Harbour Cowl: A Free Cowl Knitting Pattern in Broken Rib

What you'll make

The Harbour Cowl is a chunky tube of knitting that sits warm right up to the chin. It is worked in a simple broken rib: one round of knit, then one round of knit one, purl one. The two rounds take turns all the way up.

The edges are plain k1, p1 rib, six rounds at the bottom and six at the top. Between them is the broken rib body. In all there are 52 rounds, so it knits up in an evening or two and makes an easy gift.

It is a free pattern for personal use. Everything you need is written out below, so you can knit straight from this page. The whole pattern fits on one page, which makes it easy to keep beside you.

Is it right as a first project in the round?

Yes. This is a beginner cowl with only two stitches to know: knit and purl. There is no shaping, no increasing and no decreasing. Every round is either all knit or k1, p1.

It is also easy knitting in the round. A cowl is a tube, so you never turn your work and you never think about right side and wrong side. You cast on, join, and keep going round and round.

If you have only knitted flat so far, this is a gentle way to try a circular needle. The one part that needs care is the join, and there is a short guide to it further down. After that, the pattern is the same two rounds over and over, which is a calm way to get used to knitting in a circle.

What you need for a chunky cowl

You need very little: one yarn, one circular needle and two small notions. The yarn is bulky weight, which is why the cowl grows so quickly.

• Yarn: bulky-weight (#5) wool or wool blend, about 140 yds (128 m).
• Needles: US 10½ (6.5 mm) 16 in (40 cm) circular needle.
• Notions: 1 stitch marker, tapestry needle.

Size, gauge and how much yarn

The finished cowl is about 24 in (61 cm) around and 10½ in (27 cm) tall.

Gauge is 14 sts and 20 rounds = 4 in (10 cm) in the broken rib. Gauge is not critical. A different gauge changes the size and the yarn used, so a looser knitter will make a slightly bigger cowl and use a little more yarn, and a tighter knitter the other way round.

How long does the yarn last? The pattern uses about 140 yds (128 m) of bulky yarn for the whole cowl, edges included. If you want to check your own gauge, knit a small piece in the broken rib and measure 14 stitches and 20 rounds against 4 in (10 cm).

Abbreviations

Only a handful of short forms are used.

• k: knit
• p: purl
• rep: repeat
• st(s): stitch(es)
• *: repeat the instructions after the * as directed

The free cowl knitting pattern, round by round

Slip the marker at the start of every round. It shows where each round begins. In the texture section the knit rounds and the k1, p1 rounds take turns: if the round before was all knit, work k1, p1 next.

Here is the whole pattern, from cast on to finishing.

• Cast on: Cast on 84 sts loosely. Place a marker and join to work in the round, taking care not to twist the stitches.
• Lower rib, Rounds 1–6: *K1, p1; rep from * around.
• Broken rib, Round 7: Knit.
• Broken rib, Round 8: *K1, p1; rep from * around.
• Broken rib, Rounds 9–46: Work 19 more repeats of the last 2 rounds.
• Upper rib, Rounds 47–52: *K1, p1; rep from * around.
• Finishing: Bind off loosely in pattern (knit the knits and purl the purls as you bind off).
• Finishing: Weave in the ends. Steam lightly or wet-block if you like.

How broken rib works

Broken rib is two rounds that take turns. Round 7 is all knit. Round 8 is k1, p1 all the way round. Then you work those two rounds again, and again, until you reach Round 46.

That is why the pattern says "Work 19 more repeats of the last 2 rounds" for Rounds 9 to 46. You have already worked one pair (Rounds 7 and 8), and 19 more pairs take you to the end of the section.

You cast on 84 stitches, an even number, so the k1, p1 pairs fit all the way round. That gives you an easy check: on a k1, p1 round, you should reach the marker just after a purl.

Joining in the round without twisting

After you cast on 84 sts loosely, place the marker and join to work in the round. The pattern's one warning is to take care not to twist the stitches.

Before you work the first stitch, look along the needle. The cast-on edge should lie in one straight line, with no part of it wrapped around the needle. If it spirals, straighten it out first. A twist is much easier to fix now than after a few rounds.

Once you start Round 1 the join is made. The marker sits between the last stitch and the first, and you slip it each time you come to it.

Tips for keeping track of which round you are on

In a chunky cowl like this one, the rounds in the middle look alike, so it is easy to lose your place. A few habits help.

• Cast on loosely and bind off loosely, so the edges do not pull in.
• Remember the rule: after an all-knit round, work k1, p1.
• In the broken rib section, the knit rounds are the odd ones (7 to 45) and the k1, p1 rounds are the even ones (8 to 46).
• Mark each round off as you finish it, or use a counter, rather than relying on memory.
• The marker tells you where a round starts. When you reach it, the round is done.

Following it in Row & Round

A pattern with 52 rounds, most of them alike, is exactly where a counter helps. In Row & Round, a highlighter bar sits on the round you are working, with the few lines around it spaced out and easy to read.

Tap +1 and the count and the bar move down together. Undo is always one tap away, and your place is saved on every tap.

The two broken rib rounds are a repeat, and Row & Round lets you link a pattern row to a repeat so it goes back to 1 each time the repeat goes up. You can also set an alert for a round you do not want to miss.