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Based on a video by Sigoni Macaroni
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Steps written out by Crafting Step by Step · Published
A cowl is a scarf with no ends to fuss over. It loops once around your neck and stays put. This one is worked in the round with bulky yarn and a textured stitch called the mini bean, so it looks far fancier than it is. The pattern comes from Sigoni of Sigoni Macaroni, part of her 12 Days of Crochet Christmas series of quick gifts.
If you can chain and single crochet, you can make this. The mini bean takes a few tries, then it turns into a rhythm.
One skein of Lion Brand Scarfie, a bulky (weight 5) yarn that shifts color as you go. Sigoni uses the teal shade, which fades from grey into deep blue green. You also need a 6.5 mm hook, scissors and a tapestry needle. Any bulky yarn works. Pick a soft one, since it sits against your neck and chin all day.
A long foundation chain joined into a ring loves to twist, and a twist turns your cowl into a Mobius strip. Sigoni dodges it by working one flat row of single crochet first. A row of stitches is much easier to lay flat than a bare chain. Lay it on the table, check that the bottom edge runs straight all the way along, then join.
The pattern works over any even number of stitches, because each mini bean uses two. For a snug neck warmer, start with a shorter chain, such as 61. For a long cowl that wraps twice, go longer. Hold the chain around your neck before you join; it should slip over your head easily. For height, add or remove rounds. Fewer rounds give a slimmer neck warmer.
Cowls make a quick holiday gift because there is no fitting involved. Roll one up with a tag showing the fiber content and care, or tuck it in a basket with a mug and some cocoa. A matching hat makes a set.
Scarfie is an acrylic and wool blend. Check the label, hand wash in cool water and lay it flat to dry so it keeps its shape.
Stitch count keeps changing? Check that you skip a stitch between every bean in round 2, and that each later bean goes into a space, not the top of a bean. Edges look uneven? Turning at the end of each round keeps the seam straight, so do not skip the turn. Cowl too stiff? Go up half a hook size.
New to the basics? See how to single crochet, slip stitch and crochet in the round. When you finish, weave in your ends and make a matching crochet beanie.
Free, for this project
Crochet a cowl in the round with bulky yarn and the mini bean stitch. An easy project: about 3 hours. Materials cost about $8 to $12. You need 5 things, including 6.5 mm crochet hook, tapestry needle and scissors. The 9 steps start with make a Slip Knot and Chain 81 for the Crochet Cowl, single Crochet Across the Cowl Foundation Chain and fold the Cowl Into a Ring and Slip Stitch to Join.
9 steps, about 7 minutes. Tap a picture to jump to that step. Your progress saves automatically.
Tick each step off as you go.
Put a slip knot on your 6.5 mm hook and chain 81. Keep the chains loose and even. A tight foundation chain pulls in the bottom of the cowl and makes it hard to slide over your head. Count as you go, or drop a stitch marker every 20 chains so you are not counting all 81 twice.
Bulky yarn shows each chain clearly. Count the V shapes on the front, not the bump on the back.
Skip the first chain and insert your hook into the second chain from the hook. Yarn over, pull up a loop so you have two loops on the hook, then yarn over and pull through both. That is a single crochet. Work one in every chain to the end. You should have 80 stitches in this flat row.
This flat row is the trick that keeps the cowl from twisting when you join it.
Bring the two ends of the row together so it forms a circle. Look along the bottom edge and make sure it is not twisted anywhere. Then insert your hook into the very first single crochet, yarn over, and pull through the stitch and the loop on your hook. The cowl is now a ring and you work in rounds from here.
Lay the ring flat on a table before you slip stitch. A twist is easy to spot there.
Chain 2 and skip the first single crochet. Insert your hook in the next stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop. Yarn over again, insert into the same stitch, yarn over and pull up another loop. You now have four loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all four, then chain 1 to lock it. That is one mini bean.
Keep the pulled up loops the same height so the bean comes out plump.
Skip the next stitch and work a mini bean into the one after it. Keep going around: skip one, mini bean in the next. When you reach the last two stitches, skip one and work your final bean into the last stitch. The texture starts to show right away, a row of small puffed knots with little gaps between them.
Losing your place? Put a marker in the first bean of the round.
Before you join, look at the whole ring. Sigoni found hers twisted at this point and had to set it right, so check yours. Once it lies flat, slip stitch into the top of the chain 2 from the start of the round. You should have 40 mini beans. Count them now, since a wrong count here repeats in every round.
If the ring is twisted, slip the stitch off your hook and turn the work back before joining.
Chain 2 and turn your work. Now each mini bean goes into a space, not a stitch. Look for the small gap between two beans of the round below and work your bean there. Repeat in every space around, then slip stitch to the top of the chain 2. Turning each round keeps the join neat and stops the seam from drifting.
Working into spaces is faster than finding stitches, and it makes the texture line up.
Keep repeating round 3: chain 2, turn, one mini bean in each space, slip stitch to join. Sigoni works 32 rounds in all. With a color changing yarn like Scarfie, the cowl fades from one shade to the next as it grows. Stop when it is as tall as you want. The finished fabric should feel thick and cosy.
Try it on every few rounds. Stop sooner for a neck warmer, keep going for a bigger cowl.
After the last bean round, slip stitch to join, chain 1 and turn. Single crochet into the base of the chain, the chain 1 of each bean and the top of each bean, all the way around. You end with 80 stitches, matching the bottom edge. Slip stitch to join, tie off and weave in both tails with a tapestry needle.
Weave each tail in two directions so it does not work loose when the cowl stretches.
Keep going
How to Choose Yarn for Amigurumi
How to Crochet a Cowl
Clover
Clover Amour Crochet Hook Set (10 sizes)
Soft, easy-grip handles that warm to the touch and a full size range in one case. The set most crocheters upgrade to and never look back.
Lion Brand
Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton Yarn
Mercerized cotton with crisp stitch definition and a subtle sheen. Machine washable, and the go-to for amigurumi, bags, and dishcloths.
Clover
Clover Locking Stitch Markers (20-pack)
Lock onto stitches so they never slip while you mark rounds, increases, and repeats. A dollar-store fix that actually holds.
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