Whit's Knits: Mobius Cowl
If you ever went to school, you probably at some point were asked to cut a strip of paper, to twist it and to tape the ends together. You were told, "This, class, is a Mobius Strip." I can't honestly remember the significance, but I have never forgotten the shape, a beautifully turning loop with no apparent inside or outside, no beginning and no end.
For this fall we've designed this super snuggly cowl who owes its elegance to the unique twist of the Mobius strip. We used Alchemy's Kozmos yarn which is a gorgeous blend of silk, mohair, wool and cotton. Each fiber absorbs the dye a little differently. The result is a complex play of color and texture, very soft, slightly fluffy and a little bit shiny.
The Materials
- Alchemy's Kozmos, 30% Silk, 26% Mohair, 13% Wool and 31% Cotton.
- To make one cowl, you need 1 skein of the Contrast Color and 2 skeins of the Main Color. To make two cowls in opposite colorways, you need 2 skeins of each color. These colors, from left to right, are Tangerine and Husk.
- A US #10, 16 inch circular needle.
More Color Ideas!
1. Rich Berry and Peppertree
2. Scarlett's Dark Secret and Fieldstone
3. Michelle's Marigold and Fool's Gold
4. Joshua Tree and Clementine
5. Green Plum and Dragon
6. Cornflower Blue and Platinum
You can find all of these colors at this link!
The Pattern
Gauge
3 1/2 stitches = 1 inch in garter stitch
Finished Size
15 1/4 inches high and 23 inches in circumference
Begin
With the Contrast Color, loosely cast on 80 stitches.
Cut the Contrast yarn and, joining the Main Color, knit one row.
Arrange the stitches so that they spin around the needle one time, creating a twist:
Place a marker and join for working in the round.
Purl 1 round.
Knit 1 round. As you begin the knit round, make sure that the twist is still intact. (This is the last time you will have to worry about the twist. From now on it will just take care of itself, moving around the needle as you knit.)
Purl 1 round and knit 1 round, repeating these two rounds until the piece measures 15 inches from the cast on edge. Finish with a purl round.
(If you plan to make a second cowl using this Main Color as the Contrast Color, make sure that you have enough yarn to cast on and bind off for the second cowl, about 6 yards.)
Cut the Main Color yarn and, joining the Contrast Color, bind off in knit stitch VERY loosely (if you have to, use a needle one or two sizes bigger).
Weave in the ends and you're done!
purl bee
Whoops! We can count rows and multiply stitches per inch, but apparently our math skills end there! Many people more informed than we have written to correct our notion of a Mobius Strip. It turns out that while this cowl may have the air of a Mobius Strip, it is not actually one. Instead of a half twist, our cowl has a whole twist in it and therefore lacks the main property of a Mobius Strip which is to have only one edge. If you're more mathematically precise than we are and would like to actually knit a Mobius Cowl, please visit Cat Bordhi's Mobius Cast On at this link.
In light of all this new information, we have decided to rename our cowl and are now calling it the Cowl With a Twist. We are so sorry (and embarrassed!) to have misinformed you all! Forgive us!
Reader Comments (24)
In the first photo under the pattern section you can see the twist at the bottom of the circular needle cable. Hope this helps!
but they are all sold out.
Thanks for the great blog and great patterns!
Donna Boucher
This pattern was such a hit we sold out of a lot of colors. They are all on order and should be arriving in a week or so (they take a lot of time to hand dye). If you'd like us to notify you when the colors come in, please feel free to send us an email at the following link letting us know:
http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/contact
However, I found working a garter stitch on a circular needle, especially that size, to be slow and awkward. So, I modified the pattern. Working it on straight needles, I made a rectangle in my base color, 12" by 23". After bounding off, I then twisted the piece and seamed the edges. (Circular needles in a garter stitch produce a bit of a "seam" look anyway, because of switching back and forth from purl to knit, so my almost invisible garter seam did not make much of a change in the scarf.)
Once I had the seams done, I crocheted my contrast color. The scarf is beautiful, and looks just like yours. It looked great on my husband, too, and he liked the idea of not fooling with a the ends of a scarf. I plan to make one for him in a charcoal alpaca.
Thought I would share this for those who love working garter stitch on straight needles.
Love this site and all the inspiration it provides. Thank you!
To get the desired two tone effect - is it enough just to cast on in the contrast color and carrying on knitting and casting off with the main color?
Is your cast on become untwisted after just the first round? If so, you can make the twist again at the beginning of the second round by turning your right needle through the middle of the work. This is really difficult to explain, but it's not hard to do! Just think of adding a twist and bring your right needle down and around to the back of the work. Does this make sense? Try it - it's much easier done than said!
Good luck!
Whitney
I'm not quite sure where you're having trouble so I'll try to clarify a couple of things that may be hanging you up!
First, about changing yarn: Perhaps you have a different way of changing yarns? Maybe you are used to knitting a few inches with both yarns? What I do is cut the old yarn and just start knitting with the new yarn...
About the cast on row connecting properly: You don't actually join the cast on row. You join the third row, which is a purl round. Try to make your knitting look like the picture before you join, and also double check that the twist is still intact when you get to the next round. If it's not, read my answer to Cyndi which tells you how to get your twist back!
I hope this all helps. If not, please write back and we'll get you on the right path!
Thanks!
Whitney
I finished this cowl a few weeks ago and mine looks very different from yours - just wondering if it's styled in away to hug her neck. My cowl dowsn't sit this close to the neck. Is your cowl pinned in the back?
No, our Mobius Cowl isn't pinned in the back or styled in any kind of tricky way. A possible explanation for your oversized results is that you knit your cowl at a gauge larger than 3 1/2 stitches to the inch, so you may want to double check that if you haven't already.
Regardless, I hope you enjoy your Mobius Cowl. Thank you so much for making it!
Whitney