new year's smocking cowl

Happy New Year ! I hope you all had some nice holidays, and may 2012 bring you all you wish for.

Christmas and New Year's went by in a blur, a lot of time spent with family and friends and so much good food, which is how it should be. Not much quiet time, but I managed to start and finish this cowl somehow. Actually it only took a couple of hours, I think I spent more time deciding on the pattern than knitting it. I only had one ball of yarn - something someone sent me from a swap years ago when I didn't think mustard yellow was such a fabulous color - and in the end decided on a simple smocking stitch. Directions are below if you wish to make one for yourself (consider it a New year's gift ... as I said, it only takes a couple of hours ;)

(E para quem perguntou, os sacos de celofane vieram desta loja do ebay. Cá em Lisboa infelizmente não sei onde se podem comprar.)

Yarn: any bulky yarn, about 100m (I actually made this cowl using 80 m which was all I had, but it depends if you want it larger or longer)

Needles: (short) 9mm circular needles (you can also use DPN's or magic loop on longer circular needles, depending on your preference)

Abbreviations: RH (right hand), LH (left hand), CO (cast-on)

Directions:

CO 56 sts (or any multiple of 8)

Join in the round, placing one marker at end of row. Purl 1 row.

Start smocking pattern:

• R1: *K2, P2, K2, P2, repeat from * till end of row.
• Knit 2 more rows following the ribbed pattern.
• R4 (smocking row):  * insert RH needle from front to back between stitches 6 and 7 on LH needle, pull a loop of yarn and place it on LH needle. Knit that stitch and the next together. K1, P2, K2, P2. Repeat from * till end of row.
• Knit 3 more rows following the ribbed pattern.
• R8 (smocking row): K2, P2, * insert RH needle from front to back between stitches 6 and 7 on LH needle, pull a loop a place it on LH needle. Knit that stitch and the next together. K1, P2, K2, P2. Repeat from * till 4 stitches after the end of row.
• Knit 3 more rows following the ribbed pattern.

Purl 1 row.

Bind-off.

(For a longer cowl just repeat R4 and R1 another 3 times before knitting the final Purl row).