Work with yarn held doubled-- a chunky weight yarn could also be used (but highly recommend swatching first).

A type of seaweed, rockweed or bladder wrack is found in masses along the rocky coast of Maine. When I found the stitch pattern “Lace Ribbon Stitch” in Barbara Walker’s 2nd Treasury of Knitting Patterns, its waves and and eyelets reminded me, not of lace or ribbons, but of clumps of rockweed.

And although it is classified as a “brown” algae, the rockweed I’ve seen displays a wide range of hues, from olive to pistachio to gold to brown—a color spectrum captured almost perfectly by Madelinetosh colorway “Filigree.”

I modified the stitch pattern by removing the columns of faggoting, making the fabric warmer and denser (yet leaving the appearance of the stitch pattern almost unchanged). Yarn is held double for this cowl, which is worked in the round, with self-finished edges—all of which means that Rockweed is a quick project, perfect for a gift or for travel knitting. The pattern is also available as part of a three-cowl pattern booklet, the MacMahan Collection, for $7.

Directions for working the stitch pattern are given in both written and chart form.

Finished Size: 16 ½“/42 cm circumference. Height of cowl is approximately 5 ½”/14 cm.

Materials: Yarn Madelinetosh Tosh DK, 100% superwash merino wool, 225 yds (206 m)/100 g skein, color Filigree, 1 skein. Needles: US size 9/5.5 mm: 16” circular. Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge. Notions: Marker, tapestry needle.

Gauge: Approx 19 sts/20 rows to 4”/10 cm in pattern st. Measure gauge on blocked swatch.