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August 25, 2015 Leave a Comment

Kronborg Cowl

Kronborg Cowl: David Tennant as Hamlet

I name all of my designs by geographic or place names. I’m not sure why Hamlet was on my mind, but when I googled Elsinor, I ended up with Kronborg. I liked the structure of the palace, and how different it looked in different seasons, so this design became the Kronborg Cowl. This photo is just because I love this photo of David Tennant playing Hamlet.

Kronborg Cowl is BornKronborg Cowl: Kronborg in Winter

I decided that I would make something quick and relatively easy with each monthly mailing I get from Sheepspot. Clearly I need this sort of thing in my knitting life because I spent a sleepless night dreaming up my idea for my July Sheepspot Yarn Club yarn. I wanted something with an added-on band. I wanted a cowl, and I wanted a not-quite-typical closure. I worked through some options but they seemed too difficult to execute quickly, so I determined to press on with this design, this stitch pattern, and this design.

Why I Have Rules

  1. Gauge.  I didn’t have enough yarn to do a proper swatch, so I knit my band, wet blocked it, and took gauge. I used that gauge to calculate how many stitches to cast on the moebius portion of my design. I like the circumference I got, but my gauges don’t match.Kronborg Cowl: Bands and Body
  2. Measure Twice.  I ended up with a band that is shorter than I intended it to be in relation to my cowl. I decided to use this as a design feature because I don’t have enough time to redo this.

Why Kronborg Cowl Works As-Is, and What I’d Do Differently

I like things a little off-kilter, so this will totally work for me. In the pattern I release during September** I will tell you what I did, and what I would do to correct change it. You can decide how you want to approach your version.Kronborg Cowl: Nearly Finished

Clun Forest was the yarn sent for the July mailing of the Sheepspot Yarn Club (the yarn club is no longer available for this year). I thoroughly enjoyed working with this yarn and the way it was dyed. I wasn’t in love with the colors, but they are quite pleasant. I made a collage button (photo and directions will be in the pattern). My actual version of the button collage is much less complex than what I originally planned, but my original vision would probably not have been as pleasing, so I’m happy.

Kronborg Cowl Pattern / Sheepspot Yarn Club Pattern

Kronborg Cowl: Palace in birds-eye viewAll links to this pattern will go to a place on my website where you can download a copy of the pattern. Links will be made available in my Newsletter, which comes out each week on Thursday, at 5 pm EST/EDT. Want to make sure you get those? Sign up for my Newsletter.

**I will, in August of 2016, publish all these patterns in my standard Jill Wolcott Knits format, in multiple sizes. As I go through my subscription to the Yarn Club, the point is for me to do a quick, interesting project that I can make with the yarn I receive. I’ll share my “quick and dirty” version of the pattern during the month following the design month. It will be free from my website only, for 30 days. Then it will disappear, being replaced by the next design, until August of 2016.

Clun Forest Yarn Puzzl-KnitKronborg Cowl: Boats, water, palace

When I got this yarn I remembered that I had bought six skeins/colors of Clun Forest yarn when it first came out. I had a specific plan for the yarn I had purchased, which I still intend to pursue, but this project really got me thinking about the yarn I had. Sadly/Happily, I had another thing going in my head (yes, it is often crowded and busy in there!) that I think will be a great way to use this yarn. Eureka! Get the Newsletter for details!

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Businesses Tagged With: band, blocked, button collage, Club Forest, cowl, design, design feature, Elsinor, Eureka, gauge, Hamlet, knitting, Kronborg, measure, moebius, pattern, quick and dirty, rib and welt diagonal, Sheepspot, swatch, yarn, yarn club

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