Behind the Design: How the Fae Garland Cowlette Came to Life

The Fae Garland Cowlette is the perfect summer accessory for cool mornings and evenings, with its whimsical blend of pink and green Irish Donegal yarn and its meadow-inspired details. Beginning with a simple garter tab, the piece grows into a triangular shawlette before joining in the round to become a cozy cowlette—combining the graceful drape of a shawl with the practicality of a cowl that stays put.

We sat down for a virtual chat with designer Safiyyah Talley, who is also the author of Knitting Cowlettes—so let’s just say she knows a thing or two about these great stash-busting accessories. We wanted to hear more about how the fae (old, mythical beings) inspired her, the construction, and how it turned into this quick, satisfying knit.

Safiyyah Talley, who, in addition to being a knitwear designer, teacher, and blogger, also hosts the podcast True Crime & Knit. Photo courtesy of Safiyyah Talley

Farm & Fiber Knits: The Fae Garland Cowlette is such a fun summer accessory! What was the inspiration for your design?

Safiyyah Talley: At first I wanted this design to be more utilitarian—until I saw the delicate pink and green colorways of the Lucky Tweed yarn. This yarn was practically begging to become a floral-inspired motif! I read a lot of fantasy books, and I was inspired by classic high fantasy writers—think J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis—to create a cowlette so whimsical that even faeries would be proud to wear it.

FFK: Do you have any quick tips or tricks to help knitters ready to cast on?

ST: I would recommend that you cast on loosely to make picking up stitches easier. And I always recommend using a row counter while knitting cowlettes to help keep track of the increases that are key to creating this shape.

Safiyyah describes a cowlette as “the love child of a shawlette and a cowl.”

FFK: You keep reimagining the cowlette in so many ways! How could a knitter adapt and customize the Fae Garland?

ST: Cowlettes are highly customizable! I go into a little more detail in the pattern on how to enlarge Fae Garland, but you can essentially make Fae Garland anything you want it to be. You can knit it in solid colors, or use scrap yarn for a multi-colored effect.

Gauge is not crucial, either, and I really believe it is more important to love the fabric that you are creating than to achieve gauge. I actually do not swatch when knitting cowlettes, and I prefer to check my fabric quality as I go. If I don’t like it, I’ll rip it out and start fresh with a different needle size.

Safiyyah’s cowlette is worked from the top down, beginning with a garter tab. It is worked back and forth until the neck circumference is reached, and then it’s joined in the round. Stitches are picked up for the neckline trim.

FFK: Can you tell us a bit about this gorgeous tweedy yarn?

ST: Lucky Tweed by Kelbourne Woolens is next-to-skin soft and lightweight—perfect for this kind of accessory knit. The colors are great, and we had a hard time choosing just one—so I used two!

Though I cannot recommend the yarn I used enough, cowlettes are inherently great stash busters. You can use leftover yarn balls or one-off skeins without having to worry about gauge. Here's how to adjust:

• Start knitting the body of the cowlette and then match your cowlette’s neck circumference to the pattern’s by measuring the longest side of your knitted triangle (the hypotenuse) before joining in the round.
  
• Then, when it is time to pick up stitches at the neck edge, pick up more or fewer stitches as needed for the collar to adjust for your gauge. Make sure the collar stitches are a multiple of 4 so you are ready to work the cluster-stitch round.

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Learn more about Safiyyah at her website, thedrunkknitter.com, or on Instagram @drunkknitter.

Pick your colors of Lucky Tweed at kelbournewoolens.com.

Find the Fae Garland Cowlette in the Farm & Fiber Knits Library.