Snuggly, warm, and visually intriguing, the two-color Stratification Cowl is knitted in the round in one piece. The design features stacked layers of simple colorwork stripes, beading, dropped yarn overs, and two-color Garter stitch and is easily customizable. If you’re new to any of these techniques, the Stratification Cowl offers a satisfying introduction to both multicolor knitting and embellishing your knitted work with beads, and the pattern is still engaging enough for more advanced knitters.

This cowl is knitted in the round in one piece. Throughout the design, there are several areas that include beading. While this design can be knitted without beads, I encourage you to add them for full impact. The sample shown here used size 6/0 beads (4mm x 3mm with a hole size of 1.3mm), which is workable but can be a tight fit. You may wish to use a slightly larger bead with a slightly larger hole. You’ll need 360 beads total. The pattern includes beading tips and instructions for using the crochet hook method to add beads to your cowl.

You can increase or decrease the circumference of the cowl by adding or subtracting cast-on stitches in multiples of 2. Be sure to check your gauge against mine to ensure that you have enough yarn to complete the pattern.

The sample shown here used two skeins of Expression Fiber Arts North DK (one skein each of Soundless and Eagle River – 100 g skeins, 264 yards/skein).
Actual Yardage Used:

• C1: Eagle River: 175 yds/160 m
• C2: Soundless: 165 yds/151 m
• Total Yardage Used: 340 yds/311 m

Any other DK-weight yarn can be substituted and is appropriate for this project.