Tinsel Yarn Review and Cowl Pattern

Another yarn from my Mystery Yarn Unboxing was the King Cole Tinsel yarn. At first glance I couldn't think of an easy way to use this yarn, it screams holidays and glam nights out, but its now just after Easter....

Lightweight neck accessories are definitely a 'thing' with me right now. Ditching winter coats and jackets I'm now looking for a lighter version of my snuggly warm cowl, shawls and scarves as I leave the house.

Weight: Chunky

Suggested Needle/Hook Size: 6mm

Colour: 3470 Circus

50g / 70m

75% Polyester, 25% Lurex

Price: £3.29

Available from Penguin's Attic Yarns

Yes this really is tinsel in a ball!

After a brief experiment with a crochet hook I quickly realised that it will be next to impossible to crochet with this yarn, particularly with the black thread base.

I knew that I wanted to try for a small infinity scarf, with an open weave pattern. Something simple and lightweight that showed off the glitz of the yarn without demanding attention on the actual stitches themselves.

First a quick experiment with plain knit and purl stitches. It's much easier to see where the stitches are on the needles. The yarn feels a little odd at first, a tiny thin centre with the fluffy tinsel 'spines' takes a while to get used to. It's not a spikey as I was expecting at first. While not baby soft when it has become fabric its actually a pleasant feeling against your skin.

That went well so now onto my open work infinity scarf/cowl....

I'm using a very simple knitted band with longer drop stitches between to give a longer length to the scarf while staying within the limits of a single ball of yarn. If you struggle to see the dropped stitches holding the piece up to a white light or window will show through making it easier to see what's what. I advise counting after the dropped stitch section to make sure there aren't any extra stitches.

It's very difficult to capture the truly sparkly nature of this yarn in a photo. In fact when my daughter came in and saw me knitting it up "OMG that's amazing!". Not a standard reaction from a teen at all. Her next question was "Can you make me some scrunchies in that?"

Well not right now I can't as I've just used up the entire ball of yarn making a cowl.... but maybe I can get some more to make you some hair accessories.

Circumference: 32"/ 81.5cm

Depth: 7"/ 18.5cm

k knit

k1 with 3 wraps insert right needle as if to knit, wind the yarn around the right needle 3

times before working the knit st, pulling all three wraps through the stitch

drop wraps drop/unravel all extra 2 wraps from the previous row

st(s) stitch(es)

Cast on 20 sts

Rows 1 - 4: k all
 Row 5: *k1 with 3 wraps; repeat from * to end
 Row 6: k1, drop wraps; repeat * to end

Repeat rows 1 - 6 until you run out of yarn ending with a row 4.

Cast off and sew the ends together to create a cowl, or if using more than 1 ball of yarn an infinity scarf.