The Honey Stitch Cowl knitting pattern is ready for your hot little hands on the Canadian Living website! I love this cowl because it’s so timeless and versatile (if I do say so myself!). It would look equally flattering on a twenty-something as it would on a fifty-something. It adds refinement to a denim work shirt and, thrown over a cashmere sweater, adds bold shapes and textures.
I’ve knit up the Honey Stitch Cowl using four balls of KPC Yarns Novomerino. Worked on 7mm needles and chunky yarn, this cowl comes together nice and quick.
The central panel is made up of honey stitch cables – BUT before you freak out and become overwhelmed with the idea of cabling, and cabling that many little twists, let me assure you that it’s not that hard.
And get this: you can knit this entire cowl without a cable needle.
You read that right. No fiddling with a tiny cable needle required! Don’t believe me? Watch the video tutorial to see that you don’t need – nay! That you never need a cable needle – to make a cable.
Check out the free cowl pattern, which comes with a tutorial video, and read about my transformation from a bratty, Lip Smacker-obsessed teen into the obsessive knitter I am today!
Canada Holly says
August 28, 2014 at 3:46 pmCan’t wait to make this! In the written instructions it says Row 1 slip first stitch purl wise. In the video it shows you slipping that first stitch knit wise. Does it make much of a difference, hope this isn’t a silly question!
Davina says
August 30, 2014 at 2:09 amHi Canada Holly, You’re right! Ack! The first stitch of Row 1 should be slipped purlwise. It does matter in which direction you slip. The rule of thumb is: slip purl stitches purlwise and knit stitches knitwise. You’ll get a nice even selvedge that looks like a chain of knit stitches.
If you mix up the slipping (slipping knitwise when you should be slipping purlwise and vice versa), your selvedge won’t look neat and tidy with a chain of knit stitches. So, please ignore my erroneous slipping of Row 1 in the video and follow along with the pattern!
Estella says
August 29, 2014 at 4:28 pmYou are absolutely right – I’m a 50 something and I can’t wait to make and wear this!
Davina says
August 30, 2014 at 2:10 amYay! I’m so glad you like the cowl!
Betty Bartha says
September 5, 2014 at 11:07 amwhere can I buy KPC yarn?
I live in Ontario, Canada, near London, Ontario
or can you give an alternative yarn available to me.
Davina says
September 5, 2014 at 9:13 pmHey Betty,
You can get KPC Yarn online at their online store here
Unfortunately, as they’re a new Hong Kong-based company, they’re only stocked in Hong Kong for now.
However, there are a number of other yarn options. You can look for chunky weight yarn in order to get a similar gauge. I just did a search on yarn.com and found that Berroco Vintage Chunky and Debbie Bliss Rialto Chunky are very similar to the KPC chunky in gauge. They come in pretty colorways. Definitely look into those!
Alternatively, you can head to a local yarn store and ask an associate to help you find a yarn with a similar gauge.
Hope this helps!
Linda stewart says
September 17, 2014 at 10:43 amI looked online to order the kPc novo merino yarn . The price was $140 for 1 ball which would make the cost of the cowl $560.
Can this be right ?
Davina says
September 19, 2014 at 9:01 pmHey Linda! I should have clarified that KPC is a Hong Kong based company, so their website lists their yarn in Hong Kong dollars. The exchange rate makes each ball about $18 USD. Not cheap, but it sure is nice, smooth yarn!
Christianne says
January 19, 2015 at 10:30 pmThe good news? Your video of the provisional cast on has made me understand how to do it. The bad news? This has multiplied the number of projects I want to do, this cowl included.
Christianne says
January 19, 2015 at 10:32 pmthat picture can be deleted, I thought it was going to be my user picture. As can this reply.
Davina says
January 21, 2015 at 9:00 pmHey Christianne! What an awesome photo! I love your headband! If you’d like, I can delete it, but I think it’s just faaantastic.
As for the cowl, I’m glad it’s on your to-do list! It’s really fun, and once you get the hang of it, it’s great knitting for tv-watching or podcast-listening or what have you. It’s great!
Zahra says
March 20, 2015 at 11:29 pmHi! I just started making this and I was wondering how long It took you to make this full scarf? Plus, I measured the width and it’s 8.5″ instead of 7″. I don’t understand what I did wrong!! I used 6mm needles instead of 7mm and I’m using roving bulky yarn and I casted on 40 sts…
Davina says
May 26, 2015 at 7:23 amHi Zahra, it took about three weeks of knitting on and off to complete the cowl. As for the width, it could be that the bulky yarn you’re using is a bit thicker than the yarn used in the original pattern. Basically, the gauge is a bit off. However, since this is a cowl, the width doesn’t *really* matter in the way that measurements matter in, say, a sweater. If you’re okay with the width, then carry on!
Meha says
January 14, 2016 at 6:28 amHey Davina,
Lovely tutorial, as expected 🙂 Although I have two questions, How does the pattern change if I wish to make it in the round using circular needles? And secondly, in that case, can I use a long tail cast on? Please let me know.
Also, attaching a picture of my fiance wearing a cushy cowl. My first knitting project, thanks to your tutorial!
Best,
Meha
Davina says
January 18, 2016 at 1:42 amHey Meha! The cowl looks lovely! What a beautiful color! And it matches so nicely with your fiance’s shirt. Congratulations! 😀
So for the cowl, if you knit it in the round, the pattern will change quite a bit. It’s difficult to duplicate what rib stitch looks like when it lays horizontally (which is what it looks like when knit flat) when knitting in the round.
You can certainly try knitting a 1×1 twisted rib for a couple rounds and then knitting the cabled pattern for a few inches and then finishing it off with a couple rounds of 1×1 rib. Again, the overall look will be different than the original pattern, but that’s one way to interpret the pattern for knitting in the round.
To do this, you would need to cast on more stitches. The number of cast on sts depends on how wide you want your cowl to be and also your knitting gauge. Figure out the desired circumference of your cowl, knit a gauge swatch using your chosen yarn and needles and then calculate how many cast on stitches that equals (I have short tutorial on how to do that here under Step 2 and Step 3: https://sheepandstitch.com/seed-stitch-scarf-and-cowl-pattern-customised-for-any-yarn/)
Then, you can start knitting! A few words about the number of cast on stitches: make sure to cast on a multiple of 4 sts to ensure that the honey stitch cables can fit evenly into the cowl.
One last thing: the twisted rib stitch might pull in a little bit. Don’t be alarmed. You can always block this out when you’re done.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
Meha says
January 18, 2016 at 8:14 pmThanks a ton 🙂 Will make a gauge swatch soon enough. This helped a lot; I understand it might not look the same but maybe ill come up with something new!
Thanks again,
Meha
Mary says
October 5, 2016 at 1:34 pmBeautiful pattern ❤ Going to attempt to knit this one for a Christmas gift. Thank you. ?