Helene is a simple cowl that I designed to knit up quickly for Hurricane Helene donations. The pattern had three specific purposes:

1. To be as warm as possible without being bulky. I wanted to create a cowl that was long enough to wrap around the neck at least twice, and very warm. The stranded colorwork makes it thicker, without making it too thick.

2. To utilize whatever you may have in your stash. The cowl is knit in one piece on circular needles, so you can start your ribbing as you start running out of yarn. Almost any yarn will work, and you have endless kinds of color combinations. You can use that leftover 30-50 grams of yarn that has been hanging out in your stash for two long, or hold multiple threads together.

3. To be fast. It’s knit on size 10 or 10.5 needles. The broken rib means there is very little purling. There is no seaming required. Just cast on, knit, and bind off.

WNC and affected areas will be struggling all winter long. Let’s do what we can to keep them warm.