Monica Knits

Koigu^TM Neck Cozy The neck cozy and I have always been inseparable winter evenings, but during the week in which our furnace broke down, I wore it night and day when at home. Naturally, the furnace failed during the wee hours of one of the coldest days of the year! When it snagged and got a hole, I decided that I had better knit a back up. In the meantime my sister and a girlfriend each requested one.

Two things make this neck warmer amazing: the premium (soft), hand-painted merino yarn and the lightweight, compact design. Read more ... for knitting tips and pattern information.

Click on a thumbnail to view a larger image.

Design Features: Designed by Karen Ko, this compact neck warmer features a travelling rib stitch (mistake stitch rib variant) and garter stitch bow created by passing the leaf-shaped end through a contiguous knitted loop. This allows a fit as snug as you wish that won't come undone, whatever the activity, reading or walking.

Materials

1. Yarn: Koigu (Canada) Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM), color solid #2351 (light green, cool shade), 100% Merino wool, fingering weight, 50 gm (175 yds /160 m).
2. Tally or row counter.
3. Three (3) 3.5 mm dpns (U.S. size 4) for loops and 2 for the body.
4. One 3.5 mm circular needle may be used instead of two dpns for the body.
5. One stitch holder, cable or circular needle for parking stitches.
6. One stitch marker.
7. One darning needle for weaving in yarn tails.

Discussion: The pattern instructions recommended #5 dpns (3-3/4 mm), however I preferred the appearance achieved with 3-1/2 mm (#4) dpns or circular needles. The loops were knitted with dpns and the remainder with a circular needle. I extended the body length 1-1/8" for stylistic reasons.

Construction Technique
When creating the loops for the bow, the alternate stitches will be transferred from one needle to two separate DPNs (double pointed needles). The photos below illustrate this technique.
1st Stitch 2nd Stitch 3rd Stitch 4th Stitch







Quality Tips

1. The most important gauge measurement is width, to achieve a narrow silhouette, with pleasing drape. You can adjust the length by varying the number of rows.
2. Place a marker on the wrong side of the neck warmer while knitting. This way you won't need a row counter while knitting the body. Since the stitch pattern is a two-row repeat, the stitch marker tells you which pattern row is required for the side you are knitting. In the photo (at right), the stitch marker is clipped to the neck-facing side of the loop.
3. Check sum In the 2 row repeat pattern, Row #1 always ends on a P1 and Row #2 always ends on a K1. Consciously check this at the end of each row--the easiest error to make with this pattern is to inadvertently knit the same row twice. This will end up looking very obvious in the final work, but perhaps not immediately. By checking at the end of each row, you can back up and correct the error immediately, avoiding disappointment or greater rework.

Tip for New Knitters This pattern is straightforward, however if you are a new knitter I would recommend that you start with a light colored yarn, not a dark or dark multi-colored yarn. It is more difficult to see the stitch pattern in a dark yarn.

Pattern Source:
Patternworks provides a free pattern with the purchase of Koigu yarn. Pattern (#800100) was called Koigu Neck Cozy. The August 2007 version had a typographical error on row 22 of the pattern. It reads K1, SSK, K2, K2tog, K1, K6, but the K6 doesn't belong here. It should read: K1, SSK, K2, K2tog, K1.

Related Posts
Neck Warmer (Koigu Neck Cozy)
Koigu Neck Cozy (alternate image)
Knitwear Repairs - Hole (repaired snag in neck cozy).