This cowl has been on my mind for months and I’m so glad to be sharing it with you at last! I had the idea around October last year for a ribbed cowl with a gorgeous drapey neck. The design evolved to have alternating ribs on either side of a central spine, but the border remained nebulous for quite a while.
I think in total I’ve knit this cowl about three times! I originally knit the ribbed body without the central spine with the ribs butting up against each other, but having knit it all, I decided that it needed the spine so I ripped it all out and started again. Luckily this is a really quick knit! Finally, it was time for the border I tried a straight ribbed border, but that wasn’t giving me the effect I wanted. My next attempt was a diagonal rib, but that didn’t have enough definition and it was hard to see where the ribs and purls changed. I really liked the idea of the diagonal lines though, so I made up this diagonal lace for the border. I love how at the front the diagonal lines are parallel with the central spine, but as you move towards the back of the cowl they appear at more of an angle. When you see the centre of the back the diagonal lines meet and form gorgeous arches (check out the pattern page for more photos!) .
The name, Solasta, means luminous or shining, which this yarn certainly is! I tried with a couple of yarns I had in my stash – a light green and a lilac, but they didn’t show off the whelts as well as I needed it to, so I headed off to Eden Cottage Yarns and got this glorious Titus 4 ply in Sunset. Doesn’t it match the name perfectly? The silk in the yarn helps to give it some extra drape, as well as giving a beautiful subtle shine from within.
If you want to find out what I’m up to between blog posts you can keep an eye on what I’m up to on Instagram! If you’d like an exclusive 40% discount on future releases sign up to my newsletter – I only send out emails when I release a new pattern or am having a sale, so usually, you’ll only hear from me about once a month.
