Video summary

Tuto Tricot Cagoule Col Capuche

Main summary

Key takeaways

Art and Creativity

Summary of the tutorial

This video is a step-by-step knitting tutorial for an adult-size balaclava (cagoule) with a hood, constructed in multiple sections:

  • A ribbed collar
  • A flat, shaped hood (using decreases/increases to contour the face and skull)
  • An invisible top seam via grafting
  • A double ribbed border around the face, finished with an invisible grafting seam
  • How to thread a crocheted/corded (Romanian) cord through the doubled border using a safety pin

Artistic techniques / creative concepts shown

  • Ribbing in the round (1x1 rib) for elasticity and fit.
  • Stitch marker-based row/center tracking to maintain symmetry while shaping.
  • Stockinette shaping flat (knit/purl rows) to form the hood curve:
    • Front/cheek decreases to narrow around the face.
    • Back increases to round out the top for the head/skull shape.
  • Progressive rounding at the hood top using targeted decreases at interval rows.
  • Invisible seam / grafting (“couture invisible”)
    • Sewing stitches two-by-two between the top and bottom needle-side surfaces to blend the stockinette layers.
    • Direction-specific sewing (left-to-right vs right-to-left) to keep alignment.
  • Double border construction
    • Pick up stitches along the face opening, then knit an 11-rib-style border in the round.
    • Fold inward after knitting to create a doubled layer and hide internal edges.
  • Hidden internal finish
    • Fold the doubled border and graft along the lifter line (stitch pickup foundation).
  • Romanian cord technique
    • A crocheted cord threaded through the double-layer border for adjustability/texture.
  • Error-handling / continuity
    • A color change due to a recording glitch, then resuming with another color/hood example.

Materials / tools referenced (as described)

  • Yarn
    • Two 100 g balls (each 230 m) for one build (later references different yarn for color variants).
  • Needles
    • Size 5 circular needles with a 40 cm cable (collar ribbing)
    • Size 5 circular needles with a 60 cm cable (hood stockinette section, worked flat)
    • Size 4 circular needles (face border)
  • Stitch markers
  • Measuring tape (for row/fit accuracy)
  • Yarn needle / sewing needle (for grafting/invisible seam)
  • Safety pin (for threading the cord through the border)
  • Optional: crochet hook (to help pull yarn through during stitch pickup)

Clear step breakdown (process)

1) Collar (worked in the round)

  1. Cast on 92 stitches (double yarn at the start).
  2. Add a 93rd stitch to close the circle.
  3. Knit 1x1 rib for about 12 cm.
  4. Transition:
    • Knit 3 rows of stockinette (knit-only).
  5. Create the chin opening:
    • Knit 40 stitches
    • Bind off 12 stitches
    • Knit the remaining side to finish so the opening stays centered.

2) Hood body (worked flat in stockinette/purl rows)

  1. Continue stockinette until reaching the chin opening edge.
  2. Shape the hood with a repeat pattern on odd-numbered rows (e.g., 1, 3, 5, 7):
    • Decreases at the front:
      • Knit 3rd and 4th stitches together
      • (with direction control through front/back loops)
      • Two stitches from each edge
    • Increases at the back around the marker:
      • Pick up a strand from between stitches and knit through a loop to avoid holes.
  3. Work even rows (e.g., rows 2, 4, 6, 8…) as purl rows with no shaping.
  4. Continue shaping until hood height reaches about 22 cm, then start top rounding.
  5. Top decreases
    • Decrease on specific right-side rows: 1, 5, 9, 13, 17
    • Knit other rows between without decreases/increases.
  6. Finish by knitting extra stockinette/purl rows (rows 18 and 19) for final structure.
  7. Invisible top seam (grafting)
    • Join top and bottom stitch edges two-by-two using a grafting/zigzag-like stitch method to blend the stockinette surfaces.
    • Secure and hide yarn ends inside.

3) Double face border

  1. Switch to size 4 needles.
  2. Place 3 stitch markers:
    • Center chin marker (at the bound-off center point)
    • Symmetry markers near the approximate “4th decrease” locations on left and right.
  3. Pick up stitches along the face opening using a pattern:
    • Upper portion: pick up in groups of 3, skip 1, repeating
    • Lower portion: pick up more continuously (“without skipping”)
    • Ensure the final stitch count is even for ribbing
    • Tip: use a crochet hook if needle access is difficult.
  4. Knit 11 ribbing around the face for about 7–8 cm.
  5. Fold border inward to create the doubled layer and hide messy internal pickup edges.
  6. Invisible seam for the border
    • Graft two-by-two using the lifter line (pickup foundation line).
    • Sewing directions are specified to keep alignment/appearance consistent.
  7. Hide ends inside the rolled border hollow.

4) Threading the cord

  1. Use the prepared crocheted cord (Romanian cord).
  2. Find the midpoint (using a safety pin placed at the “mid” / Monon point).
  3. Thread the cord through the double border opening, evenly, exiting at the matching height.
  4. Secure cord ends to complete the balaclava.

Creators / contributors featured

  • The Purple Mouse — host/teacher (running the channel and presenting the tutorial)

Original video