Two-Color Crocheted Cowl
We have a long history of knitted cowls here at the Purl Bee, but this is actually our very first crocheted cowl! It’s an omission we are happy to finally correct because crochet lends itself so beautifully to pretty stitch patterns and easy tube shapes. Inspired by Joelle’s amazing Granny Stripe Blanket, I love the gentle texture of this pattern, like shimmering fish scales or the delicate inside of a sunflower.
The Two-Color Cowl is made especially lovely with Jade Sapphire’s 2 Ply Cashmere, a one hundred percent pure Mongolian cashmere delight. Feather light and whisper downy, it makes a seriously cozy cowl. And Jade Sapphire’s gorgeous hand dyed colors make up the perfect palette for inspired combinations, from high impact contrasts (like ours!) to gentler tonal shifts, whatever your mood this season!
The Materials
- 2 skeins of Jade Sapphire’s 2 Ply Cashmere, 100% Mongolian Cashmere. These colors are Pink Panther and Sterling. (NOTE: We no longer offer Jade Sapphire’s 2-Ply Cashmere, but choose from one of our other fingering weight yarns.)
- A size D (3-3.25 mm) crochet hook
- A removable stitch marker
The Pattern
Gauge
5 1/2 stitches = 1 inch in stitch pattern
6 1/2 stitches = 1 inch in single crochet
Finished Size
22 inches on circumference and 16 1/2 inches long
Begin
With Color A, loosely chain (ch) 121.
Make sure that the chain is not twisted, and join for working in the round by making a slip stitch into the first chain.
Foundation Round: 1 single crochet (sc) into next ch, mark this sc with a removable stitch marker, 1 sc into each ch to end of round. (120 sc)
Round 1: Remove the stitch marker, 1 sc into next stitch, mark this new sc with the stitch marker, 1 sc into each stitch to end of round.
Changing to Color B…
Round 2: Remove the stitch marker, slip stitch into next stitch with Color B, ch 3, 2 dc into same stitch, skip 2 stitches, *3 dc into next stitch, skip 2 stitches, repeat from * to end of round. (40 dc groups of 3)
Round 3: Slip stitch into 3rd ch, slip stitch into next 2 stitches, slip stitch into space between dc groups, ch 3, 2 dc into same space, *3 dc into next space, repeat from * to end of round.
Repeat Round 3 until Color B measures 8 inches, ending with the 4 slip stitches at the beginning of the round.
Use Color A to ch 3 and finish the round.
With Color A, repeat Round 3 until Color A measures 8 inches.
Changing to Color B…
Next Round: With Color B, slip stitch into the 3rd ch, 1 sc into next stitch, mark this sc with a stitch marker, 1 sc into next stitch, 1 sc into next space, *skip a stitch, 1 sc into next 2 stitches, 1 sc into next space, repeat from * to end of round. (120 sc)
Next Round: Remove the stitch marker, 1 sc into next stitch, mark this sc with the stitch marker, 1 sc into each stitch to end of round.
Next Round: Remove the stitch marker, slip stitch into next stitch, mark this new stitch with the stitch marker, loosely slip stitch into each stitch to end of round.
Remove the marker and slip stitch into next stitch. Cut the yarn and pull it through.
Weave in your ends and slip on your new cowl for a toasty treat!
This is beautiful, but I don't crochet! Do you have a knitting pattern for something similar?
Hi Esther-
You can check out all of our knitting cowl patterns here: http://purlbee.squarespace.com/scarves-shawls-and-cowls-knitt/
Crocheting isn't a very hard thing to learn (especially if you already knit.) And this pattern uses a very basic crochet stitch. So if you ever feel like taking the plunge we recommend this booklet highly: https://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/213-TNNA-How-to-Crochet
Also, if you're in the NYC area we have beginning crochet classes. More info can be found here: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/classes-at-purl-soho/#GrannySquare
Thank you for your question!
Molly
If i want to substitute another laceweight yarn for the cashmere, how many yards would I need to make one cowl?
Hi Donna-
This project takes 800 yards total.
Thanks for your question!
Molly
This is really nice but I've never knitted and I think it would be difficult for me, do you sell it?
Thanks!
Hi Esmeralda-
We don't sell any of our finished projects. If you'd like to find someone to crochet it for you you could call our NYC store at 212-420-8796. They might be able to refer you to someone.
Thank you for your question!
Molly
great
have to try this while its still cold 🙂
Hi. Always love your knitting projects. Really glad and excited to see the things you have been doing on crochet. Hope you will have more:)
Thanks.
Could you show a picture of how it looks when you slip stitch the chain together and also the end of the foundation row? I seem to be losing a stitch at the end of the foundation round and round one and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
Hi Libby,
In crochet, keeping track of every little stitch can be quite tricky. This is less true the more experienced you become, but in the beginning, a little fudging may save you some frustration!
So if you're losing a stitch, you may want to make an extra chain or you could make 2 single crochets into the final chain of the Foundation Row.
Otherwise, my best advice is to count your stitches all the time, at every step, planning ahead to maintain your stitch count. It takes patience, but that's how I eventually unraveled the mystery of where all those stitches go!
Thanks for your question and good luck!
Whitney
Hi,
I love Jade Sapphire's “Victorian Violet,” but I'm not sure which other color to pair it with. What would you recommend?
Hi Monica-
We think Victorian Violet would look great with Sterling, Silver Pearl, Silver Fox, or Ivory.
Thanks for your question!
Molly
Thanks so much for this, it's so pretty. I'm making it with some vintage yarn, even finer, so it's a perfect 10 minutes here, half an hour there project. I love it, thank you
Great looking cowl! Just wondering though, did you cut the yarn when changing colors?
