A finished brioche cowl

Last year, a dear friend gave me some beautiful yarn from a trip she took with her family to South Carolina. It is handdyed, with blues and hints of yellow and it is absolutely stunning. I brainstormed a project that would highlight the yarn, and eventually, I decided on a two-color brioche cowl, similar to a style I knit years ago, back when we lived in Austin. I decided to pair the variegated yarn with a tonal dark grey, and I think the yarns play well together–the grey offers a neutral backdrop for the special yarn.

I modified the numbers of the same (free) pattern a little and switched up my needle sizes, and I'm so happy with the result.

Details

For more details, see my Ravelry project page.

Yarn: The Fibre Studio Studio DK base in the colorway, "Lowcountry Blues," (which I believe is a special colorway dyed for the shop in South Carolina) and Nanette Wake Studio SW Merino DK in the colorway, "Mouse." I still need to weigh my leftovers, but I would guess I used around 50g of each of the yarns.

Pattern: Gina's Brioche Hat and Cowl pattern, free via Purl Soho, modified

Size: 86 stitches for a single loop cowl (significantly less than the double loop cowl that the pattern features)

Needles: US 6 for cast on and four rows of plain stockinette. Switched to US 5 for brioche section, then back to US 6 for final four rows of stockinette stitch and bind off.

Specifics/modifications:  I cast on 86 stitches for a single loop cowl, used smaller needles, and I knit until cowl was approximately 8" (width of cowl, pre-blocking was 9"). It grew slightly during blocking, as superwash yarns tend to, but I still like the fit.

This was a project that was on my list of Creative Goals for 2025, and I'm so pleased with it! It was enjoyable to knit, and even though I haven't knit anything in brioche in a few years, the rhythm came back to me rather quickly. The colder weather we've had in recent weeks has meant that I've had more opportunity to wear cold-weather accessories for a bit longer, something I don't mind! And once warmer temperatures are here to stay, I'll tuck it away until cold weather returns again in the fall.