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13 December 2018

Furnace Cowl - Scheepjes Yarn The After Party #41

Get your needles ready!  I have the perfect quick, easy, last minute gift knit for the knitworthy men in your life.  I know it's quick and easy because I designed, swatched and knit this over a 3 day long weekend!





It's a funny thing when you design on commission.  You knit a piece, love it, send it off and wonder what will become of it, what will the photographer do with it, how will it be marketed.  And WOW!  The photography on this project is beyond anything I ever imagined!  I can't thank Scheepjes enough for turning my wee flat cowl into this amazing looking product!

The inspiration for Furnace came from watching some amazing male knitter podcasters. I started to notice the lack of knitwear in any category that is designed specifically for men! Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing designs out there, but they seriously lack in number and choice.

I wanted something quick, something simple that the most beginner of beginner knitters could take on.  As is my tendency when designing I want to take someone who is just comfortable with knit and purl stitches past the basic garter/rib scarf.  Something that with a quick You Tube search for a technique can be achieved with a splash of confidence to try something different.  Furnace uses knit and purl stitches two ways, your usual knit purl 1 x 1 rib,  then  knits and purls through the back loop of the stitch.  This creates a slightly different texture with a more open look to the stitches.



My tester for this pattern is not a knitter, so much so that I still laugh when I think that she actually did this for me.  I asked her to proof read the pattern as I was designing and before I knew it, she'd cast on and was a third of the way through. Some of you will know her from the Scheepjes International Group others will know her as Kelly's Krochet, or Fiona Kelly, designer of the Tunisian crochet Exclamation Shawl.  Yes, Fiona, she's not a knitter but she absolutely breezed through this pattern.  In hindsight she was the perfect tester, and proof that the most beginner knitter could easily produce a Furnace Cowl.

The Furnace Cowl is designed to use those random balls of Merino Soft you have in your stash, that's exactly what I used, you just need one ball of each colour. It's worked in the round with the body of the cowl using two colours, but only one colour at a time, you simply carry your yarn up, and for beginners, that is explained in the pattern notes.



As a last minute gift knit, and lets face it, we're always looking for those at this time of year, you could get this done in an evening or two, during lunch breaks, or just sit and knit like a demon and you'll be done in no time.  As for colour choices, make it simple, sporting team colours always work for the sports lover, high contrast, low contrast, I think any colour combination is a winner for this design.  The cowl is completely reversible so will look the same inside and out with a very slightly visible line where you carry your yarn up from the 'inside'  With 54 colours too choose from in the Merino Soft range with another 7  in the Merino Soft Brush range I'm sure you'll find something suitable. 





I mentioned that Furnace uses just two balls of Merino Soft, that deliciously buttery soft Scheepjes yarn that is a total dream to knit with.  It's important that you read the pattern notes for the yarn requirements. If you don't meet gauge on this pattern there is a chance that you will need a second ball of Colour A.  I had just 2gms left after knitting the sample. If you modify the pattern in any way to make it bigger you will absolutely need more yarn.

If you make a Furnace cowl I'd love to see it!  You can tag me @thecalmnookcrafts and @scheepjes on Instagram or use #furnacecowl on social media.  Don't forget to favourite it and pop it in your Ravelry libraries and make a project page so that I can see it there. 


Furnace is now available on Ravelry as an instant download in English, Dutch, Swedish and German...  Check your local retailers in the coming days for the paper copy 

You can purchase Merino Soft at these retailers
  Knit Spin Weave (Australia)
*Wool Warehouse (UK and International)
*Caro's Atelier  (Netherlands) 



*This post contains affiliate links 




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