I made this pattern so you can use a small amount of wonderful handspun yarn to knit something fun to wear. I included lots of explanations for newbies to either spinning or knitting, including some tips for dealing the variations in handspun yarn.

The construction of the cowl is similar to my original Diamond Twist Cowl pattern. However, that one calls for a single skein of smooth sock-weight yarn while this one calls for handspun yarn in any weight you like from fingering weight through super bulky. If you aren’t sure what weight of yarn you have spun, that’s okay. I’ll show you how to use figure it out using the number of wraps per inch.

I also don’t want you to waste any of your precious handspun yarn, so I’ll show you how to use almost all of it without playing “yarn chicken.” The pattern calls for a very simple and elegant mesh lace which will make your yarn go even farther.

Yarn
You’ll need at least 50 grams of handspun yarn. If you would like a larger cowl, you could make good use of up to 100 grams. As mentioned above, you can use fingering weight, sport weight, DK, worsted, bulky, or super bulky yarn.

The yardage you’ll need will vary depending on the weight of the yarn, but an absolute minimum would be 35 yards of super bulky yarn.

I recommend using plied yarn rather than a singles because it’s stronger and less likely to pill over time. If you do opt to use a singles yarn, consider felting it some to make it stronger. I include a link to a video on how to do that in the pattern.

Gauge
Gauge is not really important here. Just aim for a fairly solid fabric for the garter stitch edges.

Needles and Notions

• 16-inch to 18-inch circular needles. (There’s a chart in the pattern to help you choose the needle size depending on your yarn weight.)
• A stitch marker to mark the end of a row
• A small scale that weighs in grams

Glossary of Stitches and Terms Used
Joining in the Round
Knit Cast On
K - Knit
K2tog – Knit 2 stitches together
K2tog TBL – Knit 2 stitches together through the back loop
M1 – Make 1 stitch
P – Purl
SM – Slip stitch marker
YO – yarn over