Knit a classic Scandinavian color pattern of hearts and diamonds for your Valentine. Cowl features a braided edging.

Knit in the round in sport weight yarn. Uses 2 colors of Dale of Norway Heilo (2 skeins of MC, 1 skein of CC), size 5 US 16” circular needles, and a stitch marker.

Note 2/24/19: question was asked about how to bind off in Latvian braid. Per the very wise Joan Schrouder: “Use the 2 colors, bringing the yarns to the front of your work and always bringing the old one over the new one (or always under - just so long as you do the same thing) as you alternate which yarn you work the st before you bind it off. It’s the twisting of those 2 colors in the same direction that makes the herringbone effect.”

Note January 2018: the instructions include a suggestion that you work the Latvian Braid with two long strands of yarn, as the strands get very tangled. I’ve recently worked the braid and realized that the yarn gets “untangled” as you work the second round of the braid. So if you can tolerate one round of twisty tangly strands, there’s no need to use separate strands of yarn for your braid!

Errata: the chart had a couple of errors. New file has been uploaded to replace the first version (feb. 1, 2013)

Note 2/11/14: the chart is in color. If you prefer a black and white chart (not quite as easy to read, but printable on a b&w printer), please PM and I will be happy to email it to you.