October Quickie: Cluaran Cowl
Sweater Weather has us all so excited that we have two Quickies patterns for you this month and this one absolutely wraps up everything fall, don’t you agree?
Cluaran Cowl is a design by Ruth Nguyen using Malabrigo Sock in Turner and Persia. I absolutely love this two-color brioche stitch pattern in this design, and I am looking forward to knitting up my own cowl to wear. Ruth has a fantastic talent for combining modern and traditional elements in her designs that really offer a unique and stunning finished product. She experiments regularly with all kinds of stitch patterns, yarns, and ways of getting it all done (knitting while reading Dostoevsky is no problem, but thus far she’s failed to knit in her sleep, and if she ever managed to learn how to, I hope that she shares that secret with all of us immediately!).
We had the opportunity to ask her to share a little bit about Cluaran Cowl with us.
1: What is your favorite part of your Quickies design and why?
Definitely the stitch pattern! I hadn’t been knitting two-color brioche for very long when I started experimenting ith creating my own stitch patterns; I love how this stitch uses dramatic increases and yields these organic but highly structural results.
2: What should knitters pay attention to when working this pattern? Do you have any tips,
or tricks that will make knitting this pattern easier?
I would advise paying close attention when doing the increases, and make sure you’re doing the correct number of knits and yarnovers. It’s easy to lose track with an 8-stitch increase! Also, remember that in brioche, stitches are always increased or decreased in pairs to maintain the ribbed effect. Brioche looks complicated, but at the end of the day it’s just fancy ribbing.
3: What do you think knitters will enjoy the most about this project?
So far, what I’ve heard most often from knitters is that the stitch pattern isn’t like anything they’ve ever seen before. Also, it’s a super quick knit and uses very little yarn.
4: What does your design process look like?
It’s quite different for every project, but there a few characteristics that I want to be distinctives of my style, which I keep in mind whenever I’m designing. I always want to find or make up an unusual stitch pattern, or use a traditional stitch pattern in an unexpected way, so the conceptualization phase is typically quite long. Figuring out what’s physically and mathematically possible within the structure of knitted fabric and the structure of that particular stitch is super exciting to me. It’s also important to pair just the right yarn and color with the design concept, so I spend a lot of time researching those. Once I settle on a yarn, I jot down just enough notes to get started on the sample and make adjustments from there. In an ideal situation I take notes as I go. Then, once the sample’s done, I write up the final pattern.
5: What is the one thing you wish people knew about you as a designer?
I frequently wish I could show knitters the process of reasoning through all my design decisions.
I try not to do anything haphazardly or randomly—every element and technique is in there for a reason, and there’s a deliberate process of thinking through and researching all the different ways of doing something before I settle on one. When you’re a younger designer, people often assume that you’ve done something because you don’t know any better; it can be hard to win their respect if they don’t fully trust your design instincts yet. I would love for them to feel confident that they’re not being led astray, even if my style doesn’t end up being their preference (and that’s totally okay!).
So grab a cup of black tea (Ruth’s favorite!), maybe even a Chai, and 2 skeins of Malabrigo Sock and in no time at all, you will have the perfect fall accessory.
You can purchase Cluaran Cowl on Ravelry here: ttps://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cluaran-cowl or on PayHip, here: https://payhip.com/b/bTqdY.