Hi Kelly,
Yes, I did. I cut about an eight inch tail and crocheted right over it so I wouldn't have to weave it in at the end!
Thanks for asking!
Whitney
Hi,
I discovered your blog via Pinterest, and it's full of ideas. Thanks for all the patterns.
I wanna ask if there's not an error on this one : Round 3, before the *, didn't you forget “skip 2 stitches”?
Thanks.
Sophie.
Hi Sophie,
You skip three stitches actually, but that's just implied when I say to make your double crochets into the next space. In other words, to get to the next space, you have to skip three stitches. Does that make sense?
Please let me know if you need more help and good luck!
Whitney
I am not understanding the instructions for Round 3: Am I supposed to do three DCs in one space and then skip three stitches and continue around?
Hi Danielle,
Thanks for reaching out! For Round 3, you will be repeating the section between asterisks, which is “3 dc into next space,” so you will work 3 double crochets into every space for the entire round.
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna
Hey! This is such a beautiful cowl. I'm fairly new to crochet, but I think i could do this project. Just wondering; I'm using a 4-ply worsted Bernat Premium yarn and a US H hook. How many should I chain? Does this pattern need a multiple of a number to adjust size, or can I just chain however many until I get the circumference I want?
Hi Carissa,
You should start with a chain that is a multiple of 3 plus 1. For example, 120 (divides evenly by 3) + 1 = 121.
To determine how many you should chain, you'll need to know your gauge (in other words, how many stitches you get per inch in the stitch pattern). Multiply your gauge by the number of inches around you'd like your cowl to be and chain the nearest number to that that is a multiple of 3 plus 1. For example, the gauge here is 5 1/2 stitches to the inch, so 5.5 x 22 (inches in circumference) = 121.
I know it sounds complicated, but I'm happy to help if you have any more questions! Thanks for this one!
Whitney
Am struggling with creating the loop securely at the beginning (not sure where to position the slip stitch and then crochet first sc) and also with the last slip stitch when beginning a new row of dc later on. Could you please help?
Hi Clare,
The first slip stitch that closes the foundation chain into a loop should be made into the very first chain you made. I'm not sure beyond that what kind of trouble you're having. Do your slip stitches seem loose? If so, I would suggest making sure that you don't have too much slack in your yarn as you make your slip stitches. Otherwise, let me know more specifically what kind of problems you're having and we'll work them out!
Thanks for your question and good luck!
Whitney
Love the pattern. I thought it was really pretty, but now that I have made it, I am in love with it. Simply gorgeous. Thank you so much for sharing your pattern.
I did this with a coordinating Blue Sky Melange Baby Alpaca in saffron and chili pepper. It turned out gorgeous and so luxurious. I'm already collecting other yarns to make more of these for gifts. I calculated this as a 20hr, $80 project because of the type of yarn I chose.
Have you ever considered doing what food blogs do and making a “print” button for your patterns. I’d love to make this crocheted cowl, but I’ll have to copy/paste into a document in order to use the pattern! Just a thought! It really is a lovely, lovey cowl, and I look forward to making it up!
Hi Stacy-
We definitely hear you but unfortunately there isn’t a print button built into our new site. However, we are actively working on it (and all of our newer patterns have a downloadable PDF.) In the meantime we recommend that you use printfriendly.com to print the patterns, it’s easier than copying and pasting!
Thanks for bringing this up and for your patience as we figure it all out!
Best-
Molly
I ordered this kit for the pink and grey cowl. I was very excited to start on it now that cold weather is here.
However,
this yarn is a big mess! I’m very discouraged already trying to figure out how to untangle it and get a loose end.
🙁 I can’t see me spending time to unwind and ball up these 2 huge wads of yarn.
Can I return it for a refund?
Hello, Miri!
Thank you so much for writing in! I am terribly sorry for the delayed response! I am also sorry that your yarn is big mess! We would like very much to make this situation right, would you please email us Customerservice@purlsoho.com? Thank you and take care!
Best,
Kumeko
Can this project be completed with 4ply yarn or will it turn out to big?
Hello, Hazel!
Thank you for writing in! You can do this with a 4-ply yarn, but it will turn out slightly bigger. To do this with a 4-ply I recommend making test swatch to see how many stitches to chain. To do this you’ll want to start with a chain that is a multiple of 3 plus 1. For example, 120 (divides evenly by 3) + 1 = 121.
Then you will multiply your gauge by the number of inches around you’d like your cowl to be and chain the nearest number to that that is a multiple of 3 plus 1. For example, the gauge here is 5 1/2 stitches to the inch, so 5.5 x 22 (inches in circumference) = 121.
If you have further questions, please let us know!
Best,
Kumeko
Do you think this would work with the line weight yarn (https://www.purlsoho.com/sale/yarn/line-weight-sale.html) and would it look similar–or would it be too bulky? I’m not very experienced with substituting yarns! Or could you recommend a budget-friendly alternative to the cashmere?
Hi Jennifer,
Thank you for writing us. The Line Weight will work fine as a substitute for the cashmere. They are of similar weights. Good luck and happy crocheting!
Best,
Adam
Thanks for such a speedy reply 🙂
hi! when you say…
Round 1: Remove the stitch marker, 1 sc into next stitch, mark this new sc with the stitch marker
… do you mean single crochet into the marked stitch, and mark the new stitch? otherwise doesn’t the stitch count drop to 89?
thanks in advance!
Hi Krista,
Thanks for writing in! In this case, we are just having you move the marker to note the beginning of round, not to decrease. The bottom edge of this cowl is just a single crochet and the cast on doesn’t decrease. Let me know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Adam
Dainty…love it..I’ll try it soon..thanks..