Cashmere Cowl
One of my all-time favorite patterns is the cowl, which is technically just a knitted tube. But, when I slip it over my head it becomes a softly draping beautiful necklace that I want to wear every day from December til March.
This is the perfect travel project – it has so few ingredients! I knit my cashmere cowl as Nick and I travelled from Seattle to Portland and back again, crossing the mouth of the mighty Columbia River.
My cowl is a variation of the beautiful Pashmina Cowl from Joelle’s Last Minute Knitted Gifts. She used a smaller needle to knit Joseph Galler’s luxurious pashmina yarn in stockinette stitch. – Isabelle
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, and #PurlSohoCashmereCowl. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 1 skein of Lobster Pot 2-ply Cashmere, an absolutely amazing hand-dyed cashmere. The way to audition yarns for this project is by holding them up under your chin and feeling how soft they are.
- Circular needles: This project is knit in the round. I suppose you could also knit it back and forth on straight needles and then sew it together. I used Addi Turbo 16″ circular needles in US 8 (5mm).
- I also used a stitch marker to help me find the beginning of the round.
Shop our wonderful collection of fingering-weight yarn to find a suitable substitute for this project, and remember that it’s always a good idea to check your gauge before you cast on… Our All About Gauge Tutorial shows you how!
Gauge
5 – 6 stitches = 1 inch on US 8 needles in K1, P1 Rib Stitch pattern.
Pattern
Loosely cast on an even number of stitches between 100 – 110. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Join into a round. Take care not to twist your stitches as you begin knitting! As you prepare to knit the first stitch, take a second to look at all of the stitches to make sure they are all heading in the same direction, not spiralling around the needle.
Rib Stitch pattern: *K1, P1, repeat from *.
Work in K1, P1 Rib Stitch pattern until cowl measures about 13 inches, or desired length. Bind off very loosely and weave in tails.
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
I love this pattern and the cowl that I made from it is beautiful and very cozy. I wear it no less than once a week and always get compliments on it.
Very nice thanks for sharing.
Just a quick thank you – found your blog through a search for cowl patterns. This is just gorgeous! I’m starting my version in Debby Bliss merino and will post it to Flickr when done. Cowls are my accessory du jour as it were, so I can wear them while working in the studio. I’ve bookmarked you so I can explore more later. 🙂
I am looking forward to knitting this cowl but am having trouble with casting on. I am using the recommended circular needle size and the same yarn but it is very finicky and twisting. I have tried casting on a larger needle size and transferred to the smaller needle but this did not work either. I am unable after 2 attempts to get it working. Are there any tips you have for me?
Thank you
Hi Robyn,
What sort of cast on are you using? We recommend using a long tail cast on and doing it very loose so that you can re-orient the stitches easily once you have all of the stitches on your needles. If you need a little help with a long tail cast on check out the first video (for long tail cast on) at this link:
http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/cast-on
Let us know if you need further assistance!
This is a beautiful, easy-to-make pattern that produces a gorgeous cowl. It can be worn over any sweater, or under a jacket to create a lovely neckline. Thank you for providing this pattern; I enjoyed every minute while knitting it! Now, how many more can I make before Christmas for all my friends?!
I’m always knitting scarves, but a cowl…I like this idea. I’ll definitely be knitting a cowl in the near future. Yours looks superb! It looks soft, comfortable, and the color is lovely.
I love this cowl and look forward to knitting it in cashmere. Thank you for sharing the pattern.
http://nanasknitwits.blogspot.com/
beautiful!! if only i had found this before christmas….but, im still going to be making them for myself and those that i love. thanks so much for the pattern
I know this post is uber old — but here goes. My mom bought me two skeins of cashmere merino blend for my birthday, and I'm looking for the PERFECT cowl to use them. The brown cowl from the book listed here has the perfect drape and pattern I'm looking for, but my yarn is aran weight. How would you change the pattern to achieve the same look, but in an aran weight yarn?
Hi Jessie,
You'll have to knit a gauge swatch to determine how many stitches per inch you get with your aran weight yarn. Then multiply the gauge by the circumference of the cowl, cast on that number of stitches, and knit away!
