Reversible Cross-Collar Cowl
Every stitch of your Reversible Cross-Collar Cowl will be full of anticipation. You’ll be excited to finish and wear this beautiful, versatile piece (or gift it to someone very special), but you’ll also look forward to the knitting ahead… Simple stitches with a color change for extra fun, a light-worsted-weight yarn that feels just right in your hands, and all of it in our exceptionally soft Nigh DK cashmere. It’s going to be amazing!
This smart design is, remarkably, just a simple rectangle. You start with one color, work stockinette stitch for 8 inches, then switch to your second color and do the same.
The clever part is one fold and two simple seams, both of which we explain step-by-step with a photo tutorial. Amazingly, in the end, you have a super lovely, super cozy cowl that you can wear with either color on the outside!
The magnificent beauty of our Nigh DK complements the easy elegance of this cowl. It’s made of exquisite, 100% Mongolian cashmere, a fiber that comes from the downy undercoat of goats, designed by nature to be extremely soft, feather-light, and very, very warm.
Nigh DK’s four plies knit into a smooth fabric with a delicate cashmere-halo that floats above the surface, a truly extraordinary yarn to knit and to wear!
Dive into Nigh DK’s gorgeous palette and pick two colors you love… You only need one of each for this beautiful knit, and we hope you enjoy every stitch in this very special yarn!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Gianna Mueller. Click here to see even more of Gianna’s designs!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoReversibleCrossCollarCowl, and #PurlSohoNighDK. We can’t wait to see what you make!
P.S. You can find our beautiful Nigh DK right here!
Materials
- 2 skeins of Purl Soho’s Nigh DK, 100% Cashmere. Each skein is 199 yards/ 55 grams
- Color A: 1 skein; approximately 170 yards required
- Color B: 1 skein; approximately 170 yards required
- US 6 (4 mm), 24-inch circular needles
Samples: We used Pink Pearl + Morning Sky, Raindrop Blue + Sugar Maple, and Ocean Storm + Warm Cognac for our cowls.
You can also choose from one of our 10 beautiful Reversible Cross-Collar Cowl Bundles pictured below!
GAUGE
20 stitches and 31 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, blocked
SIZE
- Finished Neck Opening: approximately 18 inches circumference, comfortably stretching an additional 5 inches
- Finished Height from Point: 10 inches
NOTES
SLIP STITCHES
Slip all stitches purlwise with yarn in front.
PATTERN
BEGIN
With Color B, cast on 111 stitches. We used a basic Long-Tail Cast On.
Set-Up Row (wrong side): Purl to last 3 stitches, slip 1 (see Notes), k1, slip 1.
Row 1 (right side): K1, slip 1, knit to end of row.
Row 2: Purl to last 3 stitches, slip 1, k1, slip 1.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until piece measures approximately 8 inches, ending with Row 2.
Cut Color B, and join Color A.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until piece measures approximately 16 inches, ending with Row 2.
With right side facing you, bind off knitwise, leaving a 2-foot tail.
ASSEMBLE
Orient rectangle with wrong side facing up and Color A at top. Fold piece in half so bind off and cast on edges are aligned at the bottom and right side of Color A is facing you. Using Mattress Stitch and 2-foot tail, seam together the two vertical edges on the right side of the folded rectangle (you will know you’re seaming the right edge if it doesn’t have the slipped-stitch selvage).
Once edge is seamed, turn piece over so that right side of Color B is facing up and seamed edge is on the left side, as shown above.
Fold right and left sides down towards the center of the piece, and align seamed edge with the top folded edge of the right side.
With a new length of Color A and starting at the bottom of the seamed edge, insert needle through bind-off edge from bottom to top, then through first stitch at selvage edge, again from bottom to top.
Locate the little bars of Color A that make up the seam of the left edge. Skip a bar on the left edge, insert your needle below the second bar and pull it through.
Then insert needle underneath both legs of the next Color A stitch on the folded edge, from bottom to top.
Repeat these two steps, working into every other bar on the left side and every stitch on the right folded side, until you have worked all the bars.
Insert needle through end of mattress stitch seam on left edge and pull tail through to weave in.
Finish
Weave in all ends and gently wet block.
Can I knit this with single pointed needles? Thank you!
Hi Laura,
Thanks for writing in! I’m afraid that straight needles wouldn’t be the best choice for this pattern. The length of the stitches you’ll have on your needles at any given point is about 22 inches, which would be difficult to maneuver on typical straight needles. The stitches would be very bunched up and at risk of falling off. If you use 24-inch circular needles though (still working flat, not in the round), then the stitches have room to breathe!
All the best,
Lili
Why is the first color used called B and the second A? Does is matter which color I start with? If I plan to wear it mainly with one color on the outside do I need to start with a certain color? In other words, what’s the difference between A and B.
Hi Sophie,
Thanks for writing in! This cowl is completely reversible, so you can use any colors you want for A and B. We specified the colors we used in our sample so people could follow along, but it doesn’t really matter!
All the best,
Lili
I love your free patterns. But when I print them – there are 15 pages!!!!!! could you please have a condensed version. I do’t want to waste so much paper.
Hi Daniela,
Thanks for writing in! Here’s how to get a printer-friendly version of any of our free patterns: If you’re on your computer, you’ll find a “print” icon in the right column just below the “Save To Favorites” button. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find the “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.
