Guest Post: Alpine Heights Knit Cowl by Mama In A Stitch

Hi, this is Jessica from Mama In A Stitch blog and today I’m sharing with you an easy “fair isle” knit cowl pattern! After the holidays I tend to have a lot of leftover skeins and thought it would be nice to make a simple fair isle cowl to use up that yarn. Feel free to use any colors that you like or that you have in your stash. Part of the fun is playing with the colors and mixing them up. There are so many beautiful fair isle sweaters and accessories out in the stores right now, but who needs to buy when we can make it ourselves, right?!

If you’ve never tried fair isle, or many color changes in knitting, this makes a good project to start with.  I always head over to YouTube to learn new techniques like color changes, so definitely do the same if this a new concept to you.  This cowl is done with super bulky yarn and large US size 17 knitting needles, making it a fairly quick knit.  We still have a lot of winter ahead, so this cozy cowl will get a lot of use before the warmer days of spring.

Finished Size:
Approximately 12” tall by 11” wide

Gauge:
Approximately 2 stitches and 2.5 rows per 1 inch

You Will Need:

Four Colors of Super Bulky Yarn (You can use partial skeins, but I did almost use a full skein of the Aspen Tweed color)

I used:

Lion Brand Hometown USA in Aspen Tweed, partial skein in Phoenix Azalea.
Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick in Black, and partial skein Cobalt
US Size 17 , 24” ( 60cm/12mm) Circular Knitting Needles
Scissors
Tapestry Needle to weave in ends

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of how this looks as you knit the cowl:

You can see my stitch marker telling me that it’s the start of a new round in the picture above.

There are a lot of methods on how to knit with two strands, or colors of yarn. This is the way I do it, as I knit continental style.

Here I’m doing a color change. I’ve attached the blue with a knot and will continue to work the pattern. Leave a tail to weave in at the end.

This is what the inside or wrong side of the cowl looks like as you work those different colors.

Alpine Heights Chunky Cowl

Knitting Pattern By Mama In A Stitch

Pattern:

With your Aspen yarn, cast on 48 stitches 

(join to knit in the round – be sure to close the gap), Place stitch marker to mark first stich of round

Row 1-5 Knit 4, Purl 2 around (You are working a 4×2 rib pattern for close to two inches)

Round  6 -7 Knit around with Aspen

Round 8 Attach black, Knit 1 Black, knit 1 Aspen around

Round 9 Knit Aspen around

Round 10 Knit 1 Aspen, knit 1 Black around

Round 11-12 Knit Aspen around

Round 13 Knit pink (Phoenix Azalea) around

Round 14 Knit Black around

Round 15-16 Knit Aspen around

Round 17 Attach blue (Cobalt), knit 3 blue, knit 1 Aspen around

Round 18 Knit 1 Aspen, knit 1 blue, *knit 3 Aspen, knit 1 blue* Repeat from* to * around

Round 19-20 Knit Aspen around

Round 21 Attach pink, knit 1 pink, knit 1 Aspen around

Round 22-23 Knit Black around

Round 24  Knit 1 Black, knit 1 Aspen around

Round 25 Knit Black around

Round 26 Knit Aspen around

Round 27 Knit pink around

Round 28- 32 With Black knit 4, purl 2 around (working a 4×2 rib pattern)

Now get your tapestry needle out, and weave in all those ends. There’s quite a few!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this “Alpine Heights Cowl”!

How do you use up your leftover yarn?

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Jessica Potasz

Jessica is a mama and a Colorado native who loves sharing her easy and modern knit and crochet patterns and projects on her blog Mama In A Stitch.She’s always loved all kinds of art, and while she can sometimes be found doing other DIY projects, there is always a yarn project going on in the background.

Latest posts by Jessica Potasz (see all)

• Guest Post: Crochet Baskets for Spring by Mama in a Stitch! - March 4, 2020
• Guest Post: Crochet Baskets for Spring by Mama in a Stitch! - March 5, 2019
• Guest Post: Alpine Heights Knit Cowl by Mama In A Stitch - January 19, 2016