Monday, March 14, 2011

The Loken Cowl


I am so pleased to be able to talk about the Loken cowl that I designed for Berroco yarn company, as part of their eBook of patterns featuring their new Flicker yarn.

The brief I was given, was basically, to design an oversized cowl featuring crochet motifs.  I wanted the motifs to be unique, and I achieved this in the way that they are joined together.  This cowl is completely seamless and begins by crocheting 2 strips of motifs.  Then, the top and center motifs are made separately and incorporated into the spaces in the cowl by crocheting around edges of the previously joined motifs and into loops of the center or top motifs, simultaneously.  This creates bold thicker areas around the motifs which gives them an interesting texture, because the edges stand up and away from their centers.

When the bottom portion of the cowl is complete, you are rewarded the fun of crocheting the lovely shaped cowl neck in rounds above the motifs.  Working these chain stitch rounds is something I could do for hours on end!  It grows quickly and it is easily shaped by increasing or decreasing the number of chains.

It can be worn either loose around the neck or pulled down to cover the shoulders as in the photo above. It could also be made into a larger or smaller size by adding to or subtracting from the motif repeats, and altering the number of chains in the neck to fit.

There is more about my design process and some additional photos of the cowl here, on my blog, if you are interested!




12 comments:

  1. I love the way the motifs drape over the shoulder! Looks fun.

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  2. I agree, Kristine, and I've been enjoying the various views around the 'net of how this design drapes. For example, I just saw it at WEBS today (probably photographed by Berroco).

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  3. Beautiful. I love the femininity of it!
    Deb

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  4. I fell in love with it at first sight. So much that I asked my neighbor to teach me to crochet (I am a knitter and have never crocheted). Any chance you have a chart for the pattern?

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  5. Hi Twisted Stitches, I've forwarded your question to Shelby, the designer. Congratulations on becoming a crocheter!

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  6. Hi Twisted Stitches! I am beyond thrilled that this pattern has brought you into the crochet world!

    I am so sorry, unfortunately I don't have a chart for the pattern. Berroco may be willing to create one if enough people make the request. I think that they would love to hear that you are learning to crochet to make the cowl! Have you seen the additional photos on my blog? They may help as well: http://stitch-story.blogspot.com/2011/03/loken-cowl-for-berroco.html

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  7. Shelby, thank you so much for such a fast reply. I'll ask Beroco if they would be willing to chart it, otherwise, with your extra pictures and an expert crocheter (that only speaks Spanish) we'll figure it out!!! Congratulations on a gorgeous design ---Monica

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  8. Thanks Monica! I hope all goes well and I would love to see a photo of your cowl when you finish it!

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