Dec 25, 20202 min read

Golden Hour Cowl

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! My holiday present to you this year is a brand new cowl pattern, the Golden Hour Cowl.

Golden Hour Cowl features an intricate and undulating lace pattern that reminded me of hourglasses. The name for the pattern comes from the concept of a golden hour used in photography. In the brief moments right before sunset and shortly after sunrise, daylight is softer and warmer in hue than when the sun is higher in the sky.

And this is exactly what I wanted to convey with the choice of colors and yarns used in this pattern. The Golden Hour Cowl is knit with two yarns held together: a fingering-weight sock yarn and a fluffy silk mohair. The combination of a high-twist wool with the soft halo of the mohair creates a subtly shimmering cowl that is just as beautiful to look at as it is warm and cozy to wear.

Golden Hour Cowl begins and ends with a bit of twisted ribbing but the main attraction is the beautiful lace pattern. It's not for the uninitiated, though! This lace pattern features lots of twisted stitches and traveling cables. They can be tricky to do when working with two yarns: you have to be extra careful to catch both strands of yarn.

There are also a couple of points in the pattern where a cable crosses the boundary between rounds. But fear not: there's a step-by-step photo tutorial for this included in the pattern. Instructions for the lace pattern are given both as a chart and fully written out round by round.

To knit the cowl you need, at most, a skein of fingering-weight yarn (less than 400 m or 440 yd) and the equivalent yardage in a fluffy lace-weight yarn, such as mohair, silk mohair, brushed alpaca, or cashmere.

You could also use leftovers or partial skeins. The length and circumference of the cowl can be easily adjusted to your liking — I've included instructions for this in the pattern.

I knit my sample cowl using a hand-dyed BFL sock yarn from iKKe (BFL Sock 75/25, 75% BFL, 25% nylon, 425 m/100 g, 465 yd/3.53 oz) in a gorgeous, golden colorway called Midas. (Because of course.) The mohair silk is Filcolana Tilia (70% mohair, 30% silk, 210 m/25 g, 230 yd/0.88 oz) in the colorway #136.

To let the lace pattern shine (pun not intended), I'd recommend using similar colors of both yarns. The colors don't have to be exact, though — you can create interesting depth in the knitted fabric by choosing colors that are complementary or tonal.

Golden Hour Cowl is now available on Ravelry (seizure warning!), Payhip, and LoveCrafts. Get 50% off the pattern price when you join my mailing list before the end of the year 2020!