You know how some knitting patterns are referred to as “mindless” and thus suitable for TV knitting? I don’t get that. I understand what it means, but I don’t get why one would not want to get as much enjoyment out of every stitch as possible, without the distraction of watching TV. Mindful knitting over mindless knitting, which leads to truly emptying your mind of all distractions. Mind blown.

The Zen Garden Cowl {along with the Zen Garden Toque} - is an invitation to be fully in the moment with your knitting with a pattern that is simple, engaging, and creates a canvas that lets you indulge in even more mindfulness when you embroider it.

You will get about 10 hours of knitting enjoyment and two hours of embroidering enjoyment out of this pattern.

Construction
The Zen Garden Cowl is seamlessly knit with DK yarn in the round, from top to bottom. The finishing touch is added with embroidery to mimic zen garden rake lines.

Size
One size, varies depending on yarn used; 22” / 56 cm circumference and 12” / 30 cm height

Yarn and Yardage
All Points North Divine DK 100 g (3.5 oz) / 235 yds (215 m); 100% superwash fine merino; DK weight in Grizzly; 2 skeins, 136g, 320 yds (293 m) used for sample

For embroidery:
Cascade 220 Fingering 50g (1.76 oz) / 273 yds (250 m); 100% wool, fingering weight in Colour 8010; 12 yards (11 m) used for sample

*please note that you need 320 yards of DK weight yarn for the cowl, plus additional yarn to embroider*

Needles and Notions
US6 / 4 mm circular needles, 16” (40cm) length recommended for ribbing.
US7 / 4.5 mm circular needles, 16” (40 cm) or 24” (61 cm) for cowl body.
Cable needle.
Stitch marker to mark beginning of round; optional: 5 stitch markers to mark beginning of each chart repeat; it is helpful if the BOR stitch marker is different from the others. Tapestry needle for embroidering and weaving in ends.
Sticky Fabri-Solvy (printable) as stabilizer for the embroidery.

Gauge
25 sts and 29 rows in the round, after blocking = 4” / 10cm, knit in cowl body pattern.

Notes
You might find this tutorial helpful: https://youtu.be/j0CZwErIzaI It shows how to knit a lateral braid in the round without a jog. (The description in the stitch guide will leave the braid a bit offset.)
Keep a close eye on your gauge when knitting the lateral braid, switch to a smaller needle if needed. I knitted the lateral braids with the US 6 needle.
The stretchy bind-off edge will be considerably larger than the cast-on edge, so make sure the cast-on edge is on the top and the bind-off on the bottom before you start embroidering.

This pattern has been tech edited.