Dbasic Sport Brioche Cowl in Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash® Sport - DK690 - Downloadable PDF

Dbasic Sport Brioche Cowl in Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash® Sport

What is Being Made

This is a knitted cowl accessory designed by the Cascade Yarns Design Team, featuring finished measurements of 28 inches in circumference and 9.5 inches in height. The cowl is worked as a seamless, in-the-round construction using a brioche knit technique, creating a textured and elastic fabric ideal for neck wear. The design incorporates two contrasting colors from the Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash® Sport line: Extra Crème Cafe and Orchid Mist, allowing for creative colorwork possibilities.

Techniques Used

This intermediate-level project employs several key knitting techniques:

• Bottom-Up Construction: The cowl is knitted from the bottom edge upward, allowing knitters to easily adjust length as desired.
• Seamless, In-the-Round Knitting: Worked continuously on circular needles, eliminating the need for seaming and creating a smooth, finished appearance.
• Brioche Knitting: The primary stitch technique uses brioche knit (BRK) stitches, which involve knitting slipped stitches together with their yarn-over companions. This creates a distinctive, reversible fabric with excellent elasticity and a luxurious appearance.
• Colorwork: The pattern incorporates contrast color (CC) and main color (MC) changes, enabling striped or patterned effects depending on knitter preference.

Stitches Used

The cowl utilizes fundamental knitting stitches combined with specialized brioche techniques:

• Knit (K): Basic knit stitch for foundational fabric.
• Purl (P): Purl stitch for textural variation.
• Brioche Knit (BRK): The signature stitch of this pattern, created by knitting a slipped stitch together with its yarn-over shawl as a single stitch, producing the characteristic brioche fabric texture.
• Yarn Over (YO): Creates new stitches and contributes to the brioche stitch structure.
• Slip Purlwise (Sl): Stitches are slipped purlwise to maintain proper tension and stitch orientation.
• Slip 1 Yarn Over (sl1yo): A combined technique where one stitch is slipped and a yarn over is created, essential for brioche knitting.
• Decreases (K2tog, P2tog): Used for shaping and finishing edges.
• Bind Off (BO): Secures final stitches to complete the cowl.

Materials and Tools

Yarn: This pattern calls for Cascade Yarns® 220 Superwash® Sport, a sport-weight yarn composed of 100% Superwash Merino Wool. The yardage per skein is 136.5 yards (125 meters) per 50 grams (1.75 ounces). The project requires 4 skeins total: 2 skeins in color #875 (Extra Crème Cafe) and 2 skeins in color #236 (Orchid Mist). The superwash treatment makes this yarn machine-washable and durable for everyday wear.

Needles and Notions: The pattern uses two sets of US circular knitting needles—US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 7 (4.5 mm), both in 20-24 inch lengths to accommodate the in-the-round construction. Additional supplies include a stitch marker for tracking round beginnings and a yarn needle for weaving in ends.

Gauge and Difficulty

The pattern specifies a gauge of 18 stitches equals 4 inches when worked in the brioche stitch pattern. This intermediate-level project is suitable for knitters with experience in circular needle techniques and basic stitch manipulation, though brioche knitting may present a learning curve for those new to the technique.