My mother made the rare request from me of a hand knitted item: a cowl for her new LLBean jacket. A brioche cowl added the loft and warmth that would make the accessory super comfortable, as well as easily finding a sporty geometric pattern to match the jacket. Ever since I designed the Oceangazer Shawl pattern I’ve been in love with the brioche style of knitting for that very reason: the inherent loft and the warmth of the finished garment, with attractive lines that can really highlight different kinds of yarn.
I had just the right Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair in my stash: lilac to match the coat and slate grey to match her eyes, … with some aqua to fill out the bottom to get the length she wanted.
Here’s my mother’s photo of how it matches the coat. (!! woot !!)
Instructions for the Brioche Cowl
• CO 96 stitches in the main color, size 7 circular needle, Green Mtn Spinnery Mountain Mohair.
• In the round, work three 32 stitch versions of the Undulating Hourglass from Nancy Marchant’s Book Fresh Brioche.
• Continue with the chart at least twice through for the desired cowl length… the cowl shown is 19 inches long.
• Optionally switch to a simple brioche rib stitch if you have to add in a new color.
• Bind off loosely.