I never could have imagined that my first pregnancy would end up right in the beginning of a global pandemic. It was a stressful and isolating time where I turned to my knitting for comfort. I wanted something relatively simple but fun and easy to memorize that would only need one skein of the new DK Corriedale/Alpaca yarn I was having custom spun from a mill in upstate New York. The Sweet Dreams cowl was designed and knit with my newborn baby boy on my lap. His sweet little face is a daily reminder that even when things seem bleak to find joy in each day and keep looking forward. The zig zags and bobble stitches on this cowl bring to mind that even with all the twists and bumps in the road something beautiful can emerge.

Yarn -
1 skein Upstate from The Sheepyshire (80% Corriedale 20% Alpaca DK weight, 260 yards/237 meters, 100 grams) in the colorway Hush. About 208 yards/80 grams were used for the sample.
Other DK or Worsted weight yarn would work such as Knit Picks Wool of the Andes or Patons Classic Wool DK Superwash though the zig-zag cables will look slightly different since these yarns are made with 4 plies and Upstate is made with 2.

Suggested Needles -
US 4 (3.5 mm) 24” circular
US 6 (4 mm) 24” circular
Use the larger needle that gives you the gauge below and a needle two sizes smaller for the garter stitch border.

Gauge -
20.7 sts and 36.8 rounds = 4” in pattern blocked
Gauge is not critical but can affect the finished size of the cowl and yarn usage.

Dimensions -
23” x 7.5” blocked

The last photo shows the stitch pattern in different yarns. The yellow is The Sheepyshire Blissk MCN DK in the color Walking On Sunshine, the full sized purple cowl is The Sheepyshire Upstate DK in the color Hush, and the dark green is Knit Picks Wool of The Andes Tweed in the color Sequoia Heather.