The Geranium Cowl

  • a woman looks up at a camera overhead. She wears a blue and violet slubby cowl

  • A blue-violet slubby bandana style cowl with tassel hangs on a wood fence in the snow

  • a woman stands outside near a frozen river, wearing a slubby fuchsia cowl

  • A blue-violet slubby bandana-style cowl with tassel lies flat on a granite tabletop.

  • a fuchsia slubby cowl lies face down on a granite table, showing the back neck seam

Picture this—you’re browsing your local yarn store or wandering through a fiber festival and you find it. A nubbly, texture-y skein of yarn that calls out to you. Some slubby handspun. A tweed to build a dream on. But as you stand there, with your texture treasure in hand you think “but what would even do with this?” Tell me I’m not alone.

This easy-to-knit, easy-to-wear bandana-style cowl to the rescue! Worked on the bias with an I-cord edging and bind-off, this simple cowl makes an unusual yarn (or yarns) the star of the show. When picking a yarn, you’ve got lots of options. Choose a slubby fingering-weight yarn and a matching partner (as in the sample), a DK-weight tweed - even several strands of fuzzy, sparkly laceweight—as long as it adds up to something approximating a DK or light-worsted weight in the end, you’re good to go. Add a tassel for extra texture, omit it for a more streamlined look, or make it detachable and enjoy the best of both worlds.