are done, cast off using the bigger knitting needle to ensure a nice stretchy edge.

Sew away the tails, and you are done.

The sample was made with a ball of self-striping sock yarn I bought in New Zealand. It is made by Crucci, and is their shade no. 25. The House of Felt offered a mixed pack of 10 balls at a discounted price. I purchased the pack and shared it with my daughter. So, there are a few more of these cowls to be made.