Thanks for your question and good luck!
Whitney
I also love this oh so pretty soft looking Cowl. I have some Rowan Felted Tweed
and Rowan Kidsilk Haze.. Matter of fact, I have 2 Balls of each so I may try knitting this Cowl – even though it isn't Cashmere, I think it might look pretty and soft..
I have my Addi-Turbo Click Interchangeable Circular Needles but should think about getting the Lace Addi-Turbo Clicks as well to have in my collection.
Plus one can never have enough Cords – as projects get started and then put taside to start another. I have at present 2 UFO on needles but they both just need the finishing which hopefully won't take a lot of time.
And none of the UFO are for me, but for Christmas Gifts. So must get knitting.
I always enjoy visiting the Purlbee site to see and read what everyone is working on.
Thank you for sharing with us.
Toodles & Happy Knitting…
Sometimes the most simple patterns are the most stunning. I am knitting the cashmere cowl with Jojoland 2 ply as a Christmas present for my sister-in-law and I can't get over how much I love it, it's so delicate and feminine (I just might have to knit one for myself!)
Thank you so much for your amazing blog and website!! I check it almost daily, and I believe that all of my Christmas knitting projects this year I have gotten either from this blog or from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Happy Holidays 🙂
I am very new to knitting, but I do know how to do the knit and purl stitch. I just started this cowl thinking it looked easy! But, it is not looking ribbed at all, just looks like a mess of stitches. Any idea what I could be doing wrong?
Thanks!
Hi Debi,
Are you sure that you're bringing your yarn to the front of the needles to purl and then bringing it to the back to knit? Between each and every stitch of this pattern you have to move your yarn either to the front or the back.
If you've got this technique down, then my other thought would be that you may be a loose knitter and so your stitches are looking kind of messy. If this is the case, then you may want to try going down a needle size or two.
I hope this gets you on the right path. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Whitney
Beautiful! Can I replace the yarn with the Jade sapphire 2 ply? Or would you recommend something different?
Hi Kezia-
That would be a perfect substitution!
Best-
Molly
I've made three of these so far in Jade Sapphire silk cashmere and the mongolian cashmere. Both work a treat. They're so quick to do as presents and so snuggly! Dead easy! Thank you.
If I use the Jade Sapphire 2 ply, will I likely need 1 or 2 skeins?
Hello Lauren!
You will only need one skein of Jade Sapphire 2 ply since it has quite a bit more yardage than the original yarn used here. Thanks for asking and happy knitting! -Alyson
If I use the Jade Sapphire 2-ply, do I still use the size 8 knitting needles? I am thinking I’d like a bit of a tighter weave — or maybe hold two strands together? Beginner, please help. 🙂
Hi Gayle,
Thanks for writing us! Jade Sapphire 2 ply is also a lace weight, so you can use this yarn as a substitute and don’t have to change the needle size. If you like a tighter stitch, then I’d go down to a US 5 or 6 and it shouldn’t make the cowl too tight. Best of luck on the project!
-Adam
Wonderful! Just ordered some — if I go down to a US 5 or 6 needle, should I cast on more stitches or will it be okay with the 110 cast on or so?
Hi Gayle,
I think you’ll be ok with 110 stitches. Best of luck and let me know how it goes!
-Adam
One more question – how do you think it would go if I did this in a 2×2 rib instead of a 1×1 rib?
Hi Gayle!
A 2×2 rib will definitely widen the cowl. I’d do a small swatch of both to see which you prefer!
Best,
Adam
How might this be done in a two color striped fisherman rib like the cotton cowl except with cashmere?
Hi Gayle,
I love your idea! You could follow the directions for the Two-Color Cotton Cowl substituting 6-Ply cashmere for the Cotton Pure. Due to the differences in yardage, you will need two skeins of each color of the cashmere. From there, the directions should be identical!
I hope that this helps and happy knitting!
Cassy
Could you do this cowl as a reversible cowl like the Reversible Cowl (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2015/02/20/reversible-cowl/)?
