ILONA ANDREWS

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Ranger Cowl: Andrews Edition

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I have finished it! Behold my husband, properly acowled.

Picture of Gordon wearing a cowl.
  • This is what happened when I asked him to model it from the back. You can’t see the rest of him, and that’s for a reason. 🙂

He needs a longbow.

Original pattern is here: Ranger Cowl.

Be aware if you start this pattern that it takes forever. The hood is formed by increasing those ribs and at some point, there is a lot of them. The original pattern uses bulky, this is worsted Malabrigo Rios and it took over 1,000 yards. Also, I had altered the cable, because Gordon likes the traditional cable braid a bit better.

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Comments

    • +1,
      It is very nice looking. Not to mention warm.
      Hum, what a full length one would be worth here tomorrow night. It is supposed to be -32 when I get off work tomorrow night. I don’t want to know what the wind chill will be.

  2. So I’m guessing the idea is this is worn under a jacket, since it doesn’t extend all the way to his waist? The original looked like that, too, but they didn’t show any pictures with it under a jacket, so I wasn’t sure if that was the intent or not.

    How heavy did it end up being? I guess that could depend in part on the type of yard used.

    Does look a pain to create. Hats, er cowls, off to ya.

      • I am glad you are secure enough in your masculinity to have a bow multicolored wool in your soft and comfy panties cowl.

        • Well. Turns out that the strikethrough html doesn’t work here. Please to take a pencil and cross out “a bow” and “panties”.

          Don’t use a pen! You might scroll down eventually.

        • I’m getting older and more forgetful but I have read them all. I just don’t remember that part. Which book was that in? I’m about due for a complete re-read. Thanks.

            • That comment about wool keeping a person warm even when wet (of course, for the sheep, but I had not thought of it, before) is something I have told people and remembered over the years since Kate first went to Mishmar.

          • I already have the Malabrigo worsted merino wool picked out. Now we just need to convince Ilona she has time to knit cowls and write books at the same time. I crochet, but this cowl has inspired me to take a knitting class.

    • Nice work and lovely colorway!

      For non-knitters who are curious about why many knitters don’t sell their work or why a yarn store doesn’t sell their demo samples:
      One of the ways to price up a hand knit is the cost of the materials x 3. Note this is probably not the best way for something like this requiring a lot of hours due to yarn gobbling ribbing as it takes more knit stitches to make the same length as a smooth knit, weave in several ends, and blocked to shape/size.

      WEBs lists Malabrigo Rios at $15.40 /hank with 210 yards * 5 hanks – WEBs quantity discount = $61.60

      $61.60 * 3 = $184.5
      + etsy fees (not accounting for taxes or shipping)

      So, it’d be $200+ for a cowl and that’s a pretty good deal for an item which per hours worked probably doesn’t even meet minimum wage. There are knitters who knit fast, knit on a machine rather than by hand, or don’t count labor costs as they’d be knitting for fun anyhow, but pricing it competitively usually makes sense.

      There’s two audiences who don’t balk at these kinds of prices: knitters/fiber hobbyists and people with large budgets who want to support local artisans. Most knitters would tend to knit it themselves, though, in yarns and colors they favor.

      • I would rather buy handcrafted wool items, as they are a lifetime investment. I might be a little nuts. As I adore handcrafted items out of fabulous fibers.

        Seriously trying to find a knitting class.

  9. So cool! *checks pattern* I need to spin another 600yds of yarn for this. Challenge accepted! *flex*

  14. A hood that is nice and rounded over the back/top of the head! I’ve seen so many that look nice from the front only to fail at the back. Nice colorway in the Rios where you are at worsted must be a more practical choice. I LOVE the Chunky for hats & cowls up here in Michigan and it holds up really well to multiple froggings despite not being superwash.

  15. Wow!!! That is freaking awesome… Ilona has mad skliz! Lol

    Does anyone else think that he looks ready to play Skyrim? Lol

  19. It looks awesome! My ‘learn how to knit’ kit is still sitting on my bookshelf, no cowls for me for a loooong time. I can do a little chain mail, though.

    • Tonight and tomorrow night would be good nights for this. It gets to 70 F today and down to 35 F tonight. 38 F tomorrow night.

