crochet cowl – The Crochet Architect

January 8, 2019

New Crochet Pattern for Winter!

It’s that time of year when we start wearing lots of accessories to help keep us warm (here in the Northern Hemisphere)! I sometimes wear a scarf or cowl inside my house to help keep my neck warm, which helps keep my whole body warm (my house isn’t that cold, but I often get cold)!

I’ve been working on new designs lately and I just finalized a pattern for a scarf, cowl and hat. This new pattern is called “Scarfie, Cowlie & Hattie”. I named this pattern after the yarn that I originally used to make a cowl and hat set for my daughter-in-law and a scarf and hat set for a friend of hers. I used Lion Brand Scarfie yarn for those projects, which took only 1 skein of yarn for each of the 2 projects (scarf and hat or cowl and hat). Because that yarn didn’t photograph as well as I’d hoped for the pattern photos (and because I wanted to test and fine-tune the pattern), I crocheted more of these accessories. Who doesn’t love wearing more accessories or giving them to others?

Scarfie made with Lion Brand Scarfie yarn

Cowlie made with Lion Brand Scarfie yarn

Red Hattie made with Lion Brand Scarfie yarn

Blue Hattie made with Lion Brand Scarfie yarn

My daughter-in-law’s friend wearing her scarf and hat

The pattern is written in both US and UK crochet terms, so you can choose which pattern to download based on which crochet terms you’re used to using. If you like this feature of having my patterns available in UK crochet terms, please let me know and I’ll update my other published crochet patterns to include UK crochet terms. I want my patterns to be as user-friendly as possible!

I’ve included written instructions and symbol crochet charts for each of the 3 projects in the pattern, which is available for $5.95 (that’s just shy of $2 per project!). For more information about this pattern, check it out on the pattern page.

I hope you’re staying warm wherever you live!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

October 13, 2017

Is it a Cowl or a Shawl?

I’ve been having a really fun time lately designing more accessories for you! I hope you’ve all been well and are having a good time crocheting some fabulous projects!

At the end of last year, I took part in the Ravelry Indie Design Gift-A-Long (GAL) as both a designer and a crocheting/knitting participant! It was so much fun and I learned a lot!!! One of the things I noticed in the knit/crochet patterns that were part of the GAL, was some designs that are a hybrid between a cowl and a shawl. I LOVE this concept and I knit a beautiful shawlette/cowlette during the GAL last year.

This year, I set out to design a crochet hybrid, which I’m calling a cowlette. I’ve made 3 of them so far and they work up quite quickly! I designed my cowlette pattern with super fine (sock) weight yarn for lots of drape! The fabulous part about these hybrid cowls/shawls is that they don’t fall off when worn, like shawls can sometimes! So without further ado, here is my newest crochet design, the Cozy Cowlette:

As you can see, this cowlette is made in the traditional triangle shape. It’s worked from the front, center neck edge down to the bottom. It starts in rows, but changes into joined rounds about 2/3 of the way down. There are 2 versions of this pattern: the one-color version and the two-color version. I love them both! Here is a photo of the back of one of them:

For the two-color version, I used a portion of 2 skeins of Loops & Threads Woolike yarn from my local Michaels store. This yarn is 85% acrylic and 15% nylon, has 678 yards and costs just $3 (unless you use a discount coupon and get it for even less)! With this many yards, you can make 2 cowlettes with just 2 skeins total! This yarn has lots of bounce, too! Of course, you can use any yarn of the same weight that you desire for your cowlette!

For the one-color version, I used some generic acrylic yarn that I purchased at the Knit & Crochet Show several years ago. I added some tiny beads that I had in my stash to the bottom edge, which you can see here:

One-color Cozy Cowlette edging with beads

You can purchase the Cozy Cowlette pattern for just $4.95 here.

I hope you’re enjoying the change in weather and are looking forward to crocheting some new accessories for Fall and Winter this year! I love the fun crochet accessories that can be made and worn during the cooler times of the year!!!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

November 13, 2015November 13, 2015

Too Many Cowls?

Who says it’s possible to have too many cowls? Certainly NOT me! Cowls (or infinity scarves, as they’re also known) are wonderful accessories for any woman or girl (or possibly for men and boys, as well). They look great and help keep your neck warm when the weather gets cold! Since they’re basically a big tube that goes around your neck, they won’t fall off like scarves have a tendency to do. Cowls come in many widths and lengths. You can wear longer cowls as a long tube or double them up for a shorter, more dense cowl to hug your neck.

I love cowls and I’ve got a new crochet cowl pattern for you, just in time for Christmas! It’s my Swanky Cowl, named for the special yarn that I used. If you haven’t seen Red Heart Boutique Swanky yarn yet, it’s made with acrylic and polyester fibers for washability (hand wash only). It has little oval-shaped sequins in it that are dyed the same color as the yarn. The sequins give projects a nice “glitz” that is so pretty! You can read more about this yarn and see all the pretty colors on the Red Heart website here. I love the color I used (Berry Glamorous) because it coordinates with many of the outfits in my wardrobe!

I used only 1 skein/ball of this yarn to crochet my Swanky Cowl. The resulting cowl is 3 1/2″ wide x 40″ circumference. If you’d like a longer and/or wider cowl, simply use a 2nd skein of the yarn.

Of course, you could use any worsted weight or DK weight yarn you’d like to make your Swanky Cowl! I think it would be beautiful in a color-changing yarn, too!

I love the texture of Front Post and Back Post double crochet stitches, so that’s what I used in this cowl. Because these 2 stitches are mirror images of each other, the cowl is reversible!

If you’re a confident beginner all the way up to a seasoned crocheter, this pattern is perfect for you! It includes photo tutorials for working in the back bump of the foundation chain, as well as working the Front Post and Back Post double crochet stitches. I’ve included right-handed and left-handed photos in the tutorials section of the pattern, too. So if you’re a leftie and you’d like to learn to work FPdc and BPdc, give this pattern a try!

To read more about my new Swanky Cowl pattern and to purchase this pattern for only $3.95, check out the pattern page here.

Happy crocheting,

Susan