Patternum Novum: Luna Viridis

I've been a little bit obsessed with this idea of creating a cowl like a shawl lately. First of all, knitting in the round often eliminates some of those pesky purl rows. Also, I have to say that (for me anyway), this is quite possibly my favorite way to wear a neck accessory. I've always been a fan of a small shawlette worn around the neck like a scarf, but will admit that I get really irritated when the ends come untied and unwrapped and really irritated when the thing falls off. Making some adjustments and knitting the shawlette in the round? Totally fixes all of that. Enter Luna Viridis.

Luna Viridis - $5 via Ravelry (no account required)


Luna Viridis is actually a collaboration between Jackie of Luna Grey Fiber Arts and myself. She provided the yarn (her Celeste base in the absolutely stunning Viridian colorway), and I did the knitting. And you can now get both as a kit in the Luna Grey shop. AND, until 28 February, you can get said kit for 10% off with the coupon code "Yarniad". Cool, right?

So how exactly does the shawlette-knit-in-the-round thing work? Well, Luna Viridis starts out as a semi-circular shawl would, with a garter tab cast on and evenly spaced increase rows (think Citron). But when it reaches the right length, the two ends are joined and the piece is worked in the round to the end. (It's super simple, I promise.) Luna Viridis features a deeply textured stitch pattern that resembles little green crescent moons encircling the whole piece (from which the name came -- Luna Viridis means green moon in Latin).

And taking just a single skein of special sock yarn, it knits up quickly and -- if I do say so myself -- is pretty fun, too.

The specs...

Finished measurements: 19”/ 48.5 cm circumference at top opening; 15.5”/ 39.5 cm height at center

Yarn: Luna Grey Fiber Arts Celeste (100% Merino); 400 yds/ 366 m per 100g); 1 skein in Viridian;
Or 400 yds/ 366m of a fingering weight yarn

Needles: US 6 (4 mm) circular needle, 16-24”/ 40-60 cm long

Gauge: 24 sts & 28 rows = 4”/ 10 cm in Stockinette Stitch; 24 sts & 42 rows = 4”/ 10 cm in Lunar Crescent patterns; 22 sts & 42 rows = 4"/ 10 cm in Garter Stitch

For more information on Luna Viridis, you can check it out on Ravelry here.