Pattern Review! Misty Mornings Celtic Knot Cowl

I've wanted to make this cowl ever since I first saw it! The Celtic knot that is the focal point for the whole project is gorgeous, and I really wanted to see how it was made. You can buy the pattern on a variety of platforms, including Ravelry (where I first saw it) and Etsy. The Misty Mornings Celtic Knot Cowl was designed by Tessa D., who also goes by LoopTeeLoops.

The pattern itself is actually pretty simple. It's less of a cowl and more of a large ascot, since it's a short scarf with one end that tucks through a loop on the other end and not a tube. The Celtic knot is where the loop is. The project has you work in seed stitch almost to the end, make the strands (with live ends) that you fashion into the knot, make the knot, and then work across all those live ends to finish the piece. Since you are using super bulky yarn and size 13 (9 mm) needles, it all goes pretty quickly, too.

Before I started the project, I looked at the cowls other people on Ravelry had made using the same pattern. One person was a little short on yardage, so they started at the knot end and ended with the seed stitch body. I also wasn't sure I'd have enough yarn, so I did the same. 

The pattern also has you working across an even number of stitches, because that's what you need for the knot. However, if you do seed stitch over an even number of stitches, one row will start with a k 1, and the next row will start with a p 1. If you have an odd number of stitches, all rows start with k 1. For the sake of brainless knitting, I cast on one stitch less than the instructions called for to make the seed stitch a one row repeat. When I started making the strands for the knot, I increased one, and then I decreased that extra stitch when I finished making the knot. That probably reduced my needed yardage a little bit, too.

The instructions for the whole cowl are very easy and well written, which made reversing the pattern especially easy. Lots of photos are provided to show how to make the knot, and those are also easy to follow.

Looking at the cowls that other people made, a lot of the knots looked kind of tight and strained compared to the sample pictured in the pattern. I wanted to avoid that, and so I used a chunky mohair (which would normally call for size 10.5 needles, not 13) that I picked up at the Yarn Barn of Kansas a while back, held together with a thin, rayon slub I've had forever to give the mohair some weight and to set off the colors a bit. With the yarn called for in the pattern, the thickness of the yarn is what makes the large gauge, but the fluff of the mohair makes the gauge with the yarn I used. It was my hope that the nature of the mohair would help keep the knot from looking too tight, and I think it did.

Other than the number of stitches to cast on, I only have one true critique of this pattern. When making the strands for the knot, there are two outer strands (one on either side of the knot) that form the underside of the loop through which you thread the other end of the cowl. You make the strands for the knot between those two outer strands. The pattern tells you how many rows long to make each strand, and the outer strands are significantly shorter than the inner ones, since you aren't going to tie them into a knot. However, I think they are still too long in the end, and I would make them a couple inches shorter if I were making this cowl again.

Other than that, this is an excellent pattern for an adventurous beginner, and it comes out looking far more intricate than its construction really is. The pattern is really well written, very forgiving, and easy to alter as desired. It's just an all-around fun project, and I highly recommend it!

This post has been linked to Busy Monday, Senior Salon, Inspire Me Monday, WITS, Wonderful Wednesday, The Stitchin' Mommy, Thursday Favorite Things, and Create-It!