Relax with an On the Farm Cowl this Holiday Season

I look forward to a slice of pie every holiday season, but the bigger treat is hours of travel, with nothing to do but knit. Once we reach our destination, I’ll spend plenty of time helping in the kitchen. Later, I'll need something to keep my hands busy while everyone is gathered around the TV, whether we’re watching the parade or the big game.

For a long holiday weekend, I like to have at least two projects—one that’s simple and mindless, like a plain pair of socks, and one that promises to capture my attention, that builds a skill, that gets me fired up to knit. Ideally, my travel knitting projects won’t be too big, either. While I’ve certainly hauled sweaters and blankets around on road trips, they become unwieldy and difficult to manage.

The instant I saw Tanis Gray’s On the Farm Cowl, I knew it was the perfect travel knitting pattern. With your own personal flock of sheep grazing around knitted plains, it’s both fun to knit and a gorgeous accessory to wear.

Tanis Gray's On the Farm Cowl is worked in the round using stranded colorwork.

Don’t Forget Your Needles!

As you pack your project, don’t forget that your needles are just as important as your yarn! The On the Farm Cowl uses stranded colorwork, one of my favorite techniques. To select your needles, you want to consider both the gauge of the project, and the finished dimensions.

Looking at the pattern information, I see the finished circumference of the On the Farm Cowl is 26″ (66 cm). Depending on how you knit, a 24″ circular needle might work for you. But it could just as easily be frustrating. The key is that you don’t want your stitches stretching too far around a long needle, nor do you want them crammed together on a short needle.

Both situations will result in distorted colorwork! Luckily, you have options. You could choose a much longer needle and use the Magic Loop technique, or you might want to choose to use two sets of circular needles, with one set on each half of the cowl. Either way, be sure to spread out the stitches you just knit. This will help you to keep an even tension, with floats that are neither too long nor too short.

The On the Farm Cowl is an enjoyable project to knit, perfect for a holiday escape.

Caught in a Trap?

Typically, stranded colorwork patterns avoid long floats. What is a long float? The answer depends on your gauge, but the rule of thumb is that any float that travels more than seven stitches or an inch is considered a long float and something to be avoided. The concern is that a long float might snag on jewelry or fingers as you put on the garment—and no one wants to be stuck in that trap!

Personally, I tend to live on the edge and have knit many absurdly long floats with no dire consequences. I find that when done properly, they blend into the fabric just fine, and I’m careful to avoid snagging them when I put on the garment.

However, if you’d like to play it safe (or if you’re knitting for someone else), you might want to consider trapping your long floats. Rows 10, 11, and 20 of the On the Farm Cowl have long floats—one is twenty stitches long!

To trap your floats, simply twist the non-working yarn around the working yarn at the back side of the fabric, about once every five to seven stitches. This will help that long float blend into the fabric in a more secure way.

Your On the Farm Cowl is like having your own personal flock of happy sheep!

Start Your Adventure Today

Pack your yarn and needles, download the pattern from the library, and get ready to embark on a wooly knitting adventure this season with your own On the Farm Cowl. (And don’t forget to enjoy the pie!)

Subscribers can access the On the Farm Cowl pattern in the Farm and Fiber Knits Library.