Last Minute Variegated Cowl

This morning, thanks to Facebook, I discovered it was my friend Lindsay's birthday. I wanted to make her something special but knew I didn't have much time. I whipped up this cowl on my Brother KH-260 knitting machine - from start to finish it took about an hour.

I had intended to make an infinity scarf that could be wrapped around the neck twice but I thought the striping would be better served by being crossed over the front.  I'm very pleased with the results!

To avoid the dreaded stockinette curl and to save time from having to add a crocheted or hand knit garter border, I used tuck stitch with punch card #1.  I love how the right side looks like a hybrid between stockinette and a rib pattern.  The wrong side looks like a hexagonal waffle pattern.

I used a bulky variegated yarn that I found in my stash.  It didn't have a label, but by feel, it has a similar gauge to Cascade Ecological.  The finished project is a rectangle with the dimensions of 9" by 37".  Once finished, I sewed each short edge to the end of the opposite long edge.

Pattern
Yarn: Bulky weight 
Machine: Brother K-260
Punch Card: #1
Tuck Stitch

1. Do a sample gauge swatch using tuck stitch and punch card #1 to figure out how many stitches you need to cast on to get an edge of 9 inches. (Note: my gauge worked out to 30 stitches using tension level 10) 
2. Cast on 30 stitches (or equivalent for your machine).  Work one row to the left.
3. Set up punch card #1 in tuck stitch (refer to your manual) and move carriage back to the right. Needles should be selected.
4. Work in tuck stitch until the cowl is approximately 37" in length. (I completed 292 rows)
5. Work one row in stockinette then cast off.

Cross one end over the other end (as shown in the picture).  One short edge should be on top of the end of the opposite long edge.  The other short edge will be under the opposite long edge.  Use clips (like my favourite Knit Klips shown in the picture to the right) to hold in place.  Hand stitch the edges together.