Maybelle Cowlette

As accessories go, there’s not much I love more than a dramatic cowl. This one is designed to combine the appearance of wearing a sideways knit shawlette with the ease of wearing a cowl – I call these hybrid designs cowlettes. With her gentle fade of colors, bias lines, and a touch of lace against a cozy garter backdrop, Maybelle brings the drama.

Maybelle is named for the KnitCircus colorway “Maybelene” I used for the sample shown and also after a favorite song of mine, “Maybelle” by Ida. I recommend it as perfect knitting music.

This cowlette is designed to be knit with one skein of gradient dyed yarn. The four stripes in the lace border are achieved by alternately knitting from one end of the skein or the other. The rest of the color shifts are the natural result of the way the yarn has been dyed. Choose a gradient colorway where the first and last colors have enough contrast to define the stripes in the lace. The stripes are highlighted especially well in a monochromatic colorway as shown in the sample photos.