Branches Cowl

This article contains some tips and extra videos for the Branches Cowl by Jamie Hoffman. As always, if you have any questions about this pattern, please email us at support@knitrino.com.

Swatching in the Round

To make a small swatch in the round, knit as instructed, and then slide the stitches to the other end of your needle. Continue knitting, leaving a long float of at least 6" between each side. Your edge stitches will be loose and sloppy, but the middle stitches will give you a good indication of your gauge!

Casting On

Probably the trickiest bit of this project is the Crochet Provisional Cast On. It's VERY important that you move your crochet hook as instructed (under the working yarn) or else your crochet chain won't unravel at the end! You may even choose to use this cast on for your swatch to practice. 

Tips for Colorwork

We've heard from a lot of new colorwork knitters that they're intimidated by stranded knitting - they worry that it won't be perfect. We'd like to give you all a little gift right now and say "It won't be perfect, yay!" If you're new to colorwork, recognize that you're learning a new skill and it will improve a LOT with practice. Think about your project as the **first** colorwork project you'll make - it's a journal that will document your growth!

Knitrino recommends knitting stranded colorwork with two hands. For most knitters, the strand of yarn that is carried lower than the other on the wrong side will create larger stitches and can appear more dominant on the right side of the fabric, so carry the float of the background color in the upper position on the wrong side, and the motif in the lower position. For most right handed knitters knitting with 2 hands, you'll carry the background color in your right hand and the motif color in your left hand.

The floats should lie flat without being taut when the stitches are well stretched out across the needle. Adjust the tension of the carried yarn at the end of each round, if necessary.

If a stitch is pulled too tight and appears too small on the right side, you can fix it at the end by making a duplicate stitch over top in the correct color. And don't forget that blocking forgives a multitude of sins. :) 

Don't worry too much about what the inside looks like. It won't be visible! But if you're curious, here's what Alison's looked like before she grafted it together.

Locking Floats

In just a few places, you'll have long stretches of the background color where the motif color isn't used. You may choose to lock your floats every 4 or so stitches (generally around every 0.5" or 1.25 cm) to secure them. This will help with your tension. 

To lock floats, bring the resting color over the working color behind the work before working the next stitch. Knit. Return the resting color to the resting position. The dominant color (typically the contrasting color, in this case Color B) should be kept in the LOWER position. For Right Handed knitters, this would typically be held in your left hand. See note above.

Blocking Branches

There are lots of ways to block your work, and lots of tools you can use (blocking matts, t-pins, blocking wires). But don't let that overwhelm you - it doesn't have to be complicated. Blocking can be as simple as submerging your work in cool water and laying flat to dry! Here's how Alison blocked her Branches Cowl, using only water, a towel, and her own fingers.

Finishing Instructions

A few notes before you begin:

• Before grafting weave in ends of Color B and G (first and last colors used) to secure. 
• Before grafting, block your cowl!
• We use contrasting yarn for Kitchener Stitch so you can see our stitches. You should use your working yarn. 
• The circular needle you transfer your cast on stitches to doesn't need to be the same size. In fact, using a smaller needle may make it easier to transfer the stitches. 

Cut yarn (Color A), leaving a long tail of several yards or meters.

Make sure you start at the right end! We suggested placing a locking stitch marker in the last loop. If you did this, it will be easy to identify where to start. Remove locking marker from provisional cast on chain. Unravel the provisional cast on one stitch at a time, transferring the stitches to the second set of knitting needles. 

Lay cowl flat with working end to your right and needles pointing away from you. Place a removeable marker on the first stitch of each bottom needle. Pickup the working end and twist 360 degrees. Match the two markers and with inside facing inside, place a tapestry needle on the long end and graft using Kitchener stitch.  Weave in all ends and block, laying flat to dry. 

In this video, you'll see how to: 

Grafting with the Kitchener Stitch

And here's a shorter version with just the Kitchener Stitch, including the setup stitches. 

Setup: Draw tapestry needle through the first stitch on the front needle purlwise. Then draw through the first stitch on the back needle knitwise.etup
Kitchener: 
Front needle - Slip 1 stitch knitwise, draw through next stitch purlwise
Back needle - Slip 1 stitch purlwise, draw through next stitch knitwise.

Styling

Before putting the cowl on, divide the twists into two half twists and arrange them so they are on either end of the cowl, as shown below. You can choose to wear the twist in front (with the other twist in back), or if you like a flat edge you can wear the twists on the side. Remember the twists are movable and play around with looks you like!