A few years ago, I designed a hooded scarf with celtic cables around the hood and down the scarf. It was my first pattern, and I’d only ever knit for fun, and all my yarn was one weight: DK. The original scarf was called Deirdre, and it took a long time to knit those long cable tails.

But then I opened an Etsy shop. And I’ve knit a lot, in many different weights and styles of yarn, and now I have the skills to re-write the pattern for a chunkier yarn, so it will knit up faster. Now I can make the scarves as long as I’d like, without feeling like it’s a huge time-sink. And that’s not all that changed. The scarves are wider, and the cables are thick and substantial - creating a much cozier look. In many ways, I think this scarf matches my original vision much more closely. I never dreamt, when I opened my Etsy shop, that it would allow me to hone my skills, and bring my creative ideas more and more into focus. Who knows. Maybe someday the things I design will look exactly like what I imagined.

This scarf uses Judy’s magical cast-on, and is knit from the top down. This means that there is no seam across the top, and it allows the hood to drape nicely, and frame the wearer’s face. There is no break in the braid - it runs smoothly and continuously up the hood, across the top, and down the other side The peak of the hood does not stick up in the back - I used German Short Rows to shape the hood, so that it slopes downward and back, like a monk’s hood. Since it is knit top-down, you can try on the hood, and knit the tails to a length that pleases you. It is a cinch to create a custom fit. Most cable scarves only look good on one side, but this one uses a special technique which means both sides are beautifully cabled, and it’s completely reversible. So you will never have to fuss with your scarf to make sure that the right side is showing.

The cables are charted, but the rest of the pattern is written out, row by row.