A little background about how this cowl came to be…
Alexandra Billings was appearing as Madame Morrible on Broadway late 2021 and early 2022. She invited people who are connected to the LGBTQIA-BIPOC community to show solidarity on Broadway by sending cards which she posted on her dressing room door and the hallway. I teach English at an alternative high school. We are the “last chance” high school. We support our students to graduation one-on-one and are truly student centered. Many of my students came to my school because of the trauma they’ve endured in more traditional environments as members of the LGBTQIA/BBIMP/non-binary community. I wanted to add to the wall of love.

On December 26, 2021, Ms. Billings and her wife suffered the sudden loss of their beloved cat, Tony. It became clear to me that whatever I sent needed to show my support of LGTBQTIA+ community plus offer what little comfort I could knit into something about Tony. I designed, made, and sent this cowl to be added to the wall of love and support. I hope it brought a little comfort to Alexandra and Chrisanne.

I design for my own passion and purpose, and it makes me happy. All the profits from sales of this pattern or any cowls I sell from this pattern will be donated to The Trevor Project, an organization which supports youth and young adults, like my students, who are struggling.

Experience Level: The knitter should have experience in the following techniques

• Knit stitch
• Knitting in the round
• Knitting with more than one color
• Grafting/Kitchener Stitch
• Provisional cast on
• Weaving ends in “as you go”

Materials:
Needles: One 32 in cir US 2/2.75 mm, or size needed to match gauge.
Yarn:
As shown:
MC: One set of Blue Barn Fiber Pride Flag Trans BIPOC inclusive mini yarn set of 11 solid colored skeins – Hand dyed gradient (fingering weight; 75% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon, 5% Silver Sparkle; 783 yds per 180 g total, 87 yds per 20 g skein / 716 m total, 80 m per skein).
CC: Two skeins Cloudborn Superwash Merino Fingering, Espresso Heather (fingering weight; 100% Superwash Merino Wool; 768 yds per 200 g total, 384 yds per 100g skein/702 m total, 351 m per skein).
Substitute: Sock/fingering weight yarn 600 yds/549 m each for the background (CC) and pattern (MC), 1200 yds/1097 m total.
Tapestry needle.
Gauge: 32 sts x 40 rows 4 in /5 cm stockinette in color pattern. Make sure to check your gauge.
Sizes: One size 33 in circumference x 12 in length /84 cm circumference x 30 cm length, this is meant to fit closely yet have enough room to wear as a hood. Size can be varied by changing needle size and rnds per color.

Thank you so much for choosing Pride and Toebeans! You can stay current on my work by visiting my website( www.martaschmarta.com ). I would love to see pictures of your finished projects. Please use the hashtag #PrideandToebeans when posting pictures on social media. You can contact me at: martaschmarta@gmail.com.