Note: This pattern is the DK/Light Worsted version. A fingering weight version is also available. You may purchase both patterns together for a discounted price in the eBook.

To learn more about my design process and inspiration for this cowl, check out Knit Kind episode 16: https://youtu.be/910CDbAxvgQ?si=a1wAgTXSNW_jxad2

How do you measure the distance between friends? One of the things I love most about knitting is the fiber arts community and our ability to connect locally, regionally, and internationally both in person and virtually. The 700 Fence Posts Cowl represents these connections, depicting distance and togetherness through stitches.

I live in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts and was introduced to Heather Best’s Sew Happy Jane yarn by a mutual friend, Holli. Sew Happy Jane is an artisanal yarn hand-dyed in Nampa, Idaho, a long way from Boston. While working on the design, I thought about the physical distance between dear friends Holli and Heather, juxtaposed with interconnectedness. To represent these concepts, I chose a modular cowl construction that is first worked flat, then joined together in the middle, and finished flat. Where the cowl meets in the middle, there is one round of stranded colorwork knitting, a metaphor for coming together.

As I was designing, a song popped into my head. Meet In the Middle was a country hit from the early 1990s, the opening line of which is, “It was 700 fence posts, from your place to ours.” It is about two young kids falling in love who meet halfway “’neath that old Georgia pine.” I wonder if Holli and Heather ever had a special meetup spot. Did you? Is there someone you miss being with in person and yet feel close to in your heart? I can’t help but be curious about how many fence posts span the distance from Massachusetts to Idaho.

In the song, as in life, the idea of meeting in the middle not only symbolizes the desire to get together physically with the ones we love, but also to find common ground with others when our viewpoints differ. May you see the ones you care about more often and cooperate with others more frequently. Knit kindly, live kindly!

Dimensions: Approximate circumference 25” (63.5 cm); approximate length 16.5” (42 cm). Pattern includes option to modify for a larger cowl. Note that the suggested styling, as shown in the pattern photo, is to fold the cowl in on itself, creating a double thick fabric and a customizable depth.

Yarn and Yardage Requirements: 400 yards (366 meters) total. Main color uses slightly more than 200 yards (183 meters) and contrast color uses slightly fewer than 200 yards (183 meters).

Construction: The seamless cowl begins like a triangular shawl with a garter tab cast on. It is knit flat, then joined in the round and worked even, and finished flat. The result is a seamless tube of knitting!

Gauge: Aim for a gauge of 17 sts x 24 rows in stockinette and 17 sts x 34 rows in garter stitch in 4” (10 cm) square after blocking. Additional stitch gauges in pattern.

Needle: US7, 24” (4.5 mm, 60 cm) circular; or whatever needle size meets gauge.

Notions: 4 stitch markers, BOR marker, tapestry needle, additional gauge needle for bind off.

This pattern has been professionally tech edited and tested.