I was reborn a knitter when I started knitting long mufflers in Orissa. My job was all about travelling through the green countryside, 6 to 10 hours on an average day. I quickly ran out of options to pass these hours on the road…reading was not for bumpy roads, chatting was not for the silent driver, staring at the road was not for interminable landscapes..and so, knitting arrived, with long garter mufflers in bright colours, which went directly to the daughters ensconced in their Ranikhet school.
The knitting bug took me to online blogs and I chanced upon cowls or infinity scarves. There were cowl patterns galore, and there were cowl fans galore! I just had to knit up one cowl, wear it through a Delhi winter, and I was hooked. This no-fuss, free wrapping, fluidly warm neck garment was just right for me
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The best part? I couldn’t misplace it, since it was looped around me!
8 years ago, when I finally settled down in Ranikhet, I just had to say the word, “Cowl”, and there would be a glassy, vacant stare in the eyes of the local knitters.The word was strange, the concept of wearing a loop was even stranger, and then, knitting in the round( on circular needles) was the ultimate strangeness that had arrived on the knitting scene!
I moved from convincing the ladies to try circular needles ( that was easy), to teaching them the concept of knitting in one direction only ( no right and reverse side), and then persuading them to just try wearing a cowl. There were plenty of funny moments, but now, there are 16 knitters who wear cowls with their winter saris and salwars, who knit blithely in the round, and who are so good at knitting up new patterns and dimensions.
From flummoxed customers staring strangely at these loops, we now have a dedicated customer base, who will not come out on winter days without their cowl wrapped around their necks and head. Women on evening walks, ladies at the club, and shoppers at Sadar bazaar— many of them prefer cowls and coats to shawls and mufflers!
At needlestosaymore, we knit a wide range of cowls, from bright combinations in sturdy acrylic yarns, to soft pure-wool textures. The fact that cowls are one of our best sellers, in a place which had no idea about these garments some years ago, fills me with satisfaction and pride.
Personally, only cowls can keep me warm through our long and cold winters. After gaining some cowl wisdom on this website, my wardrobe contains all three types of cowls—the mega cowl, the cowl-cowl and the under cowl.
Every winter sees the addition of yet another cowl to my collection…I had started with this one, still a huge favourite, and last winter was all about churning out three of these brilliantly beautiful cowls.
In the meantime, we are displaying a range of cowls in the online shop. Do have a look, and you may want to bookmark or buy a few of them for the times when winter winds blow away the current corona climate, when the season of cheer and chill comes visiting, when the next solstice, the shortest day, is on us.
