Introducing the Tsunami Cowl – our latest knitting pattern

Suzie Blackman
Thursday, 18 April 2019

Our latest knitting pattern is cosy cowl designed especially for variegated hand dyed yarn.

Tsunami Cowl knitting pattern

This is our first design for our super-chunky Phlump Merino yarn, showcasing our striking shade of the same name.

Tsunami Cowl is a one-skein project worked on 10mm needles, making it a quick and satisfying knit. I am a big fan of cowls for keeping cold winds at bay without ends that become untucked or caught in doors, and this cowl is as cosy as they come.

Both the shade and the garment are inspired by Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic painting The Great Wave off Kanagawa (c. 1829–1833).

Katsushika Hokusai ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ (c. 1829–1833)

Phlump Merino Sparkle hand dyed in 'Tsunami'

Phlump Merino Sparkle in ‘Tsunami’

Personally, I love working with variegated yarn, I am happy to embrace the serendipitous ‘pooling’ and ‘flashing’ of colour, but I know that’s not for everyone. Many folks find it hard to visualise how a finished object might look, and many beautiful hand-dyed skeins languish unused in stashes as a result.

This design uses the shade’s bold colour changes to emphasise the angular chevron pattern. Every second row is worked straight (without shaping), which breaks up pools of colour.

Tsunami Cowl knitting pattern by Suzie Blackman

The basic garter chevron motif is no doubt one you’re familiar with, but the star of the show is clever short row shaping that creates a seamless transition between the straight edge and zigzag, which gives the garment an extra level of finesse. The short row technique and stitch pattern could easily be applied to other projects, like blankets and fingerless mittens.

The Tsunami Cowl pattern is available as a PDF download for 6 USD from Ravelry. We have Phlump Merino yarn in stock in the shade and Tsunami Sparkle, but I think it would also look amazing in our colourway. We also have a few pairs of Addi Olivewood 10mm circular needles that we sourced especially for the yarn.

I’ll leave you with a few of the stunning projects from our amazing test knitters.

Knittinwithkitten's Tsunami Cowl in 'Lollipop' Phlump Merino

Knittinwithkitten’s Tsunami Cowl in ‘Lollipop’ Phlump Merino

Candyliongirl's Tsunami Cowl in 'Shinjuku' Phlump Merino

Candyliongirl’s Tsunami Cowl in ‘Shinjuku’ Phlump Merino

Saski's Tsunami Cowl in 'Tsunami' Phlump Merino

Saski’s Tsunami Cowl in ‘Tsunami’ Phlump Merino

Lollyball's Tsunami Cowl in 'Pink Tsunami' Phlump Merino

Lollyball’s Tsunami Cowl in ‘Pink Tsunami’ Phlump Merino

The author

Suzie Blackman

The dyer, designer, photographer, creative technologist and maker-of-things behind It's a Stitch Up. She lives in East London in a home filled with colour, fluff and house plants.

Add a comment

We want this to be a safe and welcoming space for everyone regardless of gender, heritage, (dis)ability, sexual orientation, body shape/size or other identity. By commenting here you agree to follow our Code of Conduct. Comments are moderated.

Required fields are marked *

Your email will be kept private

More posts...