• This project uses yarn that’s been in stash for a long time.

• So I’m going a bit off-road with this one because I really want to use up some yarns and I don’t have enough of either colour (or any other worsted weight yarn, for that matter) to make this in one colour. FWIW, the yarn has been discontinued for years, so there’s no more to be found. As such, for me, it’s double knitting plus brioche plus INTARSIA (not my fave, given the tangle). I def want the buttonbands to be in a single colour so there’s really no other option.

• I’m also still a smidge worried about playing yarn chicken, even though I prob have just enough yarn, based it on my previous version. The question is whether the amount of the blue will perfectly offset the beige (cuz there really isn’t enough of either to have the option to leave remnants of either behind).

• This yarn has a really diff hand than the Ulysses I used last time. It’s easier on the hands and I’m using a US5 needle this time - still one size larger than recommended, but not 2.

• Since I’m playing yarn chicken, I have an additional 20g of the beige in a diff dyelot, if necessary, but the colour really is different in tone. If I use that remnant, I’ll have to alternate the yarns at the point at which I have equal amounts of each left, at the wider / bottom end of the cowl. Update: Nope - the mitt was in a totally diff yarn base in fingering weight… I also just found an extra 12g of the MC, same dyelot (so I’ll have to change the 120g to 132g)…

Some things to remember if you decide to do this again:

• The cowl is worn with the wrong side facing the outside of the work (public side) because it’s folded down. So work the stripes that happen before the 2nd buttonhole (or concurrent with it) such that you start the intarsia on a WS row. That way the little colour blips will not be visible when wearing this. Don’t forget to move the first row of the stripe to the RS once you get past the fold over.

• Another thing to pay attention to, on the intarsia rows, is to wrap the yarns on the side of the fabric that you won’t see. So until after the second buttonhole, you’ll wrap them on the RS of the fabric. Don’t forget to change this once you get past the fold over.

• Also, when you review the zones on either side of the brioche (where it meets the buttonbands), while working the CC, make sure that the yarns are wrapped consistently and that the blue is prominent where it should be (and not blipped by the beige).

Stripe Management:

• I want to work the blue stripes (CC) over 6R (or 3Vs) followed by the necessary number of rows in beige (MC).

• At first I thought I would be able to get 8 stripes of 3Vs from the CC (24 Vs overall) and that I would work 6 rows of beige between each stripe. Note that, for visual consistency, I started the stripes on the 17th R (a WS row) and intend to work the last one as of R158 (a RS row) - or at least not to have the final stripe too close to the BO.

• OK, I did a bunch of math and came to the conclusion that I’m going to need to use up all of the blue - which my original plan would not - to offset the beige (of which I really don’t have enough). Note to self: Look in your knitting book for detailed notes that got you to the point wherein you became somewhat comfortable suggesting that the average yarn usage for the brioche stripes (no bands, cuz they’re done in beige/MC) is 0.7g per row (or 1.4g per V). And, the average yarn usage for the rows done in the MC is 1.1g per full row (or 2.2g per V).

• Note: I could also use 12g of a totally diff colour (blue grey), in the same base, to add in a novel stripe that pads out the beige, as necessary.

• To use more of the blue, while maintaining the 3V stripes, that means there needs to be a smaller number of beige Vs (and rows) between the stripes, to add up to an additional 4 stripes (24R in total). And since I only came to my estimated mathy conclusions after finishing the second blue stripe, I have only 122 R to work within (given that I want to approximate the number of beige-only rows that were used at the top, between CO and first blue stripe). How to do this? There are prob multiple ways that would work but I’m going to go with the following:

• Since I have already knitted 2 blue stripes with 6Vs of MC in between, that’s set the stage for what will come next, cuz not ripping back. Again, see the knitting book for 3 pages of notes, but it should work to do the following: CO, work 11V to stripe 1, work stripe 1 (all blue stripes are 3Vs / 6R), work 6V MC, work stripe 2, work 6V MC, work stripe 3, work 5V MC, work stripe 4, work 5V MC, work stripe 5, work 4V MC, work stripe 6, work 4V MC, work stripe 7, work 3V MC, work stripe 8, work 3Vs MC, work stripe 9, work 3V MC, work stripe 10, work 3V MC, work stripe 11, finish with 5Vs in MC, BO. At the same time, work increases and buttonholes, as instructed.

How Much Yarn I Used

• Natch, if my math is wrong, I’m gonna have to figure things out on the fly. If I run out of blue, then I’ll use the grey (in the same base) to pad it out - or I could even use another yarn if I determine that I’ll likely need more than 12g (which will prob only yield 1 stripe / just short of 2 given that my g/row are based on an average, and I’d work these stripes closer to the end of the knit, aka when rows are at their widest). And, as mentioned above, I could add additional coloured stripes to conserve the MC. If I think I’m going to need more than one additional stripe then I’ll consider using the Nordic Yarn grey cashmere, also a blue grey, that will prob work well with the existing colour scheme. It’s light DK-weight, but it blooms a lot.

