Whip up a great holiday gift with this simple knit cowl pattern – in an easy knit and purl stitch combination.
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Design Story and Inspiration for this Easy Cowl Pattern
At the time of this pattern release, we just kicked off the Holiday Maker’s Challenge! Each year since 2019 I design 8 patterns that are meant to use up your stash and help you bust out those holiday gifts.
I designed this pattern for the challenge and it meets all the criteria I was going for – it works up quickly, is not complicated, and uses stash yarn! That’s a big win all around.
Yarn Options for This Knitted Cowl
The yarn I used for this free cowl knitting pattern is Lion Brand Hometown USA, which is a super bulky yarn (weight #6). It works up really fast and is a very affordable option, often found at my local Walmart for $3 a skein!
This pattern uses one skein this super bulky weight yarn to make this cowl. If you don’t have super bulky yarn in your stash and want to knit this design, you can hold 2 strands of worsted weight yarn together to get gauge. (This is also amazingly cool when you use 2 skeins of different color yarns together!)
Have another skein and want a matching hat? Check out the Super Bulky Knit Hat in the same stitch!
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Free Knitting Pattern Details
This cowl is worked on short circular knitting needles so you can work in continuous rounds. It can also be worked flat on straight needles, the only change is that you would need to knit row 2 instead of purl, as this section is garter stitch.
How to Customize this Knitted Cowl Pattern
This cowl can easily be made wider or narrower by changing how many rounds are worked. I chose this width becuase it allowed me to use up almost every bit of my single skein in this color.
You can also make the cowl longer by casting on more stitches in multiples of four (the stitch pattern is in multiples of 2 but the ribbing is in multiples of 4).
Buy the ad-free PDF of this pattern in my shop here!
Simple Knit Cowl Pattern
What You’ll Need
Yarn: 1 skein Lion Brand Hometown USA, or other super bulky yarn (weight #6)
Needles: Circular needle size 10.5 (6.50mm)
Notions: Tapestry needle, scissors
Gauge: 11 sts and 13 rows = 4″ in stitch pattern
Finished Measurements: Approximately 26″ long x 5.5″ wide
Stitch Descriptions and Abbreviations
Knit Stitch (k)
Purl Stitch (p)
Pattern Notes
This pattern uses the hurdle stitch. Here is the video tutorial for this stitch pattern, keeping in mind that the swatch here is worked flat instead of in the round, so if you are working in the round be sure to purl round 2 instead of knit.
The hurdle stitch combines two rows/rounds of garter stitch with two rounds of a k1, p1 combination similar to seed stitch or ribbing. This creates an easy-to-memorize four row pattern repeat.
Simple Cowl Knitting Pattern
Cast on 72 sts. Join, being careful not to twist.
Rounds 1-3: *K2, p2; repeat from * around.
Round 4: Knit.
Round 5: Purl.
Round 6: *K1, p1; repeat from * around.
Round 7: Repeat round 6.
Rounds 8-15: Repeat rounds 4-7.
Round 16: Knit.
Round 17: Purl.
Rounds 18-20: *K2, p2; repeat from * around.
Finishing
Weave in ends.
That’s it! You’ve finished your cowl pattern!
