Tutorial Tuesday: the simple cowl

I am proud to offer you an original pattern and tutorial this week!

It turns out that I have become rather hooked on crochet! I ended up watching a number of tutorials on YouTube recently and I got inspired to try my hand at making a cowl.

To get an idea for size I wrapped one of my scarves around my neck to see how long I would like it. Then I took it off and grabbed my measuring tape - it was somewhere in the area of 30"-36". As I was making the chain I checked the length along the way by wrapping it around my neck. I started off with a 6.5mm hook and two strands of worsted weight yarn, but it was much too stiff! So, I unraveled, scoured the internet for other cowl patterns and found that a 10mm hook is ideal when using two strands of yarn, and I happened to have a 10mm hook on hand! So I started up again and it turned out great!

The pattern uses the following stitches:

SS (slip stitch)
SC (single crochet)
HDC (half double crochet)
DC (double crochet)

Matterials*:

1 skein* of Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn (Michael's brand)
     (note: I just made this with Caron Simply Soft and I love it!)
1 10mm crochet hook
1 stitch marker*
1 large-eye yarn needle
Tape measure
Scissors


Method:

Using two strands of yarn at the same time, the outside and inside strands, make a chain that is approx. 32" (or desired length) and join with a SS, taking care not to twist your chain.

Row 1.   SC into each chain, marking the final stitch with your stitch marker.

Row 2.   Chain one (don't turn, you are working in the round) and HDC for the entire row. Mark your final stitch. SS to join to the beginning of your row.

Row 3.   Chain 2 and DC into every stitch. Mark your final stitch. SS to join to the beginning of your row.

Row 4.   Chain 1 and HDC into every stitch. Mark your final stitch. SS to join to the beginning of your row.

Row 5. Same as 3

Rows 6-10. Continue alternating between HDC and DC, as in the rows 4 (HDC) and 3 (DC), ending with the HDC.

Row 11.   SC into each stitch, marking your final stitch. You will not need to "join."

Row 12.   SS into each stitch around, taking care not to make the stitches too tight. Bind off, leaving a tail, pull tight and sew in the tail.

Tighten the tail from the slip knot where you began and sew in the tail.

Your finished product should be about 18" flat, 36" around, and about 7" tall.

* 1 skein refers to the solid color ball with 277 yards of yarn - other styles of Impeccable have fewer yards of yarn. If you us a different yarn you might need more than one skein (i.e. Vanna's Choice is only 145 yds., so you would need two skeins). UPDATE: I just made a cowl with Caron Simply Soft and I LOVE IT - it has such a nice weight to it, and the yarn is set up for pulling from the outside and the inside for convenience. It also has more yardage than Impeccable, so you can make the cowl a bit taller if you like. For a stitch marker I typically use a paperclip, but in the pictures above I just used a strand from the tail. You can use a piece of yarn in a different color, a safety pin... whatever you have.

You could also make this 60"+ so that you can wrap it twice. And you might want to try stacking stitches rather than doing every-other, or throw in some single-crochets, or maybe even the treble stitch.  Have fun with it!

If you have any questions regarding the pattern, please leave a comment or send me an email at TheMadeWithLoveProject {at} gmail {dot} com.

If you try this pattern I would love to see the pictures! Tag me on Instagram or share a link in the comments. Thanks!

Enjoy!