• Outcome: Well, I’m pretty impressed that I used up all but 2g of the blue and have 20g of the MC beige remaining. I might have opted to use a bit more of the MC to lengthen the object, but I didn’t want to lose the sense of the stripe pattern, wherein the blue and beige are of equal widths for a number of rows as the cowl gets longer and wider. And I didn’t want the final button hole to be positioned too high / to far from the bind off edge.

• In this instance the contrast colour used an average of 1.2g per partial row (starting at 0.55g before increases. The main colour used about 0.7g before increases and that became 1.8g in the rows following the 4th increase. Of course, I also used the MC in the striped rows (for the bands). I believe that these took 0.35g per row.

• Cost: I acquired this yarn 7 yrs ago and reclaimed the yarn from the Iago waistcoat, which I never wore. I bought it (seriously discounted) for $9 CDN per skein, and I used almost 4 balls. Including shipping, let’s say it cost $45, which is a very reasonable price for this wearable object. But it would have cost more like 75 bucks without the discount. Natch, since I’ve used it once already, the second project is free

Final Thoughts:

• My husband wears the (first) one I made for him (for Xmas) constantly. And it’s quite chic. The construction is elegant and clever and it looks like it was bought at a high-end shop. So this not the last time I’ll make this.

• Now that I’ve figured out how to stripe it, I can use smaller remnants of yarn in two colours (including, potentially, a stripe that pops in a third colour) to make this a stashbusting pattern. Just remember to have a minimum of 115g (let’s say 120g) of light worsted weight for the MC and 50g (let’s say 55g) of a light worsted weight for the CC. The more of each of these yarns you have, the more choice you’ll have about how thick to make the stripes and how often to repeat them. But with a ratio of 2 (MC): 1(CC), you should be able to make some sort of striped version.

• My previous version took 172g and I wasn’t short on yarn (and that yarn was a robust worsted weight, if woolen spun). I think that 175g for the small is accurate, presuming you use a light-worsted to a full worsted weight yarn.

• This version turned out much smaller in all directions than the version I made with the more robust worsted-weight yarn (Ulysse) last time. In addition to this Classic Elite yarn being slightly finer, I also knitted it on a US5 needle - not a US6.

• Next time I make this object I’ll be sure to use a robust worsted and I’ll work on a US6 needle. This version is just a bit smaller than I’d prefer - though I know it will relax and stretch with wear (as my first version has, to the extent that I’ve had to reinforce the buttonholes). I really don’t know how anyone is getting gauge on a US4 needle…

• Re: Striping: Not gonna lie, adding stripes (which required intarsia because I kept the bands in the main colour), took a reasonable amount of extra thought, dexterity and focus. For me, it was a proof of concept. I didn’t know if striping in this stitch would create blips on either side of the first row of the colour change. See above for how I worked the intarsia (wrapping on the RS and beginning the sequence on the WS) to ensure that the fold over stripes would not be blippy.

• At the points of colour change (and on the WS for all stripes except for the top two), I wrapped the “current / becoming old” yarn over the “new / becoming current” yarn and then continued in that new yarn. Yarn wrapping, between the last brioche BRK and the first slipped purl of the double knit band, left a crisp line between the colours on the RS and fairly tidy, if not as invisible on the WS.

• FWIW, I had to change colours on buttonhole rows and on increase rows. While it took time, and was fussier than a single colour version, given all of the things happening at the same time, I think the stripes lend a sporty aspect to this design and stripes facilitate usage of remnants in different, small/moderate amounts. While it looks a bit strange in the photos - I think because the increases and stripe placement mess a bit with perspective - this increasing stripe sequence is quite cool IRL.

• Once again, I found this project (brioche and double knit on a smallish needle in a worsted-weight) to be hard on my hands. I’m not a tight knitter, not even when knitting brioche. I generally don’t find either technique hand-taxing so I think the issue must be that I prefer working with slimmer yarn < light-DK and less dense fabric. Brioche just doesn’t slide along the needle and it hurts to consistently have to push yarn that doesn’t want to move. Hurts fingers too… Oh well. The outcome is pretty.

Pre-blocked Dimensions: 13.75” (depth), by 20” (top of cowl) and 26.5” (base of cowl).

Post- Blocked Dimensions: This yarn stretched a lot on blocking and I was easily able to pin this to 15” (depth), by 25” (top of cowl) and 26.5” (base of cowl)