RAINBOW COWL
Stand out from the crowd on dull days with Becky Skuse’s colourful, magic knot cowl.
Designer Becky Skuse says: “Bring a bit of rainbow magic to your autumn wardrobe with this stash-busting cowl. It’s the perfect project for practising magic knots – simply raid your stash for yarn scraps and knot them together in a rainbow effect to create your own unique magic ball. The cowl’s stylish diagonal stripes are quick and easy to work, with colour changes that appear as if by magic. We used all-acrylic DK yarn scraps for a cosy feel and a consistent look, but you could vary the look however you like – try using random yarn scraps in various weights and textures, or alter the colour theme with shades of one colour arranged from light to dark to light. Enjoy experimenting!”
NOTES
Refer to the Workshop feature on the preceding pages for how to work a magic knot. To work the tr2tog at the start of a row, you’ll be instructed to ch2 and tr in the second st of the row, so on the next row work into the top of the tr stitch only.
MAKE A MAGIC BALL
Arrange your yarn scraps into a rainbow effect – we’ve started from red and worked through our colours to get to pink. Starting with your final colour (pink in our case), make a magic knot to join it to the next colour and then wind this colour on top of the pink yarn. Continue this process all the way back up to your first yarn (red in our case). Now you’ll have a magic ball of rainbow scraps and you’ll be ready to start with the last yarn you attached.
RAINBOW COWL
Starting at the end of your Magic Ball (last colour attached), ch47.
Row 1 Tr in third ch from hook (skipped ch-2 and first tr count as tr2tog), tr in each of next 43 ch, 2tr in last ch, turn.
[45 tr, 1 tr2tog]
Row 2 Ch3, tr in st at base of ch3 (counts as 2tr), tr in each of next 43 tr, tr2tog, turn. [45 tr, 1 tr2tog]
Row 3 Ch3, skip first st, tr in next st (counts as tr2tog), tr in each of next 43 sts, 2tr in last tr, turn. [45 tr, 1 tr2tog]
Repeat Rows 2-3 until work measures 68cm along one edge.
Fasten off leaving a long tail.
Use the tail and a tapestry needle to sew the two diagonal ends together. Weave in any remaining ends.