Coffee Break Tips

On this page you’ll find tips and tutorials for making your own Coffee Break bandana cowl! I cover the following topics:


Yarn Options

Coffee Break calls for worsted-weight yarn. In the pattern photos I used:

Lang Yak: A beautiful and soft extrafine merino/yak blend. Because it’s available in 50g skeins, you will need 2 skeins total (I purchased mine through Wool & Co). Shown in colorway Sienne 62 (note: online this yarn color looks more brown but in real life it’s more of a red/brown).

Juniper Moon Farm Cotton+Merino: A lovely chainette-constructed yarn (so it feels light & airy) made of merino and cotton. You only need 1 skein (I purchase mine at my LYS Mother of Purl in Freeport, Maine). Shown in colorway Dove.

I also created another version out of Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK in the colorway Monsoon (which I purchased at Biddeford Fiber in Biddeford, Maine) to show how it would look in a highly variegated yarn. And although this yarn is classified as a DK, it’s a heavier DK and knits up at the pattern gauge on the same needles I used as the worsted-weight yarn.

But because of this piece’s versatility, any worsted-weight or heavy DK-weight yarn can work! You can also play with colors and stripes. Melodic is like a blank canvas and makes for a great stash-busting project!


Adapting for different gauges or yarn-weights

One of the great things about this simple accessory is that it’s SO easy to adjust for different gauges or yarn-weights. Here is tips to help you with this:

  • Cast-on the same number of sts as listed in the pattern but use the yarn’s recommended needle size.
  • Work section 1 of the pattern exactly as written, but you’ll repeat rows 3 & 4 until you get to the measurement listed in the pattern (so don’t pay attention to the stitch count numbers).
  • In section 2 (the joining section), follow as written but drop down 1 needle size from what you had been using.
  • Work section 3 of the pattern exactly as written, but you’ll repeat rnds 1 & 2 until you reach the measurement listed in the pattern (again, not paying attention to stitch count numbers).

Working the long-tail cast-on

For a video lesson on the long-tail cast-on, click here for my YouTube video.


Placing marker for RS of work

Because garter stitch looks the same on RS and WS rows, I highly recommend that you attach a locking stitch marker to the outside of your fabric on the RS. This way, you know you’re on a RS row when the marker is facing you. And the difference between RS and WS rows is that on RS rows you are increasing at the edge as well as near the marker (2 sts inc’d on either side of center stitch) and on WS rows you are only increasing at the edge (1 st inc’d on either side of center stitch).

This photo shows what this looks like when I first placed the marker on the RS at the beginning of the project:


How to work a “kfb” increase and understanding stitch counts

The type of increase used in this piece is the “kfb” increase (which stands for “knit front & back”). Click here for my photo tutorial on how to work this increase technique.

Also, whenever an increase row is worked when working flat, at the end of the row it will say either 1 stitch increased or 2 stitches increased on either side of center stitch. That means that either 1 or 2 stitches have been increased between one of the center markers and the edge of the piece. And when the piece is worked in the round, the stitch count given is when you’re counting between one of the center stitch markers and the BOR marker.


Working garter stitch flat and in the round

Coffee Break is worked in Garter stitch throughout. It starts by working flat (so working back and forth) but then the ends are joined together and you continue by working in the round. Garter stitch is worked differently depending on if you are working flat vs in the round. When worked flat, you just knit every single row. But when worked in the round you knit 1 round and then purl 1 round (and then repeat those 2 rounds over and over again).

So why is this important? It is common for knitter’s purl stitches to be looser than their knit stitches. So this means that when you transition from working garter stitch flat to garter stitch in the round, your gauge may loosen up and the fabric may look a little different. So in Melodic, in order to avoid this and keep the fabric looking consistent, I instruct you to switch to 1 needle size smaller when working the joining row and when working the piece in the round.

However, if you have found that your garter stitch in the round knits up the same as your garter stitch flat even on the same needle size, then you can feel free to omit this and continue with your original needle for the entirety of the project.


Measuring length before joining (and how to adjust for a more narrow/wider neck opening)

In section 1 of the pattern, you’re instructed to repeat rows 3 & 4 until you have a particular stitch count OR until the length from center to outer edge measures 8.5-9″. Here is how I suggest measuring:

  • Fold your piece in half so that you match up the ends as I’ve done below.
  • Measure starting at the center (so left-end in photo below) out to the outer edge (so right-end in photo below).

So what is this measurement? This is half of your neck circumference (this is why the pattern says the approximate neck circumference is 19″ – twice the length of the measurement above plus a little extra that is gained in the joining row). So if you want to have a tighter neck circumference, you can work a shorter length or if you want a wider neck circumference, you can work a longer length.

