Travelers Loop

Cowls are hard for me to wear.  There are few months in a Texas winter when I need a cowl…..  But I love knitting cowls.  When I heard about learning to do helical knitting by making a relatively simple cowl, I was sold.  I love learning new techniques!  And with this pattern, I could use yarn from my stash…  It was a no brainer!  

The Yarn

I had some yarn that I’d been wanting to use, which I received in a FibreShare: a lovely warm pink from Campfiber Yarns.  I’ve wanted it to use it so badly that I actually bought a coordinating color from Yarn Love called Misty Sunrise.  The pale pinks, mauves, and yellows all on a soft off-white worked really well with the Campfiber.

Though it’s a knitting no-no, I used two yarns with two different fiber contents.  The Campfiber fingering was an 80/20 sock yarn and the Yarn Love base contained 10% cashmere.  This didn’t bother me and it ended up making a really lovely fabric.

Knitting

Helical knitting is a way to alternate skeins of yarn while avoiding an awkward jog  that happens if you just drop a yarn and pick up another mid-row.  It’s a great skill to have for knitting garments when you need to alternate skeins of yarn.

If you’re a sweater knitter or a want-to-be sweater knitter, I highly recommend picking up this skill!

Details

Pattern:  Travelers Loop by Dawn Barker

Yarn:  Campfiber Yarns Sleek and Strong Fingering (Tulip & Sunshine); Yarn Love Goldilocks Fingering (Misty Sunrise)

Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm)

Made for: me

Time to Completion: 3 weeks

So…helical knitting is super easy.  It’s just a matter of slipping stitches and changing yarn.  That meant that this cowl was a breeze – and a joy – to knit.  The fabric of the two yarns combined was just lovely.  The touch of cashmere adds the perfect amount of squishy softness.  

This cowl took me only about three weeks to knit and was perfect for TV knitting.   If you have two skeins of yarn that go well together, cast on this pattern and enjoy!