My festival giveaway pattern for 2015. The free download link will be activated after I get back from the Garden State Sheep Breeders’ Festival, Sept 12-13, 2015.

A two-toned nubbly tuck stitch cowl with smooth tubular edges. The colors are worked alternating 2 rows at a time, so no stranded colorwork is necessary.

Techniques include: tubular cast-on/bind-off (provisional cast-on and grafting), knitting in the round, k2tog, k3tog, p2tog, slipping stitches with the yarn in front and the yarn in back, yarn over, m1 purlwise.

I’ve included the big two toned version that uses 2 skeins of sock yarn, and the small version that uses about 1/2 the yarn. I’ve also included an offset version of this particular tuck stitch pattern.

I use fingering weight yarn in order to be able to reverse the colors. If the colors aren’t going to be reversed, two different weight yarns can be used. The thinner yarn for the borders will need about the same yardage as the heavier yarn.

If the tubular edge is unappealing, use your favorite elastic cast-on and cast on the same number of stitches for the bottom border and work in k1p1 ribbing for 4r, and then decrease as written. To work the top border, increase as written and then work in k1p1 ribbing for 4r and then bind off with your favorite elastic bind-off.

I’ve noticed in working this stitch pattern that the doubled yarn will sometimes not want to sit balanced in a little stacked double V. Instead, the left sides of the two stitches will disappear into the back of the fabric and the stitches will look skewed. This can be fixed later by tugging lightly on the left side of the stitches to equalize the tension. Alternately, once the piece is done, the whole piece can be tugged vertically and horizontally until the stitch pattern balances out.