The Acacia Cowl is worked with a garter stitch button band, slip stitch body, and garter stitch button hole band. Right and wrong side selvedges are worked on all rows with a three stitch pattern that makes a rounded edge.

I wanted to create a cowl that would wrap around the neck and leave the wearer’s hair intact, so the loop of the Acacia Cowl closes with three buttons, and is long enough to wrap 2 or 3 times around the neck.

I have a rule for cowls and scarves that I design - both sides need to be attractive, but not necessarily the same. The diagonal texture of this stitch pattern is obvious on one side and subtle on the other. The Woven Diagonal Herringbone stitch in Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting was adapted for the stitch pattern.

This pattern is quite dependant upon yarn choice. The Acacia Cowl was inspired by a yarn that reached out and grabbed me from the shelves of my local yarn store. It’s Mineville Wools Project #2907, by Fleece Artist, a worsted weight blend of merino 58%, kid mohair 30%, and nylon 12%.

To substitute yarns, choose one with a significant proportion of camelid (alpaca, yak, mohair, cashmere) in the blend so that the cowl will block to lay flat, not curl.