Kind of super extremely all the big adjective words for excited levels of excited to bring you the Checkmate Cowl - Free Knitting Pattern designed by Lauren of Mother of Purl in collaboration with Natalie of Detroit Knots, myself and Mary Maxim Yarns.

Ever meet somebody and you just KNOW you want to work with them but also know you have nothing on your schedule that is a great fit? That was me when I first met Lauren of Mother of Purl last June in Chicago. Then, in preparing for Stitch Up Chicago 2023 we had a chance to collaborate on this set of cowls and man was it a dream. Plus we kinda crushed it!

Read all about the collab here and keep reading on down for the free pattern.

Lauren started off knitting the pattern while Natalie of Detroit Knots was near done with the Tunisian version and I was still waiting for my yarn to arrive for the crochet version. UPS was not my friend this year and Mary Maxim actually had to ship the yarn to me THREE times before it arrived! Anyways… Lauren was swatching away and sharing and I was getting pretty pumped thinking.. oh yeah.. we are on to something here.

Then Lauren did a total 180 and changed their colors and it was like BAM! They went from awesome to AWESOME in a minute! What I love most about Lauren’s cowl is the way they did the colorwork. It is not just blocked like a chess board. It has detail and intricacies throughout.

Yep - Nailed it! And do not be afraid if you are new to colorwork - you CAN make this!!! So read on for the pattern and make a cowl.

The wonderful sponsors of Stitch Up Chicago stepped up for us and thank you to Knit Picks for providing the needle sets for this designs and to Mary Maxim for providing this incredible yarn. I know I speak for all 3 of us when I say Mellowspun DK is a SOLID choice DK!

MATERIALS
Mary Maxim Mellow Spun DK
COLOR A: Sand / 1 Skein / 284 yards
COLOR B: Paprika/ 1 Skein / 284 yards
US 5 / 3.75mm 16” circular needle or size to achieve gauge
Darning Needle to weave in ends
Tape Measure to check gauge

ABBREVIATIONS:
k - knit
sl – slip stitch

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner
GAUGE: 4 stitches per inch (unblocked)

PATTERN NOTES:

Finished circumference sizes: Child/XS – 14.5”; S/M – 18”; L/XL – 21.5”

In this pattern, stitches are always slipped with the yarn in the back of your work.

INSTRUCTIONS

Cast on 56 (70, 84) stitches with color a, place stitch marker and join in the round without twisting.

^After casting on the correct number of stitches for your size as indicated above, you will knit in the chessboard pattern twice, for a visual total of four horizontal lines. If you want to extend the length of your cowl, repeat the pattern rows ending at either row 18 or 32.

Chess Board Pattern:

Repeat from * to * around

Row 1: with a, knit

Row 2: with a, purl

Row 3: with b, *k7 (sl, k1) 3 times, sl1 *

Row 4 and all other even rows: purl with the color you just used, slipping the opposite color’s stitches with yarn in back.

Row 5: with a, *(sl, k1) 3 times, sl 1, k7* 

Row 7:  with b, *k7 (sl, k1) 3 times, sl1 *

Row 9: with a, *(sl, k1) 3 times, sl 1, k7* 

Row 11: with b, *k7 (sl, k1) 3 times, sl1 *

Row 13: with a, *(sl, k1) 3 times, sl 1, k7* 

Row 15: with b, k7 (sl, k1) 3 times, sl1 *

Row 17: with a, knitRow 18: with a, purl

Row 19: with b, * (sl 1, k1) 3 times, sl1, k7 *

Row 21: with a, *k7 (sl1, k1) 3 times, sl*

Row 23: with b, * (sl 1, k1) 3 times, sl1, k7 *

Row 25: with a, *k7 (sl1, k1) 3 times, sl*

Row 27: with b, * (sl 1, k1) 3 times, sl1, k7 *

Row 29: with a, *k7 (sl1, k1) 3 times, sl*

Row 31: with b, * (sl 1, k1) 3 times, sl1, k7 *

Row 32: see row 4

Repeat Rows 1-32 twice.

Cast off using color a.

Using needle, weave in tails.