I’ve fallen in love with deep cowls: cowls that you can pull up over your ears if the need arises; even better if they’ll cover your head. These are what I envision when I think ‘cowl’: the things that monks wore; the things that non-knitters think of as a cowl. For some reason, I’ve never been keen on wearing winter hats (knitterly blasphemy, I know), preferring to wrap a scarf around my head to keep out the cold. A deep, hood-like cowl is even better: it’s much easier to adjust up and down, and stays up without the fancy maneuvers required to wrap a scarf so that it stays up over your head. A good, deep cowl will be super-cozy around your neck, no matter which way you’re wearing it, and looks much more stylish than my previous makeshift solution.

I’d been tinkering with straight tubes, trying make a cowl that would be loose enough to be comfortable, but snug enough that it didn’t leave a gap below the chin, when I came across Cat Bordhi’s rather ingenious moebius cast on. The shape created by this cast on is just the thing: the twist of the moebius keeps the front of the neck covered, no matter how the cowl is worn.

This type of moebius is fun to make, too: worked outwards from the middle, each round adds a row to the top and the bottom, so though the rounds are long, there are half as many as in a regular tube, and both sides of the stitch pattern are visible on the same side of the work. It’s like magic.

Lulu uses a reversible, geometric stitch pattern and a deliciously soft, Aran weight, plied merino yarn to create a quick, luxurious accessory that looks more difficult than it really is. 

Many, many thanks to the oh-so-talented Brandy Fortune for the wonderful photos, and to Malabrigo Yarn for supporting indie designers.

Photographer: Brandy Fortune, Model: Brittany Fanning

Yarn: Malabrigo Twist, Belgian Chocolate