I have had these two yarns in my stash for a while.  I wanted to use them together but have spent a while thinking it through because the red and white/cream colour combination can look very Christmassy.  Although I love Christmas, I wanted whatever I made to be wearable the rest of the year!

Linen Stitch Cowl – a free crochet pattern from Make My Day Creative – so easy, no ends!

I spotted this awesome Linen Stitch Manghan by Dedri Uys (have a look if you haven’t seen it on Ravelry or Pinterest yet).  The idea is so simple, but since I just had a skein of each colour the blanket was clearly out of the question.  So I used the same stitch in this cowl and matching gloves (pattern to follow).  Thanks for the inspiration Dedri!

The stitch is clever because although it is worked in rows the stripes look like they are worked vertically.  Also, it is done in the round so no need to weave in tails at the end of each row, just carry up the yarn using a couple of chains!  You know how I hate weaving in tails so this is perfect for me!

Linen Stitch Cowl – a free crochet pattern from Make My Day Creative – so easy, no ends!

The stitch is quite dense so I suggest you go up a hook size from whatever is recommended on the ball band.  I think this would work best in dk weight or chunkier.  This is also a great pattern for using a short variegated yarn with a contrasting neutral (see here for my top colour tips).

Scroll down for the pdf patterns! (US and UK notation)

Materials:

270m (100g) dk wool – 135m (50g) each of two contrasting colours.  I used Manos Del Uruguay Manos Silk Blend DK in Taurus and Cream.

Main hook – 5mm (or one size up from whatever is recommended on the ball band)

Foundation chain hook – 5.5mm (or next size up from your main hook – you can use your main hook and chain loosely if you prefer)

2 locking stitch markers (useful but not essential)

Pattern:

The cowl is worked in the round, alternating colours each round.  Working the pattern as described makes an infinity cowl which is long enough to wrap twice – approx108cm (21inches) long and 19cm (7.5inches) wide – and it stretches!

Begin with the larger hook, Chain 211 (or desired cowl length).  Do not join the ends of the chains to work in the round just yet – work row 1 first.  Switch to your main hook.

Row 1: Ch2 (counts as an sc and ch1), sc into 4^th chain from hook. Ch1, sk1 ch, sc in next chain, repeat from * to end of chain till either 1 or 2 chains remain, ch1, sl-st into the ch3 space at the start of the row just finished so that you are now working in the round.  Make sure that your strip of crochet is not twisted.  Ch2, slide the loop off the hook and place a locking st marker into the loop to prevent it from unravelling.

If you have a ch1 remaining, weave in the tail from the foundation chain using it to join to the last chain of the foundation.  If you have a ch2 remaining, unpick one chain and then weave in the end.  (I find this method saves a lot of time spent counting and recounting the foundation chain, and making sure it isn’t twisted before joining).

Linen Stitch Cowl – a free crochet pattern from Make My Day Creative – so easy, no ends!

Round 2: With the second colour, join into the ch-sp adjacent to the join.  Ch2 (counts as sc, ch1), *sc in next ch sp, ch1, repeat from * around, and keeping the ch2 of the last colour used behind the ch, sl-st into the first ch-sp to join.  Ch2 and slide the loop off the hook, using a locking stitch marker to hold the loop.

Round 3: Insert the hook in the loop of the next colour and remove the stitch marker.  Sc into the ch-sp directly in line with the loop.  *Ch1, sc in next ch-sp, repeat from *around, ch1 and join with a sl-st into the first sc made, ch2 and place the stitch marker to hold the loop as before.

Linen Stitch Cowl – Right side, “wrong side”, and the ch2 seam.

Repeat Round 3 until the cowl is the desired width.

To finish the edges, you can work an sc in each st and chain around on both sides of the cowl.

Linen Stitch Cowl – a free crochet pattern from Make My Day Creative

Block as desired, and check back soon for the matching fingerless gloves pattern!

Downloadable pdf patterns:

Linen Stitch Cowl US
Linen Stitch Cowl UK