This cowl is a great way to use up yarn you’ve had hiding deep in your stash. Feel free to mix different fibers, colors (tonal or solid colors with variegated yarns) and even yarn weights (as long as they are relatively close) to produce this one-of-a-kind cowl masterpiece.

Skill Level:  Intermediate

Size: 45 (55, 65)” in circumference, 12” high

Gauge: Approximately 18 ¼ sts x 10 ¾ rows = 4” in main Tunisian crochet pattern st; Gauge is not critical

Materials

Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light (100% superwash merino wool; 420 yards [384 meters]/100 grams): Shire (A, 1 skein); Renaissance Dyeing (100% biologique poll dorset; 375 yards [344 meters]/100 grams): Ermangard (B, 1 skein); Berroco Vintage DK (52% acrylic, 40% wool, 8% nylon; 288 yards [216 meters]/100 grams): #2162 Envy (C, 1 skein); Berroco Mixer (33% cotton, 33% polyester, 28% viscose, 6% nylon; 165 yards [151 meters]/100 grams): #8122 Twist (Edging Yarn, 1 skein)
Hook: US size 7 (4.5 mm) hook, US size 4.0 mm Tunisian hook
Notions: Split ring stitch marker, straight pins, tapestry needle

Abbreviations

Tss: Tunisian simple st
Tks: Tunisian knit st
Tking lps off hk: Taking loops off hook (Tunisian crochet backward pass)
TTwdc: Tunisian Twisted double crochet

Special Stitches

3puff: (yo, insert hk in st or sp indicated, yo and draw up lp) 3 times, yo and draw through all 7 lps on hk.
Tss (Tunisian simple st): Forward pass: insert hook under front vertical bar of next st from right to left, yo, draw lp through.
Tks (Tunisian knit st): Forward pass: insert hk from front to back between 2 vertical bars of next st, yo and draw lp through.
Tking lps off hk (Tunisian crochet backward pass): Yo, draw through 1 lp on hook, [yo, draw through 2 lps on hook] across remainder of row. Last lp on hook counts as first st of next row.
TTwdc (Tunisian Twisted double crochet): Forward pass: yo hk, insert hook under front vertical bar of next st from left to right, yo, draw lp through, yo, draw through 2 lps on hk.

Pattern Notes

Cowl is worked flat utilizing 3 different yarn colors and Tunisian crochet hook; after blocking, cowl is seamed and top and bottom edgings are worked with traditional crochet hk in the round.
Since each different yarn color is picked up only at the end of any Tunisian row pass, colors are carried up each cowl side. There is no fastening off until end of piece.

Pattern

With A and Size 7 (4.5 mm) hk, ch 204 (252, 294). Switch to Tunisian crochet hk.
Row 1 Forward Pass: Holding all lps on hk during forward pass, insert hk in 2nd ch from hk, yo, pull up lp, [insert hook in next ch, yo, pull up lp] across (204 [252, 294] lps on hk).
Row 1 Backward Pass: Take all lps off hk (see Special Stitches) until 2 lps rem, drop A, attach B (lp it onto hk), draw through final 2 lps on hk (color change made).
Row 2 Forward Pass: *tks in next st, rep from * across row to final st, tss in final st, dropping B and picking up C (lp it onto hk).
Row 2 Backward Pass: Take all lps off hk as for row 1, dropping C with 2 lps rem on hk and picking up A.
Row 3 Forward Pass: *tks in next st, rep from * across row to final st, tss in final st, dropping A and picking up B.
Row 3 Backward Pass: Take all lps off hk as for row 1, dropping B with 2 lps rem on hk and picking up C.
Row 4 Forward Pass: Ch 2 (counts as first ttwdc), *ttwdc in next st, rep from * across row to final st, tss in final st ensuring that height of st is slightly increased to align with height of row, dropping C and picking up A.
Row 4 Backward Pass: Take all all lps off hk as for row 1, dropping C with 2 lps rem on hk and picking B.
Row 5 Forward Pass: *tss in next st, rep from * across row to final st, tss in final st, dropping B and picking up C.
Row 5 Backward Pass: Take all lps off hk as for row 1, dropping C with 2 lps rem on hk and picking up A.
Rows 2-5 constitute cowl pattern, with three yarn colors (Yarns A, B, and C) utilized with no fastening off; instead, one color is dropped at the end of any row forward pass and a different color is picked up on the last st for the backward pass; similarly, one color is dropped at the end of any backward pass and a different color is picked up on the last st for the forward pass.
Work rows 2-5 alternately for an additional 24 rows (28 pattern rows total), or until ending with A.
Tunisian BO Row (RS): Continue using A, *insert hk from front to back between 2 vertical bars of next st, yo and draw through st and lp on hk; rep from * across row (you should only have one lp on hk throughout bo row). Fasten off all yarn.

Finishing

Weave in ends. Block cowl body to measurements. Once dry, fold cowl in half widthwise with rs facing out and, with MC, seam cowl closed.

Top Edge

With RS of cowl facing and US size 7 (4.5 mm) hk, attach Edging Yarn along top edge with sl st at seam, ch 1 (place sm) (counts as first sc), work 203 (251, 293) sc around top edge of cowl, ending with sl st in initial marked ch 1. (204 [252, 294] sc)
Edging Rnd 1: Ch 2 (pm in top ch), *ch 1, sk 2 sc, (dc, ch 1) 3 times in next sc, sk 2, 3puff in next sc. Rep from * around edge, ending with ch 1, sk 2 sc, (dc, ch 1) 3 times in next sc, sk 2, sl st in marked top of initial ch 2. Fasten off. (33 [41, 48] 3 3puffs)

Bottom Edge

Work as for top edge.
Weave in any final ends. If desired, steam edging.