{"title":"How to Knit a Cowl for Beginners","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/knitting/how-to-knit-a-cowl","category":{"slug":"knitting","name":"Knitting"},"creator":{"name":"B.Hooked Knitting","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugz5tgWOf6HhZDlZ-e0PrA","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4x5w2lo3GU"},"tldr":"Knit a cowl for beginners with one knit one, purl one repeat. Yarn and needle swaps, sizing, blocking, care and fixes for common mistakes.","quickAnswer":"Knit a cowl for beginners with one knit one, purl one repeat. An easy project. You need 6 things, including fingering or sport weight yarn, tapestry needle and scissors. The 9 steps start with cast On 51 Cowl Stitches With a Long Tail Cast On, knit the First Stitch of the Seed Stitch Cowl, purl the Next Stitch to Start the Seed Stitch Pattern and turn the Cowl and Work the Next Seed Stitch Row.","totalDurationSeconds":525,"videoDurationSeconds":525,"difficulty":"easy","project":{"difficulty":"easy","projectMinutes":null,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":null,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":null},"tools":["US 7 (4.5 mm) knitting needles, circular or straight","tapestry needle","scissors","measuring tape"],"materials":["2 balls super fine (fingering) weight merino blend yarn","fingering or sport weight yarn (substitute)"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Cast On 51 Cowl Stitches With a Long Tail Cast On","text":"Pull out a long tail of yarn, about three times the width you want, plus a little extra. Lay the yarn over your needle and hold it in a slingshot shape over your left thumb and finger. Swing the needle down into the thumb loop, up over the finger strand, and let the thumb loop drop. Snug it gently. Repeat until you have 51 stitches on the needle."},{"number":2,"title":"Knit the First Stitch of the Seed Stitch Cowl","text":"Turn the needle so the stitches sit in your left hand. Keep the working yarn at the back. Push the right needle into the front of the first stitch, from left to right, so the needles cross. Wrap the yarn around the right needle, pull the new loop through, and slide the old stitch off. That is your first knit stitch."},{"number":3,"title":"Purl the Next Stitch to Start the Seed Stitch Pattern","text":"Bring the yarn forward between the needle tips. Now push the right needle into the next stitch from right to left, in front of the left needle. Wrap the yarn, pull the loop back through and drop the old stitch. Move the yarn to the back again and knit the next one. Knit one, purl one, all the way across. The row should end with a knit."},{"number":4,"title":"Turn the Cowl and Work the Next Seed Stitch Row","text":"At the end of the row, turn the work so the needle tip is back in your left hand. Do exactly the same thing again: knit one, purl one, and end with a knit. Because you have an odd number of stitches, you are always knitting the purls and purling the knits from the row below. That stagger is what makes the little seed bumps."},{"number":5,"title":"Read Your Seed Stitches to Find Your Place in the Cowl","text":"Look at the stitches sitting on the needle. A purl stitch has a little horizontal bump right under the needle. A knit stitch looks like a small V. In seed stitch you always do the opposite of what you see: knit the bumps and purl the Vs. Once you can read this, you can put the cowl down mid row and pick it up again without a mistake."},{"number":6,"title":"Join the Second Ball of Yarn at the Start of a Cowl Row","text":"Keep going until the first ball runs low, and change yarn at the start of a row. Leave a tail of the old yarn for weaving in. Fold the new yarn about six inches from its end. Put your needle into the first stitch, catch the folded loop of new yarn and pull it through. Work a few more stitches with the new yarn, then tie the two tails loosely."},{"number":7,"title":"Bind Off the Cowl in Seed Stitch Pattern","text":"Stop when you have a few yards left, more than you think. The cowl will be about 32 inches long and a bit over 8 inches wide. Knit one, purl one, then lift the first loop over the second and off the needle. Knit the next stitch and pass the first loop over. Purl the next and pass over. Keep following the seed pattern as you go."},{"number":8,"title":"Fasten Off the Last Loop of the Cowl Bind Off","text":"When one loop is left on the right needle, slide the needle out and pull that loop up tall. Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail. Then pull the tail through the loop and tug it snug. This locks the bound off edge so it cannot unravel. Keep the long tail. You will use it to sew the cowl together in the next step."},{"number":9,"title":"Seam the Short Ends to Close the Knit Cowl","text":"Both sides of seed stitch look alike, so it does not matter which side faces out. Bring the two short ends together without twisting the rectangle. Thread the tail onto a yarn needle. Sew the edges together, going back and forth through both layers, until the loop is closed. Weave the tails into the seam and trim."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-20T19:59:06.101Z","published":"2026-10-20T19:58:31.287Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}