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Knitting Fads: Cowls

March 8th, 2012

 

If you’ve been on Ravelry at all in the past three months, you’ve seen a whole bunch of new and old cowl patterns filling up the Hot Right Now box.  Every day in the store we get requests for yarn to make the Madelinetosh Honey Cowl or for new circular scarf patterns.  It’s always interesting when a certain pattern or type of pattern takes off like this.  And to be honest, cowls are kinda funky looking –  they are giant, knit circles, or, in the case of the mobius cowl, giant mobius strips.  What is it, exactly, that makes this bizarre piece of clothing so popular?

Personally, I have a lot of issues with scarves – they don’t stay up, they get tied too tightly, the make the front of my sweater uncomfortably bulky, etc.  Scarves have been the cause of many a street scene and public display of frustration.  They’re also monotonous to make and I lose patience with them quickly.  I do not like straight scarves, and they don’t like me.

So with the dawning of the Age of Cowl, all my scarf issues were put to rest.  Cowls and circular scarves are easy and neat and not difficult to manage.  They are just slipped on, over a jacket, or looped twice around the neck, and that’s it.  They’re warm and simple and they don’t get in your way.  As an added bonus: they’re actually chic.

From a design perspective, cowls leave a lot of room for unique style elements; any knitter with a little experience (or close to none) can spin the basic cowl in a number of ways.  Make it all moss stitch, or drop stitches, or add a mobius, or or or do anything you want!  Once you start designing cowls, it’s hard to stop.

 

 

Entry Filed under: Written by Nadya