Cozy Up Cowl
Whether you’re looking for a lickety-split gift or something to warm you up right quick, our Cozy Up Cowl pattern will be done in a (cold) snap! Our new hollow-spun yarn, Pouf, is incredibly soft and lofty, and its fleecy texture looks absolutely marvelous in reverse stockinette.
You’ll knit your Cozy Up Cowl in the round, all in stockinette stitch… There’s not a purl in the whole pattern! It’s so fast and easy, and when you’re done, you’ll simply flip it inside out to put all that purl-side goodness on display.
These toasty tubes of fabric are super long, making them amazingly cozy and fun to cuddle up in! A very slightly tapered shape allows the cowl to nestle comfortably around your neck, and Pouf’s airy spin makes the fabric light as air.
Pouf is made with a mix of 50% alpaca and 50% fine highland wool, literally spun around air to make a wonderfully insulating, surprisingly light, and delightfully squishy super bulky-weight yarn, with a soft hand and floaty drape!
Pick from Pouf‘s palette of 23 joyful colors, including these three beauties: delicate Crocus Bud, bright Golden Green, and rich High Tide. You’ll need just two big, bouncy 100-gram balls of your chosen color to make a Cozy Up Cowl!
When cold weather comes to call or the clock winds down on holiday gifting, you’ll be so glad to cozy up with quick-knitting Pouf!
If you love the yarn used in this project, you’ll love all of our other yarn, too! Explore our 35+ lovingly created yarn collections, in nearly every natural fiber and spectacular color you can imagine… Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn shop!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Hiromi Glover. See even more of Hiromi’s work on her Instagram!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoCozyUpCowl, and #PurlSohoPouf. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 2 balls of Purl Soho’s Pouf, 50% alpaca and 50% Andean highland wool. Each ball of this super bulky-weight yarn is approximately 108 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 175 yards required. We used the colors Crocus Bud, Golden Green, and High Tide.
- US 11 (8 mm), 16-inch circular knitting needles
- A stitch marker
- A US 13 (9 mm) or US 15 (10 mm) knitting needle, any type, for binding off
GAUGE
11 stitches and 15 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
SIZE
- Finished Circumference at Bottom: 22½ inches
- Finished Circumference at Top: 19½ inches
- Finished Height: 21 inches
PATTERN
Cast on 62 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Place a unique stitch marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.
Work in stockinette stitch, knitting every round, until piece measures 7 inches from cast-on edge.
Decrease Round 1: [Knit 2 together (k2tog), k27, slip slip knit (ssk)] 2 times. [58 stitches remain]
Continuing in stockinette stitch, knit until piece measures 14 inches from cast-on edge.
Decrease Round 2: [K2tog, k25, ssk] 2 times. [54 stitches remain]
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 21 inches from cast-on edge.
With larger needle, bind off knitwise.
Weave in all ends on right side and gently wet block.
Turn inside out so purl side is facing when worn, and enjoy your cozy cowl!
LEARN ABOUT POUF + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Pouf makes this knitting pattern feather-light and soft as a kitten! This very special yarn is made by spinning a fluffy 50/50 mix of alpaca and wool into a hollow strand that traps a cushion of air inside, making it toasty warm and incredibly lofty. You’ll also love how it knits up into a gorgeous, textured fabric, thanks to its slightly thick-and-thin spin. Cast on with this big, beautiful ball of fun… 100 grams gives you a lot of yarn for a super bulky-weight yarn, so you’ll go far with a few!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our growing collection of free Pouf knitting patterns!
More Super Bulky-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of super bulky-weight yarns
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fibers
- Shop alpaca yarn
- Shop wool yarn
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!
Is the cozy cowl a size that would work for a man as well as a woman? Or could it be modified to work for one?
Hi Elaine,
Yes, this cowl is meant to be worn by anyone! You can absolutely add or remove stitches from the cast-on if you want it do be a different size though.
All the best,
Lili
Hi – How would you suggest adjusting this pattern so it’s child sized?
Thank you – Susan
Hi Susan,
Thanks for writing in! I would recommend casting on fewer stitches so that the circumference is narrower and also knitting fewer rows so that the height is shorter. This pattern works over any even number of stitches!
All the best,
Lili
I haven’t started this project yet, as I am still trying to work out how you have 58 stitches left after knitting two together twice. Isn’t that a decrease of 2 stitches in total, rather than 4? So wouldn’t you have 60 stitches left? (The knitting 27 twice and slip-slip-knitting twice involves 30 stitches twice, or a total of 60 stitches, no decreases there, is that right?)
I’m confused.
Hi Susan,
No worries, I’m happy to help clarify! On each decrease round, you are decreasing by 4 stitches in total, since you’ll be working 4 1-stitch decreases. On Decrease Round 1, for example, you work the k2tog to start, then knit 27 stitches, then work an ssk. Then, you repeat that segment one more time, working both the k2tog and the ssk again!
All the best,
Lili
Thanks, Lili. I didn’t realize that ssk was a decrease until I watched the video demonstrating how it worked…should have watched it before asking the question. Thanks again for clarifying!
Susan
This is such a lovely cowl, and seems like a good beginner’s knit. My 7-year-old daughter has expressed interest in beginning to knit, and I think this would a great quick and satisfying first project. How might you adjust the pattern (# of cast on stitches, and # of inches before beginning the decrease and before binding off) to account for a child-sized cowl? Thank you so much!
Hi Anne,
Thanks for writing in! This cowl works over any even number of stitches, so you can absolutely cast on fewer stitches as long as it’s an even number. Then as you mentioned, you can knit for fewer rounds as well before working the decreases and binding off. Just make sure to work the decreases exactly opposite from each other on those rounds so that the cowl is symmetrical! You can place another stitch marker exactly half way through the round to make this easier. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Why we reduce the width at 1/3 of the height? Do we fold it inward to wear it?
Hi Myrto,
Thanks for writing in! The slight decrease is to accommodate the width of the wearer’s neck, which is wider at the base and narrower closer to the head. This cowl is meant to be worn with a slouch, not a fold, but you could totally style it differently if you prefer!
All the best,
Lili
Thank you Lili!
Hi – I bought two different colored skeins of pouf because I wanted a two-tone color block cowl. Do you know at what point – whether it row’s or inches I would need to cut color A and switch to color B ? So I have a cowl that’s half color A and half color B? Thanks!
Hi Catherine,
That’s such a fun idea! The finished height of the cowl is 21 inches, so you’d need to knit up to 10.5 inches before switching to the second color.
All the best,
Lili
Would it be possible to use straight needles? And can the pattern be converted for that? Thanks
Hi Joy,
Thanks for writing in! This pattern is designed to be knit in the round, so I’m afraid that you won’t be able to knit it on straight needles unless you modify the pattern. If you want to use straight needles instead though, then you can cast on the required number of stitches and follow the pattern as written, but purling every other row instead of knitting everything. Then you can seam the cowl together into the tube shape! You may also want to add 2 stitches to the cast-on to use for the seaming. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
How many inches of your super bulky POUF yarn should I measure out for the longtail cast-on in this pattern, using a 13 US circular needle?
Hi Stefanie,
Thanks for writing in! We recommend using a tail that’s 3.5 times the length of the cast-on. In this case, that would be about 79 inches!
All the best,
Lili