Houndstooth Check Cowl

This project was a total queue-jumper during a terrible bout of start-itis I experienced a few weeks ago.  I have been working with a lot of fingering weight yarn recently, and the idea of a quick two-skein chunky project was irresistible!  And since the pattern was also written by a friend I felt an extra incentive to cast-on.

Pattern: Houndstooth Check Cowl by Megan Knitprints

Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky in charcoal and yellow/grey, 1 skein each

Needle: US 10.5

Mods: I didn't bother getting gauge - I wanted a big luxurious cowl that I could wear with my enormous down coat this winter - I can easily double this around my neck. I knit the pattern as written, then knit through row six, then did Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off.  I love using Misti Alpaca Chunky for two-color projects, and I certainly have a bunch of leftovers - so I may be knitting another cowl soon with a solid main color and leftovers for the accent colors.  My finished cowl measures approximately 36 inches in circumference, or 18 inches when laying flat and 8 inches wide.

Here you can see the right side and the wrong side - both are lovely. I would highly recommend using a 20 inch circular needle - I used a 16 inch because it was free and it was a super tight squeeze!