Feather and Fan Cowl
Finished these two cowls over the past few months which came out a little bigger than I wanted, but all in all was happy with the result. The first cowl I completed was made from handspun alpaca. I had never knitted with alpaca and was surprised at how soft it was even with all these long coarse “hairs” poking out. I picked # 7 needles because the fiber looked pretty thin…wanted a more open lacey pattern. However, it didn’t come out as open as I had hoped, the effect was still nice. Kind of wispy like mohair, but without the tendency to knot up when you need to unravel. I gave this cowl to my niece since she bought me the yarn. The kettle dyed Araucania Magallanes yarn seemed like more of an aran weight, but had a thick, thin thing going like a handspun yarn or manos del uraguay. I chose a #8 needle hoping to get a denser look, which I did. I like the appearance of the colors and the feather and fan stitch, but because it came out so large I won’t wear it. My husband says I could wear it as a halter top. Really????
Handspun Undyed Alpaca on #6 needle (1 hank = 3 oz)
Araucania Magallanes on #7 needle (1 skein: 198 yards of colorway 302)
The multicolored Araucania Magallanes cowl is clipped in the back to the tightness I would have liked. I am sharing the pattern here with one less repeat than the cowls in the picture. The Feather and Fan Cowl is a great one skein project and a chance to try some lace for the first time.
| Feather and Fan Cowl |
| Yarn: any worsted weight that suits your fancy |
| Needles: 24″ circular needles #7-9 depending on your yarn and how dense you the fabric |
| CO 120, join to knit in the round |
| Rnd 1: knit |
| Rnd 2: knit |
| Rnd 3: k1, k2tog three times, K1, (YO, k1) six times, ssk three times |
| Repeat rounds 1-3 to desired length (13-15 times for those in my pictures) |
| knit one round, BO, weave in loose ends |
Eco-Friendliness of the yarns
Sorry about the appearance of these tables. I haven’t quite figured how to import from excel. I have even tried a little html programing, but I come from the days of FORTRAN. Was manager for so long that my computer skills are severely lacking. Feel free to give me pointers. These ratings are based on my own eco-values, so you may not agree with me. I couldn’t find a whole lot of info on the Araucania Magallanes yarn, so I use a “1″ score when I didn”t know. The yarn might score a little higher once I learn more, but it certainly won’t move it into an eco-friendly category like the handspun alpaca. Once I figure out a better way to share these excel tables, I’ll include my comments so you can understand where I’m coming from.
Handspun Alpaca
| Handspun, undyed alpaca | weight | score (0-5) |
weighted score |
| % natural Fiber | 10 | 5 | 50 |
| % organic Fiber | 9 | 5 | 45 |
| Project Fit | 8 | 8 | 64 |
| Sustainability | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| natural processes (spinning) | 7 | 5 | 35 |
| natural processing (dying) | 7 | 5 | 35 |
| locally grown/processed | 6 | 4 | 24 |
| Socially Conscience | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 261 | |
| Scaled SCORE (0-5) | 4.4 |
| Araucania Magallanes | weight | score (0-5) |
weighted score |
| % natural Fiber | 10 | 5 | 50 |
| % organic Fiber | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Project Fit | 8 | 4 | 32 |
| Sustainability | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| natural processes (spinning) | 7 | 1 | 7 |
| natural processing (dying) | 7 | 1 | 7 |
| locally grown and processed | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Socially Conscience | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 59 | 12 | 104 |
| Scaled SCORE (0-5) | 1.8 |
I will make the cowl. I made the scarf using Happy feet yarn that I bought from you this summer when I was there with my sister. It was the Clampatois scarf. I am from Michigan and I love the scarf it turned out very pretty. I am making another one using a gold glitter yarn. A little dressier scarf. I love your shop and will visit again when I am in the area again.
Nina – you may have me mixed up with someone else. I don’t have shop. There are lots of other feather and fan cowl patterns out there. Maybe you have this mixed up with someone else who has a feather and fan cowl AND has a shop. Jean