My first visit to Ireland inspired the Aisling Cowl pattern (it’s pronounced ash-lin and means “dream” or “vision”).

This pattern was written to offer lots of flexibility in yarn size, circumference, and height.

The Aisling Cowl is written for four different gauges, so you can use a wide range of yarn weights: fingering, DK / light worsted, worsted, and Aran.

Gauge:
Fingering: 28 stitches per 4”
DK/lt worsted: 24 stitches per 4”
Worsted: 20 stitches per 4”
Aran: 16 stitches per 4”

If your gauge with the yarn you have chosen doesn’t match these, don’t worry—just choose the pattern with the closest gauge.

You need two colors of yarn. The most important consideration is that there be enough value (dark/light) contrast between them so that the motif shows up.

Yarn quantities needed:
Fingering: ~300 yards each color
DK/ lt worsted: ~ 225 yards each color
Worsted: ~150 yards each color
Aran: ~100 yards each color

The pattern offers options for how tall you would like to make your cowl. You can also change its circumference simply by adding stitches in multiples of 18 stitches.

Samples shown:
The blue cowl was knit with Stolen Stitches Blasta, 60% fine Irish wool, 40% New Zealand wool. 232 yds/100g at 20 st/4”; colors Speir and Gual. It is 8” tall (stop point: the second C). It used just shy of 50g of each color.

The olivey brown and cream cowl was knit with Studio Donegal Soft Donegal, 100% Merino wool. 210 yds/100g at 20 sts/4”; colors #5507 and #5502. It is 6.5” tall (stop point: the first B). It used 41g of each color.

The Aisling Cowl features an innovative corrugated ribbing that won’t curl and that feeds into the body of the cowl without needing to change needle size or stitch count.

The motif is from Celtic Charted Motifs by Co Spinhoven, a treasure trove of patterns.