A Cowl As Soft As Starlight
- Susanna
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
I've been on a cowl neck kick lately, both with accessories and upcoming sweater designs. After Villikaura in June, here's another cowl pattern for July. This is Soft As Starlight.
Soft As Starlight is a lightweight cowl inspired by the fleeting brilliance of meteor showers. It was designed as a companion piece to Lyrides, using the same yarn and featuring the same delicate lace pattern. This is an almost weightless accessory, perfect for when you want just a whisper of warmth around your neck or a certain je ne sais quois to finish off an outfit. It’s a small and quick project that, nevertheless, feels indulgent to wear.
The cowl is knit seamlessly in the round on short circular needles, beginning at the lower edge and progressing from the bottom up. Twisted ribbing on both ends of the cowl give it structure and frame the delicate lace pattern that forms the center of the design.
The cast-on and bind-off edges are made in a 1×1 rib pattern that flows seamlessly into the lace pattern. You'll want to make both edges very stretchy: I recommend using alternating long-tail cast-on and Lori's Twisty Bind-off, respectively. But you can of course sub your favorite stretchy bind-off method.
The main body of the cowl features two sections of lace, separated by a stretch of plain stockinette. This creates a lovely rhythm in the knitting: something to engage your attention and something to relax into. It also means the cowl is (almost) symmetrical no matter from which end you look at it.
The lace motif itself is fairly simple, yet striking. While the lace pattern is intuitive once established, you do need to keep your wits about you because increases, single and double decreases happen on every round. The haloed silk-mohair yarn creates a light and floaty fabric but it also means ripping back and fixing mistakes can be bit of a challenge. The pattern includes both written and charted instructions for the lace — choose whichever format feels more comfortable to follow.
The pattern is written for three different sizes — small, medium, and large — in both circumference and length. All three sizes create a loose-fitting single loop but if you want a custom fit, the pattern is easy to scale up or down as needed. The lace repeat is worked over a multiple of ten stitches which means you can modify the circumference simply by casting on more (or fewer) stitches. For instance, for a double-length cowl that can be looped over on itself for extra drama I'd suggest doubling or even tripling the number of stitches.
You can also adjust the length as you go. Adding or subtracting lace repeats or extending the plain stockinette rounds between lace sections as needed are easy ways to add more length to the piece. It'll naturally use up more yarn but no complex math is required.
Like the sweater pattern this is an off-shoot from, Soft As Starlight is also knit using a single strand of lace-weight silk mohair. I knit my sample cowl with Garnstudio DROPS Kid-Silk using the leftovers from Lyrides. Just one 25-gram ball is enough for the smallest size but for the two larger sizes you'd need a smidgen from another skein. If you've never worked with silk mohair before, this cowl is a great opportunity to get to know the yarn type in a low-stakes, low-yardage context.
To knit the cowl you'll need:
Small: 210 m or 230 yd
Medium: 265 m or 285 yd
Large: 325 m or 355 yd
Because you won't need a large quantity of yarn which makes this cowl an ideal project for using a precious skein from your stash or splurging on something special. The fuzzy halo adds lightness and softness to the design while still allowing the lace pattern to show through.
Similar yarns to DROPS Kid-Silk include, for instance, Filcolana Tilia, Isager Silk Mohair, Knitting for Olive Soft Silk Mohair, Rowan Kidsilk Haze, or Sandnes Garn Tynn Silk Mohair. They all come in wide arrays of color options to pick from, ranging from unassuming neutrals to bright neons and everything in between.
Color choice can completely affect the mood of the finished piece. I used a cool minty color because that's what I had available but a light color also makes the lace pattern stand out, especially when photographed against a dark backdrop. For something soft and luminous like mine, try working the cowl in a pearl gray, icy blue, or blush pink (top row). These delicate shades highlight the lace without overwhelming it, catching the light in subtle ways and creating a fabric that feels like it’s glowing from within.
If you're drawn to something bolder, consider deep, saturated colors such as inky navy, charcoal black, or a rich plum (bottom row). Slow color-changing gradients would also work but I'd stay away from variegated yarns that would drown out the lace pattern. For something even fancier, do what some of my test knitters did: use a yarn with tiny embedded beads or sparkling paillettes. That'll lend itself perfectly for a design that's inspired by star showers shooting across the the night sky.
The pattern for Soft As Starlight is now available for purchase in my Payhip, LoveCrafts, and Ravelry (seizure warning) pattern shops. The instructions for the lace pattern are provided in both charted and written formats. Sizing and measurements are given in both metric and US units.
If you're on my mailing list, check your email for a coupon code for the pattern! If you're not... why not? You can subscribe here. And I'd love to see your versions out in the wild! Share photos of your cowl on Instagram with the hashtags #softasstarlightcowl and #talviknits.
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