Over time, I’ve ended up with tons of leftover yarn in every color imaginable. Up to now, I just couldn’t face using them—because, probably like any knitter, I really don’t feel like weaving in a zillion of loose ends.

Then inspiration struck: the most colorful creatures in nature are coral reef fish – and my leftover yarn is perfect for capturing their vivid hues. I wanted to use up my leftover yarn in a simple Fair Isle technique with only two colors per round so that the project would be finished quickly. To maximize the variety of the fish, I arranged them on a tubular cowl. To skip the most of the weaving in, I simply braided the yarn tails together. These mini-plaits will stay hidden inside the tubular shape of this cowl.

The only tricky bit is the invisible join. But if that feels like too much, just bind off both edges and stitch them together with small stitches.

This pattern opens up endless ways to knit a little underwater world – with colourful fish darting through swaying seaweed in shades of green, red or brown.