A cowl for a friend.

I’m so “small town” – and while I’ve heard of the brand “Burberry” – and I knew that it was a fairly pricey way to dress – I honestly doubt my ability to spot an accessory made by the company.   And – if I ran across a small bit of fluff they’d made and were charging over $50 to purchase – I’d quite quickly shift into my “I could make that!” mode.   Now – saying/knowing ‘I can make that’ – and actually getting it accomplished are occasionally two quite different things.  In this case though – it worked.

I was hanging out on Ravelry the other day and ran across this pattern.  Someone had found and loved a Burberry  cowl and decided – after thinking over the $750 price tag (WHAT?!!) – as well as actually shopping for it (WHAT???!!!) and not being able to find one – to come up with a pattern to knit that was similar to her heart’s desire.

She’s generously posted her pattern for free (link at the end of this post).

Now, a friend of mine had been talking about these cowls with me last year, and ever since that conversation,  I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for a pattern for one that’s kind of tailored/kind of fancy – because that’s the type of garment that I think my friend shines best in.  Unfortunately, for my picture-taking skills – she also looks gorgeous in dark winter colors.  (I had to add a little fill light to this picture in order for it to look like a little more than a big blob of brown.  I may try it again if the daylight outside isn’t covered by clouds and rain today.)  This picture is actually of the join!  It came out so nice – it’s knit flat after a provisional cast-on – and then grafted closed, and the graft is barely perceptible even in real life.  Love that!

This little scarf can be knit as long as you want, but I was thinking close-fitting, so only made it the size of four pattern repeats.  I think for myself, I’ll make a longer version – more scarf like.  In fact – I found one on Amazon.com that gave me the idea to do just that – check this one out (Amazon has a nice zoom feature if you want to get a better look at it – just click on the picture and it’ll take you over there to see.)

This one is wool and cashmere – and a fraction of the cost of the other “designer” scarf.

Ahem – so was mine.  Like a microscopic fraction of the cost!

Well, mine isn’t cashmere – but this cowl pattern sure would lend itself to cashmere nicely – since it only takes a little less than a skein of yarn to make.

I don’t often make things for friends that require special care unless I know that hand-washing and drying flat are chores they’re okay with.  For myself though – I love wool so much that I don’t mind the extra work.  So, one of these days I’m going to splurge on some cashmere (a wool cashmere mix more likely) and make myself one of these.

This one on Amazon has a bit more texture to it than this free pattern does. Hmmmm….I bet I could make that!

Here’s the link to the free knitting pattern (as well as the story behind it) – click here.

Tagged as: Burberry inspired, cowl