Working on it.........Claire's Cowl in Crochet

Just FYI for those folks asking for a crochet translation of the knitted Claire cowl pattern. I'm working on it.............pics and a pattern coming soon, I hope.....

Claire Starz Outlander Sassenach Shrug Free Pattern

Here is my interpretation of the shrug that Claire was wearing when she met Geillis in episode 2. Hers was in variegated browns, but I had this wonderful blue/green mix which I found was perfect.

Yarn: Berroco Peruvia Colors, 1 skein
Needle: 9 mm / Size 13 (Worked flat but on circular 29 inch needles)

The one skein of Berroco Peruvia Colors was JUST enough to make this shrug at these dimensions. Keep in mind this yarn which is not springy on its own, is knitted with fairly large needles, and therefore allows for stretch and give.

Finished dimensions: Approx 10 inches tall, 33 inches long

THE PATTERN:

Cast on 83 stitches. (I used long tail method)
Knit 47 rows.
Bind off (I did the basic bind off, loosely)
Fold in half lengthwise.
Make armholes. For me, that was about 7 inches of seaming for each arm. I used a simple whip stitch.
Weave in ends.
Go pick some fresh herbs from the potager garden.

If I were to knit this again, I think I’d spring for the 2nd skein and make it longer down the back by knitting another 10 rows or so. The arms would be bigger as well, which I don't really need, but that would be an overall result. 

Can be worn as a makeshift cowl if you put one arm inside the other.

The knitty gritty: I had quite a few false starts with this pattern. I knew it was simple enough in construction - garter stitch, worked flat, seamed armholes. I estimated the gauge but when I knitted it up, it just didn’t look right. Three types of yarn, a variety of needle sizes, and a headache later, I realized it was the YARN. I believe this shrug resembles Claire’s best when a heavy-worsted 1-ply roving/yarn is used. The stitches are clear. There are no ‘ply shadows’. I learned a lot from this project.

If you have any questions or comments please let me know! :)

Listed on Ravelry as well.

Sassenach Claire Starz Outlander Cowl Free Pattern

I have tried to duplicate the cowl we see Claire wearing in the promo pics for Starz’s “Outlander” series.

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick, 2 skeins (color shown is Barley)
Needles: 25mm / US 50 (i worked this up on my straights which are 13 inches long but you can certainly work this flat on circulars as well)

Gauge: 1 stitch and 1.5 rows = 1 inch in garter

This yarn is super bulky/6 and two strands are held together for this pattern. I have found tucking the left needle between my side and left elbow is helpful when working the stitches.

Took me a while to figure out the dimensions. I either made it too big or too small, wasn’t sure if it should be long enough to allow for it to be twisted and doubled up. I’m still not sure if there is some shaping on her cowl, but, in the end, this is what I came up with:

( My pattern is not twisted/doubled. You just slip it over your noggin and go about your business.)

PATTERN: (also listed on Ravelry if you want to queue)

WITH TWO STRANDS HELD TOGETHER

Cast on 17 stitches. i used long tail method. leave yourself a 60-inch tail and you should be fine.

Knit every row. i knitted with a relaxed tension. not tight, not sloppy. this yarn on these huge needles give it lovely drape.

Knit until you’ve got around 26-27 inches of fabric, which for me was around 40 rows or so.

Bind off - strive for your cast-on edge to match your bind-off edge, if you can. you will be seaming them together and it will look better if they have the same tension.

By the way, i think its easier to weave in your cast-on tail now, before seaming.

Leave yourself a good 40 inches or so on your bind-off tail to seam the two ends together. This video might be helpful

:)

If you have any questions or comments please let me know!