If you have yarn that frustrates you by looking good in the skein but too busy knitted up….this is the pattern for you. It’s reversible too!

If using wool or acrylic you would need 190 - 200 yards (170 - 185 metres). You may also want to use a slightly smaller needle for non-slippery or non-silky yarn. Please swatch.

Mangal/Mangala is the Sanskrit name for the red planet Mars. It seemed the apt name for the fiery, silky cowl knit in the beautiful ‘Mars Dreams’ colourway.

Mangal Reversible Unisex Cowl is designed to use that single skein of luxury double knit weight yarn that you love but cannot figure out what to knit it into. The pattern is simple to showcase the beauty of the yarn. It is meant to create an accessory that can add a dash of flair to the simplest outfit.

You can use a lighter weight yarn with the same needle size to get a lighter airier cowl or a heavier weight with a larger needle (cowl size and yarn amount will increase). You can repeat any of the sections more times than written in the pattern to use up more yarn.

The cowl can be made wider or smaller by increasing or decreasing the cast on number.

Vilasa DK is a single ply 100% silk yarn hand-dyed in beautiful colours by Mugdha Manasa (mugdhamanasa) at Sunrays Creations. The yarn is very drapey and has excellent stitch definition. Duke by Silkindian is a good alternative with beautiful colours. It looks equally good in all fibres.

MATERIALS & INFO
Yarn: ​229 metres (250 yards) of DK (11 wpi).
Sample uses one 100gm skein of ​Vilasa DK by Sunrays Creations​ 100% Silk - 229 metres (250 yards) per 100 gms in the ‘Mars Dreams’ colourway.
Suggested Alternative Yarn:​ ​Duke by Silkindian​ 206 metres (225 yards) per 100 gms
Finished size:​ 20 in (50 cm) circumference unstretched, 12 in (30 cm) tall
Gauge:​ 21 to 24 sts per 10 cm (4 inches) of stockinette. Exact gauge is not critical but changes in gauge will change the amount of yarn required.
Needles:​ 4.5 mm / US 7 / UK 7 / 16-inch (40 cm) circular knitting needles
Notions:​ One Stitch Marker
Skills:​ knit, purl, knitting in the round, smocking

Notes: ​I used a knitted cast on and a standard bind off. A stretchy cast on is prefered to enable both edges of the cowl to stretch during blocking. Long tail cast on might be too tight.

If you are a new knitter, this is doable. Just keep calm and knit on.