I’ve been thinking about winter this past week. I’m not sure why, as it hasn’t been that cold, but I’ve been making plans for staying warm. I bought a new hat, for example, and it has ear flaps. I also knit this cape-cowl, out of Kidsilk Haze Trio from the stash:You might remember that I made a sweater of this yarn a while back. This cowl was made from two of the leftover balls of wool. It’s light and warm, nestles over my shoulders and rises in squishy goodness to cuddle under my chin.

The pattern is called Storm on Exmoor and it’s free. (That’s a Rav link.) The designer suggests wearing the capelet as a topper outside a coat on a chilly day, but I wanted a big cowl to wear inside my coat, to keep my throat and chest warm. (This may be a Canadian vs. a UK perspective.) I modified the pattern a bit, working the body in stockinette stitch instead of garter, the hem in garter instead of ribbing, and continued the cowl until I ran out of yarn. I figured stockinette stitch will sit flatter inside my coat than garter stitch would and I wanted the neck as high as possible.

I just love how this came out, and how warm it is. I can knot a scarf over or under the neckline, or just wear it as it is. It’ll be just the thing this winter.

Plus the pattern is really nice, a quick and easy knit with room for variation. I may be making more of these for Christmas presents, in different yarns.

How do you plan to stay warm this winter?