And use this yarn?
https://www.purlsoho.com/line-weight.html
Wanting to play with two colors! Just finishing up this cowl in the 2-ply cashmere and already my partner is hinting he wants it 🙂
Hi Gayle,
I’m glad you’re interested in this pattern! You can certainly use the Line Weight instead of the cashmere and making it reversible is easy. All you need to do is use the provisional cast on method for the beginning and kitchener stitch the two ends together at the end just like in the reversible cowl. Good luck and happy knitting!
-Adam
Can I use Posy for this pattern? Would I need to adjust the pattern or needle size? Also if I want to make for a child, how do I adjust the pattern? Thank you!
Hi Elizabeth,
Thanks for reaching out! Posy would be a wonderful yarn to substitute for this pattern, and if you want to achieve the same fluffy soft halo as the original yarn, adding a strand of Tussock would make it even better! The gauge is fairly forgiving, so I would suggest knitting a gauge swatch to be on the safe side, but you should be able to use a US 8 as we did for the original cowl. It does depend on the age and size of the child, but I would cast on somewhere between 80 and 90 stitches for an elementary-school-aged child.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Hi,
What is the preferred cashmere of your yarns to use and how many skeins?
thank you
Christa
Hi Christa,
Thanks for reaching out! Since we no longer carry the Lobster Pot 2-ply Cashmere, I would recommend using the Jade Sapphire 2-Ply Cashmere. You will need 250-350 yards for this pattern for one skien should be plenty!
Happy knitting!
Gianna
Hi again.
Is it possible to knit a cowl on circular needles without it twisting? I’m careful not to let it twist in the beginning but it always twists at some point. Is it still ok or does it need to be started over?
christa
Hi Christa!
Thanks for writing in! Unfortunately, if you have a twist in your knitting you will need to start over… As long as the stitches aren’t twisted when you begin knitting the first row, there shouldn’t be any twisting that comes later on! Just be extra careful when joining the work in the round!
All the best,
Gianna
Ok. Thanks!
Hello! I’ve made 3 of this pattern and onwards to more.
Question: I want to make a ruffle at both ends. What number of stitches do you recommend I add to the 110 cast on? And then after 3 or 4 rows of k p, how many to bind off to leave 110 remaining for the body of the cowl?
Hi Lisa,
That sounds like a fun idea! That would depend on how dense you want the ruffle to be. Were you imagining a very “ruffly” ruffle? Or something more gentle and relaxed? Let me know!
All the best,
Lili
Hi Lili, Thank you for expanding my horizon. I hadn’t considered “ruffly” or a gentle ruffle. I’d like to make both! Would you kindly advise? Also, I’m interested in knowing what you would like best: ruffly or more like a gentle wave. Thanks so much!
And please remember to tell me how many stitches to decrease to arrive at a 110 stitch baseline (the pattern), Previously, I tried to decrease 4 stitches at a time and found it impossible to do so.
Hi Lisa,
Awesome! The difference between a very ruffly ruffle and a gentle ruffle lies in how many stitches you decrease from (and then increase to on the other end).
For a gentle ruffle, I’d recommend casting on 220 stitches, knitting for an inch or two (or however long you want the ruffle to be), and then working a normal 1-stitch decrease on every stitch to get down to 110 stitches. Then, on the other end, you can alternate a knit stitch and an increase stitch around the entire round to get back up to 220 stitches to form the ruffle on the other side!
For a very full ruffle, you can start with 330 stitches instead! When it comes time to decrease, you’ll just do 2-stitch decreases (like a k3tog) the whole way, which will bring the stitch count back down to 110. On the other end, you can work 2 increase stitches between each stitch to get back up to 330 stitches.
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Hi,
I just discovered this beautiful cashmere cowl pattern. Could I substitute Tussock for the suggested yarn, one skein and same needle size? I love the halo effect,
Any other yarns you might suggest? Thanks so much.
Hi Pam,
Thanks for your question! I would recommend using two strands of Tussock for this pattern and the same needle size! This should give you the same halo effect you see here. I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Great, thanks so much for your help, much appreciated.
I would have never thought to use two strands. Thanks again.