New Pattern! Under the Canopy Cowl is here!
Under the Canopy Cowl Pattern is out Now!
Pauline is standing in a dappled forest. She's smiling and wearing a cowl with botanical colourwork in shades of teal, orange, and green.
A Story About Being in the Woods
As I step onto the trail, I can feel the earth under my boots. I turn my head as I walk to try to catch a glimpse of the dark eyed juncos I can hear chirping from the arbutus trees. All I see is a flutter of motion, the tiniest streak of white and black tail feathers in the branches of a sparse Oregon grape shrub. The ground cover turns to dark, tangled ferns and I look up to see big leaf maple and cedar trees stretching beyond me into cloudy skies. I feel the ground get spongy and I spot moss-covered logs and branches hung with pale green, lacy lichen. I take a deep breath and greet the trees towering around me. The closest one is far too big for me to wrap my arms around, but yes, I try anyway. The dampness of cool air is all around me, but I’m cozy in layers of wool. The path changes to uphill and I start to heat up as I hike, taking big steps over stones and around muddy puddles. As I emerge from under the canopy and out into a weedy meadow, I pause to pull my cowl and toque off, enjoying the fresh sense of wind on my ears. I quickly tuck my shed layers into a little pocket in my backpack, take a sip of water from a stainless steel bottle, and keep going, further into the woods.
A wide path curves through a forest with big trees, mossy rocks, and dried orange ferns.
Why I made This Pattern
Being in a forest reminds me about what it feels to breathe deeply. I know that sensation of meditating in the woods and I bring it to my knitting, getting into a rhythm, anticipating the pattern, in the same way that I look forward to the next natural wonder I’ll see on the trail.
Under the Canopy is a knitted depiction of some of the ferns and flowers I appreciate in Vancouver Island forests. I hope it brings you the sense of anticipation, joy, and mediative peace that I got from knitting it and from walking in the forests that inspired it.
A knitted cowl with botanical colourwork in shades of teal, orange, and pale green hangs from a tree branch in the woods.
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About the Cowl Pattern
The cowl is worked as a tube in the round.
It’s started with a crochet provisional cast-on and the tube ends are joined by grafting.
Colourwork charts have a light Main Colour and a dark Main Colour option so you can choose the look that most closely matches your project. Plus the charts feature numbers in the boxes so you don’t have to count long sections of one colour!
I consider this an intermediate level pattern. Techniques used include provisional cast-on, working colourwork from charted instructions, and grafting.
I used Spincycle Yarns Dream State with Harrisville Yarns Night Shades, a dreamy combination!
Love Spending time in the forest?
I couldn’t resist taking fern-filled mood shots during this photo shoot! Have a look at my In the Forest post for colour inspo and to enjoy peaceful quiet of the woods through images!
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