Knitted Infinity Cowl

I got this lovely skein of mohair from Granville Island in Vancouver. I wanted to wrap it around my neck just as it was and wear it like that. Instead, I did the closest possible thing that I could manage: an infinity cowl with a twist.

According to the label, the yarn is hand dyed by someone called Yoriko at the Granville Island Fibre Art Studio. Sadly, she wasn't there for me to buy from that day, but the studio is full of wonderful fibre arts, including some gorgeous felted wraps and scarves. It is mohair and wrapped up at about Fingering Weight. The colours range from navy, through dark blue, to turquoise and brown. It actually looks much more blue in real life than in the close up photos.

My strong preference for scarves and cowls that have no right or wrong side meant that if I didn't want to knit rib (no thanks!), it would have to be garter stitch or reverse stockinette. A quick Ravelry pattern browse led me to the pattern I've linked to from my notes. It has rows of stockinette and reverse stockinette which add texture and interest, especially important when working with a variegated yarn.

I didn't actually look at the pattern, I just referenced it for inspiration. I also didn't do any counting or calculations at all. I feel like such a rebel - a knitting rebel! I don't know how many stitches I cast on. I used the thumb method and just stopped when my needles felt full. I added a twist so that I could laugh in the face of all those times that I have joined in the round and discovered an accidental twist. Ha ha! I want a twist!

I did about 5-10 rows of garter stitch as a border, then 4/5 rows of plain / purl alternates. I do admit to a moment of second thoughts and pulled it off the needles to rip out. Then I saw that it was larger than I feared, so I picked up all the loose stitches and carried on. I am sorry that the stockinette doesn't really show at all, the yarn looks lovely in the smooth side, but I kind of knew that would happen.

To end, I didn't really know how much yarn I had left, so I missed the garter stitch border at the top and just cast off. It doesn't seem to curl, which is unusual. I did run out of yarn about 40 stitches from the end, so I had to pull out all the cast off stitches (a total pain with mohair) and cast off lower down.

I can just wrap it twice around my neck so it is the perfect length. And, lo and behold, there are two twists in the join!