Hello, today I want to introduce you to a new pattern release, the Giro Cowl.

Sometimes the thing you most need in your wardrobe is the simplest of accessories, the one that goes with everything. Something that can be as neutral or as colourfully uplifting as you want.

Sometimes as a knitter the thing you most need on your needles is also the simplest of patterns that allows the gentle meditative repetition of stitch after stitch. Nothing to count, nothing to remember, just plain knitting that enables you to relax and your yarn to shine.

This is what the Giro Cowl offers, and this is why I chose to release it in the most knitter unfriendly month of July!

I know many of us are struggling with the heat, so I thought maybe we shouldn’t be struggling with our knitting too.

Instead the Giro Cowl is is the perfect of take anywhere knitting, the project that enables your hands to be busy while your mind is fully present. This may mean that you’ll find it pretty ‘unputdownable’ and be surprised how quickly you have completed a wonderfully polished piece of wear anywhere knitwear.

The Giro Cowl started from the really practical place of needing a light, cosy hiking cowl. Something light and small that would work with the early starts of a day long hike when it can be a little chilly, but isn’t so bulky that it becomes an issue when the weather warms up and it needs stuffing in a rucksack.

The smallest version of the cowl fitted the bill perfectly for hiking here in Italy. However, when I took it for a hiking trip in northern Scotland the following September I realised I needed something more substantial.

So I made another, the sample that became the largest size. It met the challenge of British autumn and winter weather wonderfully.

Unfortunately, I left this one behind on a visit, so needed to knit another, what became the medium version to get me through the rest of that winter.

Once the second cowl was returned to me I decided that given the width, that maybe it needed a little extra height so I opened it up and lengthened it to the dimensions you see now. Not only is it great as a cowl but also as a snood, pulled up over the head transforming from luxurious cowl to stylish headwear.

Do you see what happened here? From a small, simple cowl that knitted up no time, I went to 3 different sizes for different context. From functional outdoor gear to something much more luxurious suitable for both rural and urban contexts.

However, it’s not just the finished product that makes this such seductive project. The knitting itself is such a joy. It’s just simple round after round knitting, to which you can add stripes or colour blocks.

The effectiveness of such a simple project does however rest on making good decisions about sizing, the relationship between circumference and height, which is discussed in the pattern. For a cowl to be functional as well as stylish this needs to be right.

The Cowl is made from a double layer of fabric and so is also completely reversible. The largest version combines a brown and yellow slightly variegated yarn on one side and greys with yellows and green on the other to create 2 complementary but different options when wearing.

Even the small size has a pop of red, not a colour I wear often, on one side and more muted shades that are more in my wheelhouse on the other so I can switch depending on my mood.

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The pattern includes full written instructions for the provisional cast on and for grafting the tube closed at the end. These techniques are optional and can be a little intimidating if you’ve not done them before, but I really do think they make a difference. Making a continuous seamless tube means that you can wear it with any of your chosen colours to the front without having to hide a seam.

The Giro Cowl is also the perfect project for leftovers of laceweight yarn; a perfect stash buster if you have some languishing in the stash and have been wondering what on earth to do with it. The gauge knitted up on 3.25 (US1) needles blocked to 25 its to 10 centimetres means it knits up quicker than you might think and produces a wonderful airy fabric.

The pattern offers 3 sizes as shown in the schematic but also includes information and advice for customising.

Introductory Discount

If you’d like to knit your own Giro Cowl, or three, the pattern is available with an introductory discount of €1 making it just €4 from either my Ravelry or Payhip stores – just enter the code Giro-in-Giro at checkout.

The pattern will also be available on LoveCrafts in due course but unfortunately I can’t offer a discount there.

I hope those of you in the northern hemisphere are managing to knit through this summer.
If so, what are you knitting? What patterns are working for you right now?
I have lace on the needles just now and I’m making some progress…

Until next time, Happy Knitting.

Tess xxxx