I went through this phase awhile back where I got obsessed with crocheting cowls. Here in San Francisco it is often chilly and I almost always wear layers to account for temperature changes in the different microclimates between neighborhoods so cowls are great. They take up less room than scarves, so if I take it off I can easily throw it in my purse, but they’re just as warm and cozy.
It had been awhile since I’d gone through that cowl phase and I hadn’t made a crochet cowl since then. But I kept eyeing this yarn that was sitting in a glass bowl on my fireplace mantle and trying to figure out what I wanted to make with it. I started a hairpin lace scarf but for some reason that didn’t feel right for this yarn. And I considered making it a portion of a blanket (I had a skine of about 300 yards) but then decided I didn’t need yet another half-done blanket around here. So then it came to me that it would be a lovely yarn for a new crochet cowl.
I made this cowl the way I make a lot of them, which is to make a long rectangle, starting with a chain that’s the length I want to wrap around my neck. I crochet rows until I have the height of cowl that I want. In this case I did a lot of hdc crochet rows (because I really love that stitch) and then perodically I would do a row of longer stitches (there are some dc, tc and double treble rows).
Once I have the height I want, I put the two short ends together and seam it up. Usually I use shells to create a decorative seam; this time I chose to use clusters – either way it has a textured effect sort of like buttons. The cowl is super comfy. That’s thanks to the terrific yarn that I used. It’s a hand-dyed yarn from a local company called Sincere Sheep, which I purchased from their great booth at a craft fair last winter. The yarn type is called Luminous and it’s a DK weight yarn made of 85% Polwarth Wool and 15% Tussah Silk. So yummy. The color I got is called Winter’s Night, which is a warm purple-grey shade that feels very sophisticated.
I like the color and it’s going to go with many different things that I have in my wardrobe so I have a feeling I am going to get a lot of wear out of this new crochet piece. Now I just need to decide what to crochet next …
