There are only so many striped socks a person needs, and I'm not fond of sock yarn blankets, scrap squares and the like. In the end I decided to make something like a Magic Ball out of some complementary coloured oddments. The original oddments were between about 2g and 10g each and I just joined them end to end with Russian joins, pulling the colours randomly out of a bag, ending up with a new ball of just over 50g-worth of Wollmeise.
And then I made this cowl.
I added a small amount of one more colour as starting and finishing edgings, just to tie the whole design together, so in total I used 57g, which is about 220 yards of fingering weight yarn, but you can easily use more or less depending on how much yarn you have to use up. More yarn will make a taller cowl (obviously!), less will make it shorter.
This one measures about 30" around and about 6.75" tall. It's quick and easy to knit up, is very portable, and the nicest part for me was remembering all the previous projects that the yarns had come from in the first place. A real knit down Memory Lane...
Memory Lane cowl uses approx 220yds fingering weight yarn, and 3.25mm (US 3) needles for working in the round. (I suggest a 24" circular needle, but use what you prefer.) You should allow approx 20 yards to make the edgings. If you are not using a separate yarn for this, be sure to allow enough yarn left at the end to make the final edge.
At the tension I knit to, one 20-stitch pattern repeat measures 3" across, but matching that isn't vital although it might affect the finished size of the cowl if yours is very different. The pattern is quite flexible if you have more or less yarn to use. Just knit to a tension that gives you a fabric you find pleasing. You will also need one stitch marker.
The pattern uses the following abbreviations:
CDD - centred double decrease (slip 1 stitch knit wise, knit 2 stitches together, pass slipped stitch over and off the needle)
K - knit
P - purl
Rpt - repeat
St/s - stitch/es
YO - yarn over
Using your edging yarn, cast on 200 sts and join to work in the round, taking care not to twist. Place marker to mark end of round.
Edging round 1: K all sts
Edging round 2: P all sts
Rpt edging rounds 1 and 2 once more.
Change to Magic Ball of oddments.
Chevron round 1: *YO, K8, CDD, K8, YO, K1; rpt from * to end of round
Chevron round 2: K to end
Rpt chevron rounds 1 and 2 until cowl is desired height, or until you have finished your Magic Ball, ending at the end of a round.
Change to edging yarn. Work Edging rounds 1 and 2 twice more as before (four edging rounds in total).
Cast off knit wise.
To finish, wash cowl according to yarn manufacturer instructions and lay flat to dry, patting to shape to form neat chevron edges. Weave in ends. Wear and enjoy!