28th October 2016 updated pattern available with amended the shoulder shaping instructions and a schematic for the decreases

14th January 2016 - a note on gauge
For those who’ve asked (apologies for delay responding!), the gauge I knit to when making this piece is: 15 stitches and 20 rows over 4 inches

15th November, 2015 - updated pattern available Following feedback on the pattern received from Cynthia Cushing of LakesideYarn, I’ve re-written the ‘shoulder shaping’ section of the pattern instructions. Hopefully it is a little clearer now. Thank you Cynthia!

I’d like to start by saying a big thank you to my lovely test knitters Helen (hefb1) and Karen (sailski), whose feedback helped me make some improvements to my pattern.

This pattern for a knitted short cape or shoulder cosy is suitable for confident beginners / intermediate knitters, and the instructions and guidance in this pattern have been written with them in mind.

Using the yarn I’ve specified makes a really lovely soft and warm, but still light and airy, shoulder cosy that will look great with lots of outfits, or just add a warm layer on a cool night.

Sadly, the Rowan Kidsilk Haze Trio yarn that I used to make The Hug has been discontinued, so unless you stashed some, or can grab some on sale before its all gone (quick!), you’ll need to find a substitute. The Kidsilk Haze Trio yarn is a blended 70% Super Kid Mohair and 30% Silk yarn and 1 ball weighing 1.75oz (50g) yields a yarn length of 153yds (140m). It knits to a tension of 17 stitches, 20 rows to 4 inches / 10cm. Check out the Yarn Sub site for alternatives. The most obvious (and perfect) substitute of course, is to hold 3 strands of regular Rowan Kidsilk Haze together, of whatever colours look good to you. If you’ve got any Kidsilk Aura, that would work great here too!

The instructions in this pattern should create a cosy that, after blocking, measures approximately:

Depth from neck to bottom edge measured through the centre of 17 inches or 43cm
Circumference around the neck of 21 inches / 54cm
Circumference around the bottom hem of 48 inches / 120cm

I’ve also included a tip to make a slightly larger version using the same pattern and the same amount of yarn.

The pinky red photos show my very first version of the capelet, made using my original pattern that used a yarn over cast off. The beige coloured capelet is the latest version that has (in my opinion!) a much improved neckline that was achieved by working the final round as an increase round and then casting off in the usual way. That way, I found that I got the generous ease to the edge and a tidy cast off finish.