Othello Cowl by Amanda Schwabe

Othello Cowl

Knitting
November 2025
Super Bulky (5-6 wpi) ?
10 stitches and 20 rows = 4 inches
in Bubble Stitch pattern
US 11 - 8.0 mm
78 - 90 yards (71 - 82 m)
19.5" neck circumference, unstretched
English
This pattern is available for free.

The Othello Cowl pattern is made for almost-instant gratification. With one skein of bulky yarn, you can knit one cowl in one day!

I used the lusciously soft, bulky wool from Canadian yarn company Koigu for a warm, next-to-skin treat that keeps the neck and chest warm and fits inside a winter coat or light jacket.

The Othello Cowl features a folded top hem for a polished edge with stretch. It’s knit from the top down in the round, then it’s divided into a triangular kerchief-style piece of flat knitting to flow over your shoulders and provide extra warmth at the front where coats tend to gape.

It has I-cord edges made with a little trick to keep them from becoming too tight.

The bubble stitch pattern does a few things:

it’s great for enhancing variegated yarn colours
it looks amazing and textural using solids and tonal yarns
it adds texture and air pockets for warmth
it makes the knitting fun and interesting!

Knit a few of these one-skein cowls for quick gift knitting.

You can knit a cotton version of it using Loopy Mango Big Cotton yarns, too!

Any bulky yarn with a knitted gauge of about 3 sts per inch will work. Look for ball bands that say 100 g = 95 yds / 86 m, or 50 g = 48 yds / 43 m.

The sample used about 82 grams of Koigu Othello yarn in the Winter Train colourway and was knit using an 8mm / US 11 knitting needle.