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.

y
e you crazy!)
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. (In
fact, this happens in every repeat, which is wh
putting 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.