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This design idea was sparked when I held Dirty Water Dyework’s beautiful tonal Vermont Green and Biscuit DK super soft yarns in my hand ~ they reminded me of the rich colors and fragrances of the woods, and maybe a sip of Baileys in the evening by a fire.

Forest Bathing offers the opportunity to immerse ourselves in nature with all our senses ~ slow the pace, disconnect from the busyness, and take a bit of time to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells. I know I always feel better, after soaking up some deep breaths and relaxing time in nature…

I wanted to play with the construction of this cowl, while offering a flow of relaxation, enough variation to appreciate texture, and color. It’s worked flat like a triangular shawl with garter stripes and patchwork texture motifs nestled between texture stripes and contrasting garter stripes. The cowl is then joined to work in the round with a repeating theme of patchwork and textured stripes, followed by a little bit of stranded colorwork, before finishing with a garter striped border.

If you prefer a shorter cowl, or just want to lean into the texture and skip the colorwork, I’ll be adding modification notes for you in the pink and white project. (My youngest fan will be getting the shorter version for Valentine’s Day.)

There’s a complimentary Foresty Hat coming along which I was able to design with the remaining yarn from this project. Stay tuned!

Difficulty/Skills Required: Intermediate. Knit, Purl, M1R, M1L, Long tail cast on, Icelandic bind off, Stranded Colorwork.

Yarn Weight: DK

Notions:
Tapestry needle
Stitch markers

Gauge:
All gauges are calculated per 4” / 10 cm finished, blocked fabric on US 7 / 4.5 mm needles. Gauge is not critical for this project, but variations will affect yardage.
Garter: 18 sts and 40 rows
Stockinette: 19 sts and 24 rows

Suggested Yarns:
Dirty Water Dyeworks Lucia DK (75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon); 246 yds / 225 m per 3.5 oz / 100 g skein.

Yarn Shown:
Dirty Water Dyeworks Lucia DK, held singly
MC: Biscuit (cream)
CC: Vermont (green)

Yardage:
MC: 200 yds / 183 m
CC: 145 yds / 133 m
No buffer added.

Needle Size:
US 7 / 4.5 mm, 32” / 81 cm circular needle

Size:
Sample measurements, fully blocked (see schematic):
Front Spine: 18.25” / 46.5 cm
Center Back: 8.25” / 21 cm
Upper Circumference: 21” / 53.5 cm
Neck width, laid flat for blocking: 9” / 23 cm
Width, laid flat for blocking: 20” / 51 cm