I am not a fan of the cold weather and am always looking for ways to — if not defeat it — defend it off. That was one reason I was happy to learn how to knit. I could come up with an endless array of wooly items to ward off the winter. This was purely a vision brought on by the turtleneck on my recently-finished February sweater. I liked the collar on that so much, I used it as inspiration to make … a collar.
I knew how many stitches I needed for a circle, and I knew I wanted the bobble edging to give it some dimension and interest. I am not the world’s greatest mathematician (there is a reason I became a writer and editor!), so had to draw a circle, quarter it, and write out how many stitches per quadrant. That worked.
Once I had the sequence of stitches, it was fairly easy to figure out decreases.
I unfortunately have no clue what this yarn is, but it was guided into my hands from heaven. It was in my stash for years, sadly missing its band and somewhat tangled. I spent a fair amount of time untangling it and, once sorted out, had a rather largish ball that gave me the sense it would be perfect. It was.
It has a very subtle greenish and blue stripe throughout, but not enough that the stripes take over. It had a slightly nubbly texture that softened up when I wet-finished the piece. When I was getting down the end, I figured out how many yards went into a round, then stopped when I had between 6 and 7 yards left in order to work the picot cast-off. I ended with a piece about 8 inches long, so it was a pretty good guess all around!
What I like about collars like this is that in addition to keeping your neck warm, they also do their bit to cover the BACK of your neck.
I’m not a big scarf fan, as scarves tend to ride up in the back and, invariably, I get a blast of chill air down the back of my neck. This stays in place and keeps me snug all the way around.
It’s not often I get a convenient snowbank to pose wooly items on!
The Wool Merchant's Daughter 
Well done! I’d love it if you would write this one up and post the pattern. I wear cowls all the time, even in the house, because I too hate having a cold neck. (When my neck is cold, my nose runs, constantly.) I’d love to try making one of these.
I recently made a cowl with exactly that shape, it was the coolest thing when I put it on and had no gap at the back of my neck. The pattern was called ‘Twinkle Collar’ or something like that.
I love your cowl I would love the pattern if it is available . I too hate having a cold neck. Beautiful work
I am working on the pattern and will let you know when it is available! I had to make another one to make sure I remembered all the stitches. You may need to check my work for me! 😉