Orry Yarn – Weavers Way Linen Stitch Cowl Knitting Kit
Designed by Tilde Olsen – Orry Yarn
The Weavers Way Linen Stitch Cowl is worked in the round from the bottom up in three colours, and there is no stranded knitting in it at all. You only ever hold one yarn at a time. Linen stitch does the rest: slip a stitch, bring the yarn forward, and the fabric that comes off the needles is dense and flat and reads as woven rather than knitted.
The three shades break over each other in a way you cannot really predict from looking at the balls, which is most of the pleasure of knitting it.
The kit is knitted in Orry Yarn Merino DK, our own soft, springy, ethically sourced merino. Slip stitch patterns need crisp definition to keep the slipped stitches distinct, which is exactly what this yarn gives.
Skill Level:
Easy (Adventurous beginners) ★★ (2 out of 5)
You should be comfortable casting on, knitting and purling, working in the round and reading a straightforward pattern. Linen stitch is one slipped stitch and one movement of the yarn, and you only ever hold one colour at a time, so there is less going on than the finished fabric suggests. The one thing worth knowing before you start is that it cannot be unpicked by pulling the needle out, so a mistake means tinking back one stitch at a time. The pattern shows you how.
Size:
One size.
The Kit Includes:
- 3 × 50g balls of Orry Yarn Merino DK, one ball in each of the three shades in your chosen colourway
- Printed pattern in English
The three shades shown beneath each photo are the yarn you will receive in that colourway, one ball of each.
You'll Also Need:
- 3.25mm circular needles, 60cm long, for the ribbing
- 4mm circular needles, 60cm long, for the body
- Stitch marker
- Wool needle
A note on the needles:
60cm is the right cable length for the stitch count, and there is no switching part way through, so one pair of tips and a 60cm cable in each size will see you through. Linen stitch is worked at a firm tension by its nature, so if you knit tightly as a rule you may find it more comfortable on a smooth metal tip.
Techniques used:
- Casting on and joining in the round
- Linen stitch
- Slip stitch colourwork, holding one colour at a time
- Carrying the unused colours up the inside of the work
- Tinking back in linen stitch, which is to say undoing it one stitch at a time
- Casting off and weaving in ends
Why You'll Love It:
- Three colour knitting with none of the float management of stranded work
- A fabric that genuinely does not look knitted, from one simple stitch
- All three shades included, chosen to break well against each other
- Yarn School video support, including tinking back in linen stitch
- A tips and modifications section at the back of the pattern, drawn from years of teaching