August 3, 2024

I cast this on today after finishing the Barley hat yesterday, Friday. I leave for a business trip on Monday and this will be perfect airplane knitting. I want to have it well started so I can just knit away during the 6-hour flight.

I started with the recommended needle size of 5.5mm but the fabric was too loose. I ended up with a 4.5mm and chose the square metal interchangeables that I bought recently. I am about 6” into the cowl and so far I really like them.

August 5, 2024

Just landed in San Diego and this was indeed perfect airplane knitting. I measured it with an app on my phone and I’m at 13.5”, about double what I had.

August 10, 2024

Back from the CA business trip and this measures 24” now with 85g left in the cake. My tension has loosened up, so I might actually go down to a 4mm needle and I’m considering ripping it back a bit. The yarn is also not a consistent thickness, so I should have been paying more attention to gauge. Normally I’d say it wouldn’t matter and blocking would take care of it, but at this rate it’s only going to be about 40” (instead of 60”) so might not wrap around the neck twice, which would make it less wearable.

September 1, 2024

I finished the knitting on this today and got it onto the blocking mats. I stretched it to 8” x 53” but once it dries I suspect it will be about 50”. Next I’ll research how to graft the ends together.

September 8, 2024

My grafting job wasn’t the best— I managed to add a twist to the cowl. But you can’t really tell when it’s on. Happy with it!