Simple Shells Cowl

FREE Cowl Crochet Pattern

This cowl is worked up with one ball of yarn, but you could certainly use more if you want it longer or wider. The stitch pattern is in a multiple of 10, so just increase or decrease your starting chains to the length you want. And it’s a nice stitch pattern that will go with just about anything.

I played around with this stitch many moons ago when I designed myself a simple top using this shell stitch. Although the pattern never got published, I did post a snippet of the fabric elsewhere online and recently received a few requests for the pattern. So here it is in a cowl. As for the top, I may decide to revamp and re-create it and hopefully have a pattern for that some day too…

In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy this cowl. And keep checking back, because you never know what other patterns might surface in this cool stitch pattern.

Skill Level: Easy/Intermediate

Materials:
Yarn: Vanna’s Choice (One 3.5oz ball) #4
Crochet Hook: I/9-5.50mm

Gauge: 3″ over one stitch repeat.

Finished Size: 23.5″ by 4.5″ when lying flat.

Abbreviations:

Ch/Chs = Chain/Chains
Dc = Double Crochet
Fpedc = Front Post Extended Double Crochet
Hk = Hook
Lp/Lps = Loop/Loops
Rep = Repeat
Sc = Single Crochet
Sk = Skip
Sl St = Slip Stitch
St/Sts = Stitch/Stitches
Yo = Yarn Over

Notes & Special Stitch Instructions:

Shell: (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in designated ch or shell.

Front Post Extended Double Crochet (Fpedc): Yo, insert your hk around the post going in from the front to back and then back to the front again, Yo and pull through (3 lps on hk). Yo and pull through 1 lp (3 lps on hk). (Yo and pull through 2 lps) twice. See Tutorial

Pattern Instructions:

Ch 150 (or any multiple of 10), join with sl st in first ch being careful not to twist chs. You can also make 150 foundation single crochets and then omit rnd 1.

Rnd 1: Loosely Ch 1, working into back bumps, sc in same ch as join and into each ch around; join with sl st in first sc. (150 sts)

Rnd 2: Ch 2 (does not count as st, now and throughout), dc in same st as join and in next 4 sts, *sk next 2 sts, shell in next st, sk next 2 sts**, dc in next 5 sts; rep from * around ending last rep at **; join with sl st in first dc. (15 shells)

Rnd 3: Ch 2, fpedc in same st as join making sure to catch ch-2, *dc in next 3 sts, fpedc in next st, shell in next shell, sk 2 dc of shell**, fpedc in next st; rep from * around ending last rep at **; join with sl st in first fpedc.

Rnds 4-8: Rep rnd 3.

Rnd 9: Ch 1, sc in same st as join and into each st around; join with sl st in first sc. Fasten Off.

Thank you so much to my awesome testers for testing this out for me:

Betty Matthews
Gigi Lee
Sandra Jones Haynes

You might also enjoy the FREE Cowl Pattern Collection on CPB.