Another helpful measurement: I thought it may be helpful to show you what my center spine measurement was at this point as well. So at this point, my center spine measured approx. 5.5″ as shown below:

I made several prototypes and tested over various adult heads (including one that measured 23″ which is considered XL) and this measurement worked well. However, if you are interested in potentially making adjustments (or just want to double-check that the opening is what you would like), scroll down under the Joining Steps section to see how you can try it on after the join.


Joining steps (photo tutorial)

In the Coffee Break pattern, I provide visuals for each of the 6 steps involved in joining the piece together to work in the round. Below are larger versions of the photos so you can see the steps in more detail:

Step 1: Slide sts on LN needle towards needle tip (images A & B).

Image A
Image B

Step 2: Bringing needle tips together, slip the first st on the LN pwise onto the RN (images C & D).

Image C – inserting RN into stitch on LN pwise
image D – slipping this stitch from the LN to the RN.

Step 3: Insert LN into 3rd-st-in on the RN and lift it up and over the last 2 sts on RN (images E & F), then give the working yarn a little tug to tighten things up (image G). This last st on RN will look like a double st since it has 2 loops.

Image E – Insert LN into 3rd-st-in on the RN
Image F – lift it up and over the last 2 sts on RN
Image G – Give the working yarn a little tug to tighten things up (and this last st on the RN looks like a double st since it has 2 loops)

Step 4: Place a marker on your RN – this will be your new BOR marker (image H).

Image H

Step 5: Bring yarn to front of work (image I) and purl all sts (slipping center markers as you reach them) until you get to that last st (the double st) (image J).

Image I – bringing yarn to front of work and begin purling all sts.
Image J – the last stitch is the double stitch that has 2 loops

Step 6: Purl this last st, working 2 loops together as 1 (images K & L) 

Image K – insert RN into both loops of last stitch.
Image L – and purl these 2 loops together as 1.

Tips on ‘reading your knitting’ in garter stitch in the round

Once your piece is joined to work in the round, then you will be working garter stitch differently (per my info above). When working garter stitch flat, you could tell if you were on a RS vs WS row thanks to the marker we had placed on the RS of the fabric. But when working in the round, you’ll need to learn to “read your knitting” in order to know whether you are on a round where you should be knitting all of the stitches vs a round where you should be purling all of the stitches. Below are visuals to help with this:

How to know what a knit round looks like:

If you are on a knit round, that means your previous round was purled. So to confirm you’re on a knit round, you want to look at the stitches on your left needle and see if they are purl stitches. Because if they are, then that means you had purled the last round and you are indeed on a knit round.

So how can you tell if they were purled on the last round? Look for the purl bump right under the the stitch on the left needle – if you see a bump right under it (so at the base of the stitch, hugging the needle), this tells you the stitch had previously been purled and so you know you’re now on a knit round. It will look like this:

How to know what a purl round looks like:

If you are on a purl round, that means your previous round was knit. So to confirm you’re on a purl round, you want to look at the stitches on your left needle and see if they are knit stitches. Because if they are, then that means you had knit the last round and you are indeed on a purl round.

So how can you tell if they were knit on the last round? There is no purl bump right under the the stitch on the left needle. Look right under the stitch and in contrast to the above photo, there is flat fabric at the very base of the stitch. You’ll still see purl bumps, but they will appear further down compared to the photo above (they’re not hugging the needle like in the above photo). See the visual below:

By learning to read your knit and purl stitches, working Garter stitch in the round becomes super easy and you won’t have to take notes on what round you’re on.


Trying it on with stitches still on the needles

If, after joining the piece, you would like to try it on to confirm that the neck opening is what you’re looking for, here is a tip! After you have joined the piece together and worked a round or two (or more), on the next round work approximately half of the stitches on your regular needle, but then work the other half on an extra circ in the same needle size (it can be a longer length circ though). This allows your stitches to spread out and allows you to try it on! See my photos below for a visual. In them, I was experimenting with making a version out of sport-weight (Malabrigo Arroyo to be specific):

And in case you were curious, for this sport-weight version using Malabrigo Arroyo, I was using a US 5 circ and I had 70 sts on either side of center st before starting the “Joining” section of the pattern.


Measuring final length before binding-off (and how to adjust)

In section 3 of the pattern you are instructed to repeat rows 1 & 2 until you have a certain stitch count OR until the center spine measures approx. 10.5″. Below is a photo that shows how to measure the full center spine length:

But if you don’t have enough yarn to make it to this length, or just prefer a slightly shorter cowl, you can work less rows. Or if you want a longer cowl, you can work more rows. The key either way is that you just need to end after working a row 1 (a knit row). This is because when you bind-off you want to bind-off your stitches purlwise (so on a purl round).