Striata Cowl elegant stripes with effortless charm

If you love knitting that’s simple but never boring, the Striata Cowl is just the thing. Worked in the round, it features playful eyelets and easy fake cables – enough detail to keep it engaging, but still the sort of project you can knit while watching TV.

I knit mine in Bergère de France DK (& Aran by accident) yarns, five colours in all. The slightly different thicknesses and textures gave an unexpected bonus – subtle changes in texture that make the stripes even more interesting. I started with 50g of each colour (two balls of 25g each) and used kitchen scales to make sure my yarn stretched the distance.

This is also a brilliant stash-buster. Each stripe only takes 8–12g depending on yarn weight, so leftovers from other projects are perfect. With 50g of each colour, you’ll get 4–6 stripes of each, but you could just as easily mix lots of smaller oddments for a wonderfully scrappy effect.

If frequent colour changes aren’t your thing, you can swap to a variegated yarn – something like West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK, King Cole Riot DK, or Stylecraft Batik Swirl DK would create gorgeous results with minimal effort. [Click on links above to view stock in shop]

No matter how you play it, you’ll end up with a cosy, cheerful cowl that shows off your yarn in the best way.

The Pattern

Yarn: DK weight (sample shown in Bergère de France DKs, 5 colours)
Yardage: Varies by yarn used – approx. 50g per colour recommended
Needles: [4mm & 4.5mm] circular needles for knitting in the round
Notions: Stitch marker, tapestry needle, kitchen scales

Circumference 88 cm / 35", width 23cm / 9".

Buy Yarn?

  • Yarn A  = Claire (74% acrylic, 14% mohair, 9% wool). NEIGE. White with sparkles

  • Yarn B = Baronnal (60% wool, 40 % acrylic) BIZET. Dark Green

  • Yarn C = Plume (47% polyamide, 42% acrylic, 11% wool). NEON. Neon green & fluffy

  • Yarn D = Joison (77% acrylic, 20% wool, 3% polyamide. HERMINE. White boucle

  • Yarn E = Barisienme ( 100% acrylic). TITANE. Light brown.

Cast on 216 sts using 4mm needle and Yarn A. Join to work in the round taking care not to twist the sts, Place a marker at start of the round.

START EDGE
Rnd 1: Knit to marker.
Rnd 2: Purl to marker.
Repeat Rnds 1 and 2 three more times

Change to Yarn B & 4.5mm needles and work 4 rounds of STRIPE PATTERN.

Randomly swap yarns in and repeat the STRIPE PATTERN 14 more times.

[ my random selection was A-start edge / B / C / D / E / B / A / C / E / B / D / B / C / E / B / C / A - end edge]

END EDGE

Change to Yarn A and 4mm needles.

Rnd 1: Knit to marker.
Rnd 2: Purl to marker.
Repeat Rnds 1 and 2 three more times.

Cast off. Weave in ends and gently wet or steam block your work.

STRIPE PATTERN

Rnd 1: *K1tbl; repeat from * to marker

Rnd 2: *K1tbl; repeat from * to marker

Rnd 3: *YO, Sl1 purlwise wyib, K2, pass slipped st over the 2 knit sts; repeat from * to marker.

Rnd 4: *K1tbl; repeat from * to marker