Soft, cozy, covered in octopuses: what more could you want in a cowl? Worked in the round using stranded colourwork, the Octopus Cowl lets you show your love for these fascinating creatures while keeping your neck toasty warm. The pattern includes tips for choosing your yarn, plus links to tutorials showing how to trap long floats in stranded colourwork. To make the Octopus Cowl, you will need to know how to do stranded colourwork from charts.

Pattern PDF download: $8 USD from Ravelry & Payhip.

Kits available from Beehive Wool Shop.

Size

One size: Circumference: 61 cm/24 in; depth: 24 cm/9.5 in 

Yarn

MC: Small Bird Workshop Dunlin (100% British wool; 400 m/436 yds per 100 g/3.6 oz.): 1 skein (shown in Evensong) 

CC: Brook Farm Fingering (100% British wool; 420 m/458 yds per 100 g/3.6 oz.): 1 skein (shown in Bishopdale) 

Needles

3 mm/US 2.5 16 in/40 cm to 24 in/60 cm circular needle, or size needed for correct gauge 

2.75 mm/US 2 16 in/40 cm to 24 in/60 cm circular needle, or one size smaller than gauge needle. 

Note: At this needle size, the US/metric conversion is inconsistent. I recommend using the metric size as a starting point for swatching. 

Gauge

36 sts & 40 rnds = 4 in/10cm in stranded colourwork on larger needles, worked in the round and blocked 

Recommended stockinette gauge for these yarns: 26 sts = 4 in/10 cm in stockinette stitch on 3.25 mm/US 3 needles, worked flat and blocked 

In order to match the suggested dimensions, take time to check your gauge. 

Notions

3 stitch markers (1 for beginning of round + 2 more); yarn needle