The Rhubarb Crumble Cowl Knitting Pattern

I love baking crumbles. They’re quick and easy, they’re almost impossible to screw up, and the crisp topping is a delightful exercise in texture. A lot of people use peach or apple, but sometimes that gets a little overpoweringly sweet. The slight tartness of rhubarb contrasted with the sweet, crackly topping hits all the right flavor notes for me.

Arrow

This cowl has lots of texture, from small seed stitch pebbles to large bobbles to little eyelet holes, that is meant to mimic the topping of a good crumble. What’s more, the pattern is easy to memorize, just like a good crumble topping recipe. Because this is knit in a DK yarn and takes just one skein, it also works up quickly and makes for good gift-knitting.

Size

The finished cowl is 9” (23 cm) wide by 10.5” (27 cm) tall.

Material

You'll need 220-250 yd (202-229 m) of DK weight yarn.  A note about yardage: the sample used 213 yd, and many DK skeins have 220 yd. If you find yourself a smidge short, skip working the very last round and just bind off instead. Nobody will notice. I knit my sample in Onyx Fiber Arts Sophia Hand-Dyed Semi-Solid on DK-weight base, 100% Superwash Merino, 250 yd (229 m), 115 grams.

Gauge and Needles

4” (10 cm) square = 15 stitches and 30 rows in seed stitch after blocking. You'll need one set of needles for your preferred style of circular knitting in a size to match gauge listed above. The suggested needle size is US 6 (4.0 mm).

Tools

You'll need one stitch marker for end of round, plus five optional markers between pattern segments, a Size G (4.5 mm) crochet hook (optional), and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

Techniques

This pattern is written for intermediate knitters. It is knit in the round, and uses bobbles, increases, and decreases.

Curious to learn more about knitting or to dig deeper into the Rhubarb Cowl? Click on through for tutorials, free patterns, technique tips, and more.

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