Elk Island National Park is situated in the Beaverhills area of Alberta, which with its aspen thickets and easy access to water, has provided shelter for wintering herds of elk, bison and moose since times immemorial. Though there was never any permanent First Nations settlement in the area, there are over 200 archaeological remains of campsites and stone tool-making sites. The land has been influenced by the Blackfoot, Sarcee and Cree Indigenous nations. The park is representative of the northern prairies plateau ecosystem and as such, the knob and kettle landscape is a mix of native fescue grassland that plays host to both the largest and the smallest terrestrial mammals in North America; the wood bison and pygmy shrew.

The Elk Island Cowl is an easy to wear mid-weight accessory suitable to cross country rambling in early spring or late autumn when a guard against chill winds is appreciated but a heavy scarf would be overly warm. The subtle textured pattern is achieved by simple knit and purl stitches, and is vaguely reminiscent of seersucker fabric, or of a field of fescue grass gone to seed. The larger size may be styled as a shawl collared dickie.

Materials Needed:

- @190 yards (252 yards) dk weight yarn with good stitch definition
- 4mm (US 6) circular needle/dpns or needle size required to achieve gauge
- a stitch marker to mark the end/beginning of each round
-additional stitch markers to mark motif repeats

Estimated Finished Sizes:
9” tall by 24” (32”) in circumference.
For a shorter or taller cowl, omit or increase rows worked in multiples of four. Changing the height of the piece will change the amount of yarn required.

Instruction Style:
This pattern is fully written; use of written instructions is optional.
This pattern is fully charted; use of charted instructions is optional.

A Note On Gauge:
Gauge is measured after gentle blocking. Be sure to work your swatch in the round. Gauge for a cowl is not strictly important so long as you have a fabric you like, unless you have limited yardage and need to match the yardage given in the pattern precisely.