It was a few weeks ago that I began talking about the Honey Cowl. Kimberly and PJ recently finished theirs….Laurel started hers and I started mine just a few weeks ago….a few days after a major finger injury (kind of like being pregnant with which child to remember dates). I decided to knit my Honey Cowl version in Gold Dust yarn from Greenwood Fiberworks. As so often happens I make modifications to the patterns I choose to knit. In this case, I knew that I did not want a tight wrap around my neck (thank you PJ for reminding me that I don’t like anything close up on my neck…can’t believe I almost forgot). I also knew that I wanted a double wrap cowl. With that in mind, I cast on 320 stitches of that wonderful Gold Dust fingering weight yarn….think PJ cast on in the high 200’s…maybe 280 for her fingering weight yarn. I also knew that I wanted to use the Long Tail Cast-On as it has a ridge edge that most closely matches the P2tog Cast-Off that I wanted to use for its greater flexibility of ease…..not taut a Cast-Off or chain look for me (or anyone) by golly! My other modification was the width….the pattern called for 11 inches before Cast-Off and I worked 7 inches.
I am very happy with the results!
Knitting Tip: For the Long Tail Cast-On, I did not want to estimate/guess how much yarn to have for the long tail….320 stitches is a lot to cast on knowing you might just run short. Even with the rule of 3x’s the expected length of the cast on, it would be risky at best. So….my long tail came from the center of the ball and my working stitch yarn came from the outer side of the ball of yarn. Join the two yarns with a slip knot and then begin the long-tail cast on….one yarn over the thumb and one over the index finger.
Another Knitting Tip: In order for the ridge of the P2tog cast off to blend into finished edge properly, I turned my work around and cast off going back from I just knit. It created the need for a little extra tidy work at the last couple stitche…but worth the effort.
Skein Lane - IN THE LOOP 