Autonomy Cowls

Fall is here and it's time for a little craftivism! The Autonomy Cowl pattern by Romi Hill is a simple yet interesting pattern that I've generally been able to whip up in a few evenings of TV knitting. The pattern itself also includes instructions for a tassel, but not being a tassel person, I've left that out of the ones I've made so far.

And how many have I made so far? More than I could picture here! These two are made from Expression Fiber Arts Alpaca Silk DK in Viridescent Hues. There's actually a third in a mid-green color that I've already given away.

Although this yarn claims to be DK, it worked much better with the fingering weight hack included in the pattern. Either that, or I was mistakenly sent a fingering weight, although the yarn didn't feel that light to me. All that said, this yarn is a gorgeously soft blend of Alpaca and Mulberry Silk that is wonderful to work with.

Although the pattern is written for DK or fingering weight yarn, I found that the DK instructions work equally well with a worsted weight yarn. I get the appropriate 4sts/in gauge with size 8 needles. I've made several more cowls in varying colors that I'll be donating to Warm Up America!

I made a slight adjustment so I don't have to work garter stitch in the round. Once I finish the flat part, instead of joining to knit in the round, I continue knitting flat, creating a selvedge by slipping the last stitch of each row purlwise. Then I mattress stitch the two edges together to create the cowl. I'm also using a SSK (slip, slip, knit) instead of k2togtbl (knit 2 together through the back loop), which is basically the same thing and a little easier for me to work.

Here's to cooler temperatures and cozy yarns!