Patterns
Versicolored Cowl
Apr
It’s no secret that I used to have an aversion to cotton yarn, which you can read all about here. Basically, I was like one of those people that refuse to touch acrylic yarn and claim all of it is scratchy, because their only interaction with it was Red Heart Super Saver. For years, people would claim that I just didn’t know good cotton, and they were right. It turns out that pima cotton is where its at!
What’s the difference between pima and that other stuff? Ever go into a high end hotel, lay on the bed, and decide that you’d like to live between those sheets? Chances are, you were treated to pima cotton sheets. It has an extra long staple, which in terms of bedding means a high thread count. For us knitters and crocheters, it means we’re creating a softer more durable fabric. It also happens to be more absorbent, which makes it perfect for homewares and summer garments.
Fun fact from my ‘why are cottons that aren’t pima so awful’ research: It was named after a group of American Indians from Arizona, who first cultivated the plant in the U.S., but the cotton’s origins are in Peru.
This concludes my lesson on cotton. Although, I did accidentally learn a bunch of stuff about Egyptian cotton too, which I’m dying to tell you about, but that’s not why I’m writing this post.
Okay, just the one thing and then I’m going to tell you about my cowl. Did you know that any cotton manufactured in Egypt can be labeled as ‘Egyptian’ even if it isn’t the luxurious extra long stapled stuff you think it is? Next time you’re thinking about springing for super fancy sheets, make sure you actually touch it first. Some of those labels can be misleading and may contain as little as 1% of Egyptian cotton in the weave. As it turns out, Egyptian does not always mean superior quality. Look for Pima or Supima instead.
Okay, back to the reason why I’m writing this: The Versicolored Cowl.
If you read the post about my yarn content aversions, you know that after Megan-Anne discovered I had managed not to touch our Baah-Free Yarn since we added it nearly seven months ago — because I am a certified ninja — she made me take home a skein to get acquainted with our 100% pima cotton yarn. I’m really into knitting cowls right now. They’re perfect for spring weather when your day starts out in the low 60s or 50s and ends in the mid-70s. It keeps me warm in the morning when I’m running errands and then fits in my purse once the sun warms things up. So, it was an easy choice to design a textured cowl that would show off the hand-painted variegation in the colorway I picked: Macbeth.
The Versicolored Cowl was a meditative knit for me. The zig-zag charts were simple enough that I didn’t need to consult the pattern constantly while also being interesting enough that I did’t do that thing where I stop knitting, zone out, and realize I just watched three episodes of Poldark*
*I’m secretly knitting a gift for my husband, and the pattern is killing me. I hate making vanilla socks. What was I thinking?
To celebrate spring and Easter this coming weekend, the Versicolored Cowl pattern is available for only $0.99 on Ravelry until the end of the today. You don’t even need a coupon code! You’ll only need one skein of Baah-Free Yarn to knit it. And, because I want everyone to take a chance on our Pima cotton, you can get the pattern for free all week long when you purchase a skein of Baah-Free.
Happy knitting! I can’t wait to see your #versicoloredcowl on Instagram.
~Jac
Last, but definitely not least, you can get your week 16 Geek-A-Long Yarn colors, Invisible Jet and Mutant Town, for half off all day today. And, because I totally forgot to announce it last week even though it was on sale, you can also get the colors to knit Storm for $2 off today as well.