I found the base stitch pattern from Knitting Stitch Patterns. I usually don't like using the same pattern for multiple projects (I get bored with repetition!), but this one is so beautiful that I feel it deserves to be showcased again sometime in the future...perhaps one with a bluish yarn colour.
This project unintentionally turned into a cowl because I didn't have enough yarn for a longer project. No regrets, however, since I think this turned out a lot nicer than I thought it would. While knitting this piece, one side started to stretch out longer than the other side, so that at the very end, when I cast off, the piece had become diamond shaped. I folded the diamond in half and sewed the edges together to make a triangle shaped cowl. Then the ends were sewn to make it look like a cowboy's neckerchief. If it sounds confusing now, just scroll down for a hand-drawn explanation of the end game.
One more consideration before we get to the meat of this post: since this yarn is 15% wool, the yarn is susceptible to fuzzing/fraying as you knit. The fuzzballs enjoy sticking to clothes and will probably be a bit of a pain in the wash.
Materials:
-knitting needles, size 6.5 mm or US 10.5
-steel yarn needles, size 7cm (for sewing finished ends together)
-3 balls of Isaac Mizrahi's Premier Yarns (Columbus colour)
This pattern is knitted in a multiple of 10 stitches + 2 and a 10-row repeat.
k = knit
p = purl
yo = yarn over
ssk = slip slip knit
Cast on 62 stitches.
Row 1-5: knit
Row 6: k7, *yo, ssk, k4; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, yo, ssk, k5
Row 7 and all other uneven rows: k5, purl all stitches until last 5 stitches, k5
Row 8: k7, *yo, k1, ssk, k3; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, yo, ssk, k5
Row 10: k7, *yo, k2, ssk, k2; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, yo, ssk, k5
Row 12: k7, *yo, k3, ssk, k1; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, yo, ssk, k5
Row 14: k7, *yo, k4, ssk; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, yo, ssk, k5
Repeat rows 6-15 until desired length is reached, then knit the next five rows and cast off.
As stated above, the piece became diamond-shaped at the very end. To turn it into a neckerchief cowl, do the following:
Here's a picture of the last step in the drawn image above, with only the top edges of the two triangle vertices sewn together:
Tada! The final product:
