The Corra Cowl features a simple to knit, yet intriguing lace pattern of scales, knit in the round, to create a stretchy, warm, and comforting cowl. In Deborah Harkness’s All Souls trilogy of books, Corra is a firedrake, a dragon with two legs, who lives wrapped around Diana’s body. The symbol of an ouroboros, the original symbol of infinity and the endless circle of life, features heavily in the books, and is depicted as a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. Corra and the ouroboros are what inspired this scaled, circular cowl.

As gauge is not crucial for an accessory like a cowl, this pattern is also suitable for other yarn weights other than fingering, perhaps altering the number of pattern repeats (and as such, the number of stitches cast on, in multiples of 10), if using a drastically different weight yarn. As written, the pattern will result in a cowl of an approximate 26” circumference. The scales motif is subtle enough to work beautifully with solid, semi-solid, or variegated yarns. The lace pattern is easily memorized with stitches that are easy to ‘read’, and creates a beautiful scale-like stitch.

Featured cowls are knit in Malabrigo Sock in Primavera, and Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Margeaux. Special thank you to test knitters Joanna and Jacki!