Zakuro Cowl by Leila Wice

Zakuro Cowl

Knitting
December 2009
5 stitches and 7 rows = 1 inch
in stockinette
150 yards (137 m)

Exclusive to Woolgirl’s “Embrace The Lace” club members, to be re-released for sale to others by DekoBoko Design in Fall, 2010.

Zakuro (柘榴) means pomegranate in Japanese. The distinctive crowned silhouette of the pomegranate embellishes Central Asian carpets, Irish crochet, Italian velvets, and Chinese and Jewish papercuts.

Throughout the ages and in many lands, the luscious fruit bursting with juicy seeds has served as an emblem of fertility and passion. Persephone succumbed to temptation and partook of one. The Song of Songs likens a lover opening up to a grove of them.

This cowl combines depictions of the fruit on branches with a repeat pattern of zakuro lace, a new stitch I invented to depict the seeds contained within.