He lives in an oak-wood and has a great wooden house; and as a man he keeps cattle and horses… … He does not eat them; neither does he hunt or eat wild animals. He keeps hives and hives of great fierce bees, and lives most on cream and honey..

-- J.R.R. Tolkien, from The Hobbit, describing Beorn

The Beekeeper Cowl is a companion piece to the Beekeeper Mittens, Hat, and Boot Cuffs. It is worked in the round, using a dense slipped stitch pattern that mimics the shape of honey combs. The compressed nature of the slipped stitch pattern creates a thick, warm fabric, perfect for muffling up in cold weather.

Materials:

• @176 yards (close tube), 264 yards (short cowl), or 440 yards (infinity scarf) of light worsted/heavy dk weight yarn
• 4mm (US 6) circular needles long enough for your cast on (or magic loop for smaller sizes) or size needed for gauge
• stitch marker for start of round (optional)

Estimated finished size:

8” tall by 23 (35, 59)“ in circumference
(size may be adjusted slightly during blocking for either a wider/shorter cowl or a more narrow/taller cowl)

A Note on Gauge:
The row gauge for this pattern is considerably greater than the stitch gauge; this is because the completed stitch motif has a very compressed row gauge as the slipped stitches are gathered together. Therefore, include only completed motifs when measuring your row gauge.