The Leafy Origami Cowl is a 2-color brioche cowl, knit in the round from the bottom up. It features a stitch pattern that falls into mountain and valley folds, just like origami. The result is a delightfully three dimensional fabric. It’s knit with 2 colors of worsted weight yarn; I used Malabrigo Rios.
The beginning of the round moves forward and backward on several rounds to keep the center vein of the first leaf as the first stitch of the round, making this a challenging brioche pattern. The results are worth it! I’ve made several video tutorials to guide you through the increases, decreases, and moving the markers. The stitch pattern is adapted from the Under Dutch Skies stitch pattern in Nancy Marchant’s book, Knitting Fresh Brioche.
This pattern is available through Ravelry and through Payhip for 10% off through December 16, 2020 with coupon code FOLDS. Newsletter subscribers, see your special offer in your inbox.
Thanks to tech editor Meaghan Schmaltz, and test knitters Ann Berg, Debbie Braden, Elizabeth Forester, and Wendy Sakai.
I hope you enjoy knitting this as much as I did! Four cowls later, I’m still smitten. You know I love leaves, and you know I love brioche. This is a perfect combo for me.
This is my last pattern release for the year. 2020 has been strange, but ultimately productive. Hunkering down and knitting has had some benefits. I hope you’re making the best of 2020, too. Carry on…
PDXKnitterati 
you are a cute creature ! 😀
I say that from the grand heights of { fill in at will } years more than you have.
It’s a lovely cowl, Michele: you’re right to be smitten with it.
Thank you! I love this cowl. I love the orange one more than I thought; it’s a great color on me, at least in the pictures. But I’m giving it to a friend today.
Picture me, in my back yard, taking picture after picture of myself, cycling through 6 cowls. My neighbors must think I’m nuts. I put on makeup and wore it for 30 minutes!
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Pissed meself at the thought of all that prep. ! As for the neighbours, you may well be their occasional real entertainment, these days ! 😀
I have to plan ahead! Need a non-rainy day, hair, makeup, GO! But then take the makeup off so that when I put a mask on to go to the grocery store, it doesn’t wreck my mask…juggle juggle juggle…giggle!
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Lovely pattern! You are on a roll with your patterns this year 🙂
Thank you! It’s been a good year for design, and a great year for teaching. Even though it was a dumpster fire of a year! Still thinking about that ornament that you knit, but I can’t do anything this weekend except teach and think about teaching. And then I have to do the Shutterfly family calendar and new year’s cards. Notice I don’t do Hanukkah/Christmas cards…too much time pressure! And new year’s cards mean that as long as I get them out by Chinese New Year, I’m on time!
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Although it has been mostly a terrible year, there have definitely been bright spots. New Year cards is a great idea! My routine with Christmas cards is to get them out on Thanksgiving weekend. I’m hanging around that weekend anyway and that’s when I decorate, so it makes sense for me. Also because if I didn’t do it then, I’d be doing New Year cards too 🙂
I started doing New Year’s cards many years ago, because we usually go to Hawaii in December, and that’s when I can get a group photo with the kids. It makes it too late for Hanukkah, and too rushed for Christmas. No Hawaii this year, but I’m sticking with New Year’s cards. One year I got them out by Chinese New Year…in February!
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