Some Knitting - and a pattern to share!

I have had some time to finish off some knitting projects recently.

Firstly these finger-less mittens:

I used Knitsch Sock Yarn in 'Caboose'.

Sorry but these pictures aren't great:

I developed the pattern myself but I'm not completely happy with how it was made.  I really like the lace pattern so will try to make another pair and then write it up as a pattern.

However I have finally found the 'man-cowl' I made for dear H's birthday recently not being worn so have snapped a quick picture of it...

This isn't a great picture either - and the cowl/scarf has been so well worn that it is pilling like mad.  H has worn it almost constantly in our early spring days.  He's outside all day on the farm and even when on the tractor or other vehicle he is at the mercy of the weather.  I'm very chuffed as it is the first item I've ever knitted for him - and will make a great gift for a few other farming males in our family.

So I now have a 'rough' pattern for this:

I used a 50g ball of 8ply (Double Knit) woolyarn - it was on sale at a local shop and had a very torn label.  I think it has some lambswool in it - perhaps that is why it has pilled easily.
I also knitted with 4mm (US6; UK8) circular needles.  You will need to use the 'magic loop method' but there won't need to be much of a loop if the needle circumference is similar to the cowl size.  In the above picture it is knitted from the bottom up to the top, so there are no joins and you only have to thread in the ends.

My finished cowl is 23"/58cm around (twice the above picture's width).  This means that the tension would be about 16 stitches per 4"/10cm.  You don't need to be exact as this item will stretch with use.

Cast on 90 stitches using the 'Long Tail Cast On' method or another stretchy method.  I like this as it gives an edge similar to a bind off.

Join stitches into a loop then:

Knit 1 row
*Purl 2 rows
Knit 2 rows
Continue from * until desired length has been reached and/or wool is nearly finished.  It is preferable to finish with 1 knit row before binding off.
The cowl needs to be at least 5" (12.5cm) deep, but I advise making it longer if you can, so 75g of  yarn might be more useful.
Bind off using a stretchy method - I did a standard bind off with a larger needle.  Otherwise use a method such as 'Suspended Bind Off'.
Sew in ends and enjoy.

I made a similar cowl for my four year old daughter and know that there is less chance of an end getting caught and pulling on her neck compared to a normal scarf.