Details

Pattern:

Little Gemstones Cowl by Claire Slade

Yarn:

Background colour: Cookston Crafts Alpaca Merino Nylon 4 ply (55% merino, 25% alpaca and 20% nylon) in the colour Crathie.

Gemstone colours:  Iolair Yarn Luing 4 ply minis bundle of teals and pinks.  (70% alpaca,  20% silk, 10% cashmere)

Cost:

Pattern:  £5.50

Yarn: This is harder to quantify partly because I forgot to weigh what I used.  The background was leftover from some socks (that shrank…don’t use that yarn for socks!!).  I bought the yarn 6 years ago and was only £18 for 100g. 

The mini bundle cost £30 for 5 x 20g minis…but that is the cashmere pushing it up in price (and softness).  I have enough leftover to make another smaller cowl though.

Timeline:

Started – 3rd September 2025

Finished – 2nd November 2025

Link to Ravelry Page

Pattern summary

Many of you will know I already knitted the Little Gemstones Shawl, which obviously I enjoyed enough to purchase the cowl version too. 

On the 6th row of Gemstones I got a bit too confident in the pattern and thought I could stop counting…I then lost a stitch somewhere in one section. Hopefully it wasn’t a dropped one and this thing starts unravelling. 🤞

Unfortunately when it was finished I realised it is way too wide to actually be of any practical use…it is more decorative.  However, with lots of yarn still left over I have cast on another one, this time only 4 Gemstones per row instead of 6.  Then I can wear them together and it will look like its been wrapped around twice!

Like when I did the Gemstones shawl, I adapted the pattern to use German Short Rows (GSR) instead of wrap and turns.  I am not sure which gives a neater finish, but GSR are quicker and easier for me. 

Yarn Summary

Both yarns are nice to knit with.  The Gemstones have a little sheen to them from the silk in the minis, which works out well against the background.  The Crathie colourway basically has tiny flecks of all the colours in the minis so it couldn’t have been more perfect.  Many people have used just plain white or other plain colours, I like the softer look you get from there being some flecks in the background. 

Photo Gallery

I have not blocked it yet.