Buy the yarn set at Marianated Yarns!

At the end of each September, a group of 70+ knitters gathers at the Alta Lodge at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake City, UT for the Rocky Mountain Knitters’ Retreat. Often known as just “Alta”, this weekend features gorgeous fall colors (or a foot of snow!), scenic hikes, delicious food, and so much knitting. The Blackburn Cowl is my tribute to this special celebration of creativity and the friends who’ve made it so personally meaningful.

The cowl begin as a top-down triangle, then is joined for a few more stripes before working a beautiful colorwork band. It’s finished with contrast ribbing to let the cowl sit easily on the shoulders, plus an i-cord trim around the neck opening. I love the classic pairing of black, gray, and red, but Marianated Yarns has curated some equally beautiful combos in her Playtime DK base.

Pattern contains combined charted and written instructions—colorwork portion is only in chart form.

Recommended Yarn:
Marianated Yarns Playtime DK — 100% superwash merino — 274 yds (251 m) per 100 g.

Yardage per colorway includes a 10% cushion: Build an Ark (MC-1, black) - 225 yds (206 m) / Morning Mist (MC-2, gray) - 215 yds (197 m) / She Gave Me a Pen (CC, red) - 100 yds (91 m).

Sizing:
25” (64 cm) around neck, 22.5” (57 cm) down center spine, 41” (104 cm) around bottom circumference.

Blocked Gauge:
24 sts and 34 rows to 4” (10 cm) in stockinette st (worked flat), 25 sts and 34 rounds to 4” (10 cm) in colorwork pattern (worked in the round).

Needles:
US 4 (3.5 mm) circular needle, DPN or any length (for i-cord bind-off) / US 5 (3.75 mm) circular needle, 16” (optional) and 24” (60 cm) lengths / US 6 (4.0 mm) circular needle, 24” (60 cm) length / US 7 (4.5 mm) needle, DPN or any length (for ribbing bind-off).

PLEASE NOTE: These are the actual needle sizes that I used for my cowl. If you have knit other patterns of mine, please know that I don’t knit quite as tightly now as I have in years past. To meet given dimensions and ensure enough yarn, use needle size that gives gauge. Changes in gauge will affect finished size, look of motifs, and amount of yarn used.

Other Materials:
Ten stitch markers, chart-tracking tool (optional), tapestry needle.

Many thanks to Marian of Marianated Yarns for her support! This pattern has been professionally tech edited by Lisa Beth Houchins of Meanest Mommy Knits.