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Cowry Shell (F3)

knitted cowry shell

Cowry (or Cowrie) Shells come in lots of different sizes and colours, but very few collectors have a knitted version. Delight the shell lover in your life with this knitted addition.

A printable version of this pattern is available.

You will need:

  • white yarn (aran weight)
  • brown and white yarn (4ply)
  • knitting needles (3.75 mm)
  • tapestry needle
  • scissors

Pattern:

(A list of abbreviations is available.)

This pattern uses a lot of wrap and turns (/w&t), see notes on ODDknit.com for more details. This is a short row technique where you wrap the yarn around the next stitch and turn the knitting around. In this pattern the wrapped stitches are picked up on the following row for right-side stocking stitch (a.k.a. the sections knitted in white aran) but left alone in wrong-side stocking stitch (a.k.a. the brown & white 4ply bits).

Outer Shell

Cast on 16 sts in white aran yarn.

  1. Row 1: sl1k, p –
  2. Row 2: sl1k, k12, w&t/ p10, w&t/ k13 (16)
  3. Row 3: sl1k, p –
  4. Row 4: sl1k, k1, [yfwd, k2tog] x 7 (16)
  5. Row 5: sl1k, p –
  6. Row 6: sl1k, k12, w&t/ p10, w&t/ k13 (16)
  7. Row 7: sl1k, [pfb, p2] x 5 (21)

Cut the white aran yarn and attach the white and brown 4ply yarns together. These yarns are going to be knitted simultaneously as though they were a single thread. The section could also be knitted in a single aran weight colour.

  1. Row 8: kfb, k18, kfb, k1 (23)
  1. Row 9: sl1k, k –
  2. Row 10: sl1k, p19, w&t/ k16, w&t/ p15, w&t/ k12, w&t/ p10, w&t/ k6, w&t/ p12 (23)

Repeat rows 9 and 10 once more.

  1. Row 13: sl1k, k –
  2. Row 14: sl1k, p –

Repeat rows 13 and 14 once more.

  1. Row 17: sl1k, k11, w&t/ p6, w&t/ k10, w&t/ p12, w&t/ k15, w&t/ p16, w&t/ k20 (23)
  2. Row 18: sl1k, p –

Repeat rows 17 and 18 once more.

  1. Row 21: sl1k, k2tog, k18, k2tog (21)

Change back to the white aran yarn.

  1. Row 22: [k2, k2tog] x 5, k1 (16)
  2. Row 23: sl1k, p12, w&t/ k10, w&t/ p7, w&t/ k4, w&t/ p10 (16)
  3. Row 24: sl1k, k –
  4. Row 25: sl1k, p –
  5. Row 26: sl1k, k1, [yfwd, k2tog] x 7 (16)
  6. Row 27: sl1k, p –
  7. Row 28: sl1k, k –
  8. Row 29: sl1k, p12, w&t/ k10, w&t/ p7, w&t/ k4, w&t/ p10 (16)

Cast off.

Inner Shell

Cast on 21 sts in white aran yarn.

  1. Row 1: p19, w&t/ k16, w&t/ p15, w&t/ k12, w&t/ p10, w&t/ k6, w&t/ p11
  2. Row 2: sl1k, k –

Repeat rows 1 and 2 once more.

  1. Row 5: sl1k, p –
  2. Row 6: k11, w&t/ p6, w&t/ k10, w&t/ p12, w&t/ k15, w&t/ p16, w&t/ k19

Repeat rows 5 and 6 once more, then cast off.

Making Up:

Fold the white ends of the outer shell in half and inwards. Sew the cast on/off edge into place at the colour change.

sew edge of cowry shell

Both the outer and inner shells are wider at one end so make sure you orient them both the same at this point. Tuck the inner shell inside the outer. Sew all the way around the edge of the inner shell fixing the cast on/off edges to the same stitches as in the last step.

Sew in any remaining lose ends, then tug your new double thickness shell into shape by making sure the outer and inner shells lay flat together.

Notes:

Needle/Yarn Size

As with most ODDknit patterns the yarn and needle sizes in the "you will need" section are just a guide. Feel free to improvise with whatever needles and yarn you have lying around - that's half the fun!