Last week I bought two skeins of Debbie Bliss “Roma” with a particular project in mind – a cosy cowl for myself.

As this only takes two skeins, I splashed out on this luxury yarn which is a beautifully soft mix of Merino and superfine Alpaca in a gorgeous shade, Duck Egg. At £8.95 per 100g ball it costs just under £18.00 to make which is well worth it considering the quality of the wool.

Even though I was writing the pattern as I went, I had the finished cowl around my neck within just three hours of hooking my first stitch. Not bad for an evening’s work, though I say so myself!

This was made possible by the use of super chunky yarn and a super sized crochet hook, the combination of which creates a loose textured cowl which drapes softly.

There are lots of patterns out there but I had a go at designing my own as I went, combining several elements into one design and tailoring it to fit me exactly.

I decided to use exclusively treble crochet (US double) to keep it simple and let the wonderful yarn take centre stage.

I also decided to make it wider at the bottom so that it would drape lower and keep my chest warm, but make it narrower at the neck for a snug fit to keep the wind out.

Apologies for the slightly scary stare – that’s what happens when I take selfies!!! Anyway, you get the idea – a really cosy cowl to keep you warm on a cold day. So, without further ado….

COSY COWL PATTERN

You will need: –

2 skeins of any super chunky yarn (I used Debbie Bliss “Roma” in Duck Egg – £8.95 each from the Wool Warehouse)

12mm crochet hook

Tension: 7 stitches and 5 rows to 10 x 10cm

Instructions: –

Ch50 and join with a slip stitch into your first chain to continue working in the round.

Round 1. Ch3, 1tr in each ch to end. Join with a sl st into your first ch3 (50 st)

Rounds 2-4. Repeat Round 1 three more times (50 st)

Round 5. Start decreasing for the neck; Ch3, 1tr into next 12 stitches, tr2tog, 1tr into next 24 stitches, tr2tog, 1tr in each st to end. Join with a sl st (48 st)

Round 6. Ch3, 1tr into next 11 stitches, tr2tog, 1tr into next 23 stitches, tr2tog, 1tr in each st to end. join with a sl st (46 st)

Round 7. Ch3, 1tr into next 10 stitches, tr2tog, 1tr into next 22 stitches, tr2tog, 1tr in each st to end. join with a sl st (44 st)

Round 8. Ch3, 1tr into next 9 stitches, tr2tog, 1tr into next 21 stitches, tr2tog, 1tr in each st to end. join with a sl st (42 st)

Round 9. Ch3, 1tr into next 8 stitches, tr2tog, 1tr into next 20 stitches, tr2tog, 1tr in each st to end. join with a sl st (40 st)

Rounds 10-16. Ch3, 1tr into each st to end. join with a sl st (40 st)

Round 17. Ch2, 1dc into each st to end. Fasten off and weave in loose ends.

Such a simple, quick pattern with only 17 rows of crochet – I think this cowl is definitely going to be made in various different shades for Christmas presents….!