Oops Rasta Cowl

My local yarn shop (LYS) just received a shipment of malabrigo rasta.  I LOVE the colors of malabrigo yarns and I had a 10% off coupon so I picked up a few more skeins for presents.  Although I enjoy creating homemade gifts for those that are important to me, I get bored if I do the same pattern too many times.  So you know what that means? Yes, another pattern to share with you!  I hope you enjoy.  This cowl is long enough to wear simply as a cowl but it can be doubled up to keep your neck warm for those times when it is chilly outside.  I used the color Archangel.

Oops Rasta Cowl
 
This pattern is a quick knit for those times when you want to give someone you love a homemade gift but time is short.  The drop stitch creates an enlogated stitch that showcases all the beautiful colors of malabrigo rasta!  This project is knit from the inside out. In other words, you will cast on and that will be the center of the cowl.  Then, every round you knit/purl you will add stitches to either side of this cast on. Normally a drop stitch is done by knitting the previous round's knit stitch and the yarn over is dropped.  In this pattern, you will purl the the previous knit stitch, creating a garter ridge that in this mobius helps to create the illusion of this cowl being reversible. 


Materials

1 skeins Malabrigo Rasta, 150g (82 m/90 yd )

1 US 17 or 12.75mm 40"/100cm circular needle

1 Stitch Marker

Techniques
Knit Stitch

Purl Stitch
Yarn over
Purl Drop Stitch (Purl the previous knit stitch and drop the yarn over. It will create an elongated stitch)

Mobius Cast-On and Set-Up (refer to Cat Bohrdi's book "Treasury of Magical Knitting" or her youtube video  http://youtu.be/LVnTda7F2V4)

Binding Off (both knitwise and purlwise)

Gauge
2 st to the inch in stockinette stitch

Finished Dimensions
50 inches in circumference, 6 inches wide

Abbreviations

MCO  Mobius Cast On

K  Knit
P   Purl

YO  Yarn over

Directions

MCO 74 stitches
Round 1 K all stitches  You are now ready to slip your marker and begin round 2

(NOTE: When you see the marker on the bottom cable, you are only halfway around round 1.  You will have completed round 1 when the marker is back on your needles - it will be like knitting 158 stitches)

Round 2  K1 YO, repeat until you have completed the round (don't forget to do the last YO)
(NOTE:  The YOs will double the number of stitches.  It will be tight)



Round 3  P all the knit stitches and drop all the YOs (You are back to your original number of stitches)
Round 4  Same as Round 2
Round 5  Same as Round 3
Round 6  Bind off Knitwise

Weave in all your ends.

This is a picture of how your cowl should look upclose.  The center reverse stockinette is what appears when you complete round 1.

Then the enlogated stitch is waht appears when you drop the YO and the garter ridge is what appears when you purl the knit stitch on round 3

This picture is the COMPLETED cowl so you have two  rounds of drop stitch

 

Here is a picture of my son's girl friend wearing this cowl doubled up!

Enjoy!  This pattern is 4you!