        • It would be fine in Florida for this week (we are evidently having winter this week, though not like the poor states to the north, brrr). Its been in the 40’s every morning so far and supposed to continue through Thursday at least. (Back up to 70’s and 80’s by weekend). So he’d get at least a few days (or rather mornings its in the 60’s by the afternoon) of wear, before it gets too hot 🙂

          PS For those of you who aren’t Floridians anything below 50 (or even 60) is “winter weather” here and I’m am really happy to not ever get weather below 0 (with or without negative wind chill factors), which is why I still live here.

  22. You could sell a couple million of those today here in Wisconsin! It’s snowing sideways.

    • Really? Snow comes down other than sideways? Too much wind last night and today… Up to 65 mph winds… ?
      Look, it blew star out of the sky! Lol. ?

  23. I feel we should be seeing him in Game of Thrones when season 8 airs soon – third Archer on the left, on the main tower at Winterfell ?

  25. I’ve always pictured Gordon as a crossbow kind of guy….
    Ilona, what’s the colorway on this gorgeous thing you’ve made? Yesteray I cast on some Rios for the first time ever and am surprised by how splitty it is. It’s a good thing they’re always pretty.

  27. I just found my next knitting project for the winter. Will look great with my gauntlets I knitted this fall!

  28. All Hail Sir Gordon! Looks great in the cowl. Yes to the longbow, but where’s his armor? 😀

    Just in time too since the temperatures are suppose to drop tomorrow.

  31. I would love to have one of these for my husband. But I don’t knit. I last picked up a knitting needle about 40 years ago. And I only know crocheters, not knitters. *sigh* oh, well. There are a lot of things I want and can’t have. Good on you for doing this.

    • I only crochet (tried to knit but I crochet so much faster it wasn’t worth it). Just google the pattern and see if there is one for crochet. (I’ll be doing that myself soon 🙂 Often times patterns are offered in both (or someone wanted to do it badly enough that they translated the knit to crochet).

      I love cables and the way they look like knot work, so I found a crochet book (baby blankets) with cables and just adjust the colors and size as needed when I want that look. (I will say they are patterns you really have to pay attention to and are absolutely more complex. Not for beginners.)

      Good luck

    • I don’t knit either but I made a fake “chain mail” cowl for my son (he was a Templar knight), out of silver lame`. It was fairly light weight. I’ll try to find a picture if you are interested.

  34. It looks very cool, but Gordon needs boots to complete the effect even more than a longbow. The sneakers just don’t convey tough guy menace well enough.

    Does finishing this impressive project mean your hands have recovered from the typing induced damage? You haven’t mentioned how you’re feeling on that front in a while. All better? Mostly better? Somewhat better?

  36. Go Gordon! You are looking just fabulous in today’s finest Aragorn chic.

    Also, your wife loves you 1000 yards of yarn + all that labor.

  37. This is fantastic, Ilona! I can see why it felt endless – that’s a lot of knitting. Now you can reward yourself by casting on something new!

  43. Well done! I really like knitting, but never learned how. Over 30 years ago I crocheted a baby shower for my niece. It is the last thing I ever crocheted. I would like to learn to knit at some point. Right now it’s out of the question because I’m having rotator cuff surgery this week.

  44. Me thinks you guys have been playing too much Assassin’s Creed ?

    Jokes aside, this looks crazy warm and cozy. My hubs has a bunch of balaclavas, this looks right up his alley. I’m gonna go see what amazon has available. Or maybe I’ll find a sewing pattern somewhere. I made something similar for kid2 for his togepi costume a couple years ago, this shouldn’t be too different. Thanks for the idea!

  45. Oh forgot to add, Gordon looks like a handsome assassin (sweats and all), awesome job (and skills), Ilona!!

  49. Actually, Gordon in a cowl made me was think of the mysterious Ranger in the shadows at the Prancing Pony, his pipe eerily highlighting his piercing eyes. Cool!!

    • heh, that was my first thought as well! Looks like Assassin’s Creed 😀

      As I don’t do any knitting or the like, looks especially difficult to me XD

  53. Awesome!! A longbow would add a nice finishing touch, and maybe a quiver too! Beautiful work Ilona, and mucho credit to Gordon for agreeing to modeling it!! My husband, if I asked him, would just laugh and go back to whatever he was doing. ?

  58. That’s badass Ilona. It looks like your husband just stepped out of Assassin’s Creed (minus the shoes of course lol!).

  63. That’s fantastic work, my fingers ache just looking at it. as soon as I finish a big project I am elated for a very short period of time, then it what next?

