Sweater Weather Cowl
Blog Pattern 001

Difficulty: Beginner
Yarn: #4 weight - 250 yds; #1 weight - 300 yds
Hook: K-10.6 (6.0 mm)
Size: 12” x 28”
notes given on adjusting size

Purple is my signature color. I mean, I might even take it a little overboard sometimes. At school, I only write with purple pens, I use purple sticky notes, I have my important papers in a purple binder, I have a purple music bag…you get the point!

This purple obsession started out innocently enough. I just liked purple, so I collected it. But a few years ago, I noticed that my students behaved a little better when I wore purple clothes to school. It finally came to light that they had noticed that I wore purple to important events – concerts, performances, special events – so if I came to school wearing purple, they assumed the day was important. Talk about subliminal messaging! What had started as a favorite color became my signature look!

Now, it has become a tradition that I wear purple whenever something special is happening at school or at home. However, I only have a few purple outfits. So I decided to create a purple-based accessory that I can pair with my mostly-black wardrobe. I wear scarves EVERY day from October through April, so I knew I needed a purple scarf.

I wanted something that would keep me warm but would still have a lightweight, ethereal look to it. I had a couple skeins of Paton’s Lace in Plum that I didn’t know what to do with, so I chose to crochet it double-stranded alongside a soft worsted weight yarn to create an accessory with nice drape and hand.

The actual stitch pattern was inspired by a prayer shawl I made for my husband’s grandma years ago, when I was first learning to read patterns. The easy stitches and simple construction make this pattern perfect for beginners, but the finished project looks refined and classy. I love this kind of project: beautiful output for only a small amount of input.

You could make this scarf with only one strand of yarn and still have a lovely project, or you could use up some of the lightweight mohair yarn you bought because it was pretty but impractical. Either way, I can’t wait to see pictures of your Signature Scarves.