By Kathy Hinckley

SPECS:

WPI: 14-16 Beginning gauge: 18 sts x 24 rounds = 4" in stockinette stitch Ending gauge: 22 sts x 28 rounds = 4" in stockinette stitch Finished dimensions: Bottom width around: 29" Top width around: 22" Length: 17"

Here's a pretty smoke ring that takes less than 4 ounces of a yummy merino-tencel blend in your favorite hand-painted colorway. It's soft and warm, and can be worn as a hood, or as a cowl scarf. It's slightly flared at the bottom, but there's no pattern shaping. Here's how the flare is achieved:

First, as you might find in your own handspinning if you're not checking your wraps-per-inch religiously ("Who, me?"), this yarn was spun a little thicker at the beginning of the skein that at the end! In fact, this pattern was developed expressly to take advantage of this otherwise-oops phenomenon. The yarn starts out at about DK weight; by the end of the skein, it's more like light fingering.

Second, to accommodate the changing yarn grist and accentuate the gauge change, the pattern calls for changing to successively smaller needles as the work progresses from bottom to top.

I did this using my new Denise Interchangeable Knitting Needles kit. As the leaflet inside the kit shows, the Denise needles don't exactly match US sizes, or the usual metric sizes. But the difference at these gauges is negligible, so don't worry about which type of needle you use.

Smoke Ring

Lace cowl made with yarn that varies in grist and using increasing needle sizes to achieve a slight flare at the bottom without knitted-in shaping.

Materials: About 3 ounces merino/tencel blend (50%/50%), spun at variable grist, beginning with about a DK weight and ending at about a fingering weight. Needles: Size US8 (5mm) or Denise size 8 (4.9mm) circular needles, 24" Size US7 or Denise size 7 (4.5mm) needles, 24" Size US6 (4.0mm) or Denise size 6 (4.2mm), 16" Size US5 or Denise size 5 (3.75mm) or 3.5mm, 16" or sizes needed to achieve gauge. See note under "Gauge." One stitch marker to mark beginning of round. (This lace pattern is not amenable to placing stitch markers between all pattern repeats.)

Gauge: Not critical, since this is lace which opens up and becomes stretchy; but if your gauge is significantly looser than 5.5 sts/inch at the upper edge, it may be too loose around your face. If you have a very small face, you may want to change needle sizes more often and end with a smaller needle than called for in the pattern. Beginning gauge: 18 sts x 24 rounds = 4" in stockinette stitch Ending gauge: 22 sts x 28 rounds = 4" in stockinette stitch

Finished Dimensions: Bottom width around: 29", Top width around: 22", Length: 17"

Using long-tail cast-on and size US8 (5mm) or Denise size 8 (4.9mm) needles, CO 144. Join, being careful not to twist stitches.

Round 1: Place a marker for the beginning of the round. K. Round 2: P. Round 3: K. Round 4: *P4, p3tog, p5*.

Begin chart. Odd-numbered rounds are pattern rounds, even-numbered rounds are knitted plain and are not charted.

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Note that on pattern rounds 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 and 23, the first stitch of the round is slipped to the end of the round, and the round commences with the next stitch. This is because the round ends with a double decrease; one of the stitches participating in the double decrease is the one slipped. (Infact, this happens in every repeat, which is whputting markers between all repeats isn't suggested; it'll driv

After one pattern repeat, change to size US7 or Denise size 7 (4.5mm) needles. After the second pattern repeat, change to size US6 (4.0mm) or Denise size 6 (4.2mm) needles.

After the third pattern repeat, change to size US5 or Denise size 5 (3.75mm) or 3.5mm needles for the remainder of the work.

Work a fourth pattern repeat, plus a fifth partial repeat through round 6 (a plain round.

Next round: P.

Next round: *K3, sl1 knitwise, k2tog, psso, k4*.

Next round: P.

Next round: K.

BO in purl. Weave in ends. Wash gently. Lay flat to dry, straightening pattern; no need to hard block.