Adventures In The Hood

I like hoods.  Not the hoods you find on your average coat or sweatshirt…I mean, I like those hoods just fine, functionally speaking.  But what really catches my imagination is the more fantasy-style hoods; elven, medieval, Robin of the Hood’s merry men-style hoods.  Some examples below:

Now, I can’t make myself actually make or buy this particular style, because it’s just so impractical.  But I do love a hood, especially with a scarf or cowl attached.  And occasionally, a little pointy bit at the top of the hood.  To that end, I’ve knit myself a pattern called Arctic Chill.  You can buy the pattern off Ravelry here. The designer has a number of hood/scarf/cowl combinations that run along these lines, and you can find her page here.

I know, some would say it’s nuts to be knitting woolen hats in the heart of summer.  And yes, when it’s 90° and I’m sweating with a pile of wool on my lap, I do occasionally question my life choices.  But, if you want to wear it in the winter, be it hat or shawl or sweater or a fantastic custom-fitted pair of socks, you have to have it finished before winter starts.  Which often means knitting in the summer.  It’s a burden we knitters must bear.

Now, on to the specific hooded cowl I’ve made:  I used stash yarn (always a personal triumph), Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in the Coal colorway (okay, it’s black).  A couple features of this pattern made me pick it over other patterns.  First, the hood itself is crossed over at the front neck, meaning it tightens just a bit about the face and therefore is unlikely to blow off your head on a windy day.  And second, it has a double cowl…one to drape over your shoulders and a second one snugged up around your neck under the hood.  Absolutely toasty warm, no matter the weather.  In fact, I think it might rival my balaclava (I have written up a pattern for that here, if anyone is interested) for wooly warmth in frigid weather.

You start with the hood…essentially knitting a rectangle in stockinette stitch, with a bit of shaping at the top of the head.  Then you cast off, stitch up the back, and then overlap the front edges while you are picking up stitches to knit downward for the outer cowl which drapes over the shoulders.  The outer cowl is pretty standard.  Then you pick up again inside the hood right along the same stitches where you picked up for the outer cowl, and knit the inner cowl.  Easy peasy.

This pattern does have options…you can knit it without the inner cowl if you wish (I did not wish).  And both the outer cowl and the inner cowl have two different styles to choose from.  Whichever option you choose, you will want to make your cowl bindoff stretchy, especially the inner cowl bindoff.  And for this, there’s nothing better than the delightfully named Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bindoff.  I recommend Cat Bordhi’s YouTube video tutorial on the technique.

Since this is knit in bulky weight yarn, it knits up quite quickly.  If you start now, you won’t have any problem getting it finished in time for winter.  Or for a Christmas present, if you have someone on your gift list who is knit-worthy.  (Brother, you are still not knit-worthy.  You know what you did…)