Click on this button, and a window will pop up where you can delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print. When you hover over any image or a text block, it will be highlighted in yellow and a “trash” icon will appear. Just click on this icon to delete anything that’s not necessary to the pattern! For example, you may decide to shorten the pattern by omitting certain images or the list of materials. Then, just click on the “Print” button in the upper left-hand corner of the pop-up window!
All the best,
Lili
Question: In the instructions side A is 8 inches and sie B is 16 inches. However, in the diagram where you fold over to seam the vertical side, it appears as if side A and B are both the same length. Am I missing something 😕 🤔?
Hi Diann,
Thanks for reaching out! Both the Color A section and the Color B section are 8 inches tall. When you consider the height of both of them together, that adds up to 16 inches. Hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili
I want to buy the bundle for the reversible cowl. But I want the different colors than shown. I think I am a little confused. Sorry.
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for writing in! To purchase other colors, you can buy individual skeins of Nigh DK. It’ll add up to the same price!
All the best,
Lili
Color A section and the Color B section are 8 inches tall. When you consider the height of both of them together, that adds up to 16 inches. This is very clear! But how long ?? In other words, how many inches with 111 stitches?
Thank you!
Elena
Hi Elena,
Thanks for reaching out! Based on the gauge of the pattern (20 stitches and 31 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, blocked), 111 stitches is equivalent to 22.2 inches. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
I love your patterns, am going to try the Cross Collar Cowl but would like to up the size a bit for a larger neck opening. What number of stitches would I add to adjust the neck opening to 22″.
Thanks!
Hi Vi,
Thanks for reaching out. To increase the neck opening to 22 inches, you will need to increase your cast-on length by 4 inches! Based on the gauge of 20 stitches in 4 inches, you would need to add 20 stitches to the cast-on, for a total of 131 stitches. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Curious about how to size down for fingering weight yarn–any advice?
Thank you!
Mimi
Hi Mimi,
Thanks for reaching out. In order to use a fingering weight yarn for this pattern, you’ll need to change the number of stitches you cast on so that the cowl comes to the correct width. To figure out your cast-on number, you will want to first knit a gauge swatch in pattern. Once you know how many stitches you are getting per inch, you can multiply that number by the width that you would like and cast on the nearest whole number. Then you can follow the pattern as written!
All the best,
Lili
I’ve gotten to the point where I’m finished knitting and ready to assemble. But of course since this is a big stockinette rectangle, it’s curling all over the place. In your pictures, everything is beautifully flat. How did you achieve that? Some sort of blocking technique? A flat piece would certainly be easier to stitch.
This yarn is GREAT to work with, by the way. I may buy another kit.
Hi Mij,
Thanks for reaching out! Wet blocking will absolutely make the knit fabric lie more flat. I’d recommend trying that out, and it should me much easier to seam afterwards. Let me know how it goes, and I’m so glad to hear that you love working with Nigh DK!
All the best,
Lili
Hello- I believe when you are connecting the seamed edge to the folded edge, you are working with a strand of color A (not B) and grabbing the bars of color A (not B)…Is this correct or am I missing something from the pics? Thanks
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for reaching out! You’re correct, you should be seaming these edges with Color A, not Color B. We’ve updated the pattern to reflect this, and thank you again for bringing this to our attention!
All the best,
Lili
Lovely yarn and have enjoyed this pattern but I must be missing something obvious but when sewing the final side to finish cowl is color B. The top color is pink and that is the main color which I thought was A color. Is the mattress stitch just picking up the main top color? I didn’t do it correctly because the reverse side showed the yarn from the other side. I feel like I am missing something and making something simple complicated. Hope you can help. Thank you
Hi Marty,
Thanks for reaching out! You’re correct, you should be seaming these edges with Color A, not Color B. We’ve updated the pattern to reflect this, and we’re so sorry for the confusion. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention!
All the best,
Lili
I also found the need to use the mattress stitch on both sides I thought it would pull it in enough for both sides. I don’t know if I was doing it incorrectly or that is what you must do. Again thank you. Got yarn to do another a relaxing pattern and soothing working with the lovely cashmere!!
I’ve just finished this knitting pattern and started on the “Assemble” section but the cowl seems way too small. I have 16” long (8” of each color) and it’s only 20” wide leaving the opening feeling really small like I wouldn’t be able to get it over my head. How much width does the wet blocking part add? Any advice (other than pulling it all out and starting over)?
Hi Jane,
Thank you for your question! After knitting your cowl without assembling it, your rectangular piece should measure 22 inches wide by 16 inches tall. I recommend wet-blocking your triangle and pinning it down as it dries to ensure it dries to the correct dimensions! I hope this helps but please let me know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Gavriella
hi,
question – before assembling – my piece measures about 18 inches in lenght and 8 inches in height….
when i fold it to assemble – the hole for the head to slip through is way to small to fit.
i used 4mm needles and casted on the 111 stiches – gauge was correct as well.
where is the problem?
H
Hi Hannelore,
Thank you for writing in! It sounds like your gauge is off just by a little causing the finished piece to be too tight. With the pattern gauge of 20sts per 4″, your piece should measure approximately 22 inches instead of 18. I would recommend giving your finished piece a good block and pinning the fabric as close to the finished dimensions as possible, allowing it to fully dry before assembling the cowl. I hope this helps but please let us know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Gavriella