    • YES!! Here too. The cowl is a stunner but looks like horrendously secretly very long term project. Truly a labor of love

  67. That cowl is freakin’ awesome! It looks a bit like chain mail. And Gordon is a good model for it. He just needs a tunic and surcoat, astride a stallion. It made me think “warrior monk” like a Templar knight on crusade with weary travelers…

    • +1. It does look like chain mail!! The colors are perfect, and you did an awesome job Ilona!! Did you pick these colors to make it look like chain mail? If so, you hit a homerun! We all know what a talented writer you are, now we know what a talented knitter you are as well!

  69. Timing is everything. The first time I saw this I thought uggh! and actually felt a full body shiver of disgust. Before the BDH lynch me let me explain that I live in NZ and we’re in the middle of summer in the middle of a heat wave. Just the thought of wearing wool drove me in horror from the computer to the fridge to find a drink. Having had that drink and turned on all the fans in the house I am now in a position to appreciate this awesome piece of work. Gorgeous cowl. Can’t knit to save myself but others in the family can so I can appreciate how much work went into this. It looks fantastic.

    • Yup, I understand your reaction. Mine might be the same if it was 100° F here. Unfortunately, today’s high is supposed to be -4° with a wind chill of -24°. There’s a wind chill warning up for today through Thursday. Tomorrow’s wind chill is supposed to be -64°. Wish I was in NZ! This is another reason to move to Texas! (Beside my son moving there).

  74. That is the best looking cowl I have ever seen – and you made it! Gordon looks great, and makes a pretty good model too. I agree he should wear it at a con, as long as he doesn’t swelter in it. Also, any of the suggested accessories would be fitting: longbow, crossbow, quarterstaff, sword, dagger, or combination thereof.

  76. Beautifully knitted. I love Malbrigo Rios – I’ve knitted a couple of things in it. Maybe I’ll try it…

  77. Gordon looks great wearing the excellent cowl. The color is perfect, it looks like chain mail. He needs a longbow and a war horse !

    • +1 to the war horse! Maybe a Friesian? (Giggle, snort). Like Kristen Britain’s *Green Rider* series. I was going to say like the one Kate took from Hugh, but perhaps that would be too much.

  78. I love the cables, I knit and I know what goes into those!
    Congrats on a finished project, 1000 yards, I imagine it felt like it would never be done.
    And what a great model too.

  79. Nice! And the model’s not bad either, hee hee!
    Almost makes me want to take up knitting, that looks so cool 😉

  81. That’s a marvelous piece of costumery… and then I realized YOU HAD KNITTED THE WHOLE THING!!! How many lifetimes did you spend doing that? And the yarn would stretch from the Earth to the moon how many times? Beyond impressive.

  83. That anyone can knit is always amazing to me. Then to actually create something, especially like this…..Wow! Love it!

  84. How beautiful! I am super impressed. I’m working on an easy infinity scarf and a harder lace pattern cowl but it’s no where near this hard! (or large…)

  85. The cowl looks lovely, and comfortable. Beautiful work. I bought the pattern, and several others from the same designer that I liked. He has some interesting ones.

    I’ve been looking at Jeff Gillies’ free pattern for Nakia’s Infinity Scarf from Black Panther. I think it’s gorgeous, especially on Lupita Nyong’o, but the pattern looks hard. I doubt I’m up to it yet.

    Right now I’m teaching myself brioche, which is frustrating enough. However, I think I’ve just about got fixing errors in beginner brioche (one color flat) down, but this has been my hardest venture so far. I think when i can reliably fix mistakes I’ll graduate to two color, patterned deigns.

  86. Beautiful work!! It looks great, and if that pattern doesn’t say True Love, I don’t know what does. Really love the yarn choice too. 🙂

  87. Just saw Faerie Knitting – 14 Tales of Love and Magic (includes patterns) by Alice and Lisa Hoffman in a bookstore in Victoria, BC. Would go very well with Gordon’s cowl!

  88. My first knitting project was a scarf or at least it was supposed to be. Everything started out just fine. Then I lost track or something and nearly ended up with what looked like the beginnings of a car cover. Fortunately the instructor was a miracle worker and wrangled it back into the proper width of a scarf. But come to think about it, I could have had the makings of a cowl. Totally unintended, of course. =p

  91. So cool! He would fit in well in any medieval cosplay environment. It looks like chain mail, but more comfortable. Impressive. Most impressive.

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