How to make a chunky snood

Days are getting shorter, the new season of your favourite TV show has just started, and Christmas is looming: it's time to pick up your knitting needles. Learning to knit (or refreshing your skills after a craft-free summer) gives you the perfect opportunity to get creative, use your hands for something other than updating your Facebook status, and produce great gifts for your friends and family. And what better place to start than with this luxurious chunky snood? Also known as a cowl, a snood is a cross between a scarf and a hood (geddit?). It is the perfect accessory for a cold, blustery day when the wind whips your scarf off your neck faster than you can keep rewrapping it. Skills Cast on Knit Purl Slip, slip, knit (ssk) Knit two together (k2tog) Cast off Mattress stitch Finished measurements 68cm circumference at cast-on edge 58cm circumference at cast-off edge 28cm from cast-on edge to cast-off edge What you need Yarn: 2 x 100g Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky in Wolf (1007) Needles: 12mm Difficulty * Tension 8 sts and 12 rows = 10cm/4in square in stocking stitch What to do Cast on 56 sts Row 1: K Row 2: P Repeat rows 1-2 five more times Row 13: K1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1 - 54 sts Row 14: P Row 15: K1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1 - 52 sts Row 16: P Row 17: K1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1 - 50 sts Row 18: P Row 19: K1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1 - 48 sts Row 20: P Row 21: K1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1 - 46 sts Row 22: P Row 23: K Row 24: P Repeat rows 23-4 three more times Cast off all sts Sew up seam using mattress stitch Suggestions for adaptation Plain stocking stitch is perfect for showing off this lovely chunky yarn but for a more dramatic effect, try moss stitch (moss stitch uses up more yarn so you'll need to buy an extra ball). Or make the cowl double the length so that it can be wrapped around your neck twice for extra warmth: cast on 140 stitches (standard straight needles won't be long enough to accommodate this many stitches so you'll have to invest in a 12mm circular needle and just use it as you would a pair of straights) and knit in stocking stitch for 30 rows. You won't need to bother with the decreases because the cowl doesn't need to fit snugly against your neck when it's doubled over. • Find more great knitting patterns in Purls of Wisdom by Jenny Lord, £15.29 at the Guardian Bookshop