I had a full skein (plus a bit) of Cascade 220 left over from last year’s Christmas knitting, so, inspired again by Kirsten, I decided to use it on the Destroyed Cowl.

I have mixed feelings about the result. I like the pattern, but I think the yarn was wrong for it. The Cascade 220 is prone to felting, so after blocking there’s not a lot of stitch definition and it feels sort of soft and mushy. For this pattern, especially for the “destroyed” parts, I think more structure would have worked better. (It also might have worked better with a tighter gauge–I used 5mm needles.) More structure, or alternatively more drape–this middle area is just kind of bleah. The dropped stitches tend to roll under and hide, so it requires a little coaxing to show off the detail.

I still like the pattern, though, so I might try it again with a different yarn. (I also may just be being overly critical–one of my coworkers thinks it’s still very pretty.)