TUTORIAL: Quick & Chunky Ribbed Crochet Cowl

There are only 13 days until Christmas. Eek! If your plans to give handmade presents are failing due to lack of time, I have a quick project that you can get on and off your crochet hook in under two hours. (yes, I am procrastinating on the granny blanket!) In fact, I made a second scarf last night during The Office, Parks & Recreation, and New Girl – all on Hulu, so with less commercial time. So maybe 1 hour 15 minutes?

I follow a wonderful blog called Small Things, and Jenny posts a Yarn Along each week where she talks about what she’s currently knitting and reading. I’m definitely a bit less intelligent with my yarn habit. Kids in bed + TV + crochet = a wonderful evening! I do love to read, but just can’t do them at the same time.

But back to the scarf. I love the cowl neck shape. I just pull it over my head, and I’m ready to head out the door. How hard is tying a scarf, you ask? Well, I guess it’s not that hard. (I’m picturing an infomercial here, with me struggling stupidly to show how I can’t figure out a normal scarf!) But when I’ve just finished another game of “find Jacob’s shoes” and “convince Jacob to wear a coat,” anything that gets me out the door quicker is nice. And from what I’m seeing on Pinterest lately, I’m not the only one who fancies a circle scarf or cowl neck. I’m guessing you might have some friends or family who would like one too.

In the green scarf shown, I used Lion Brand Hometown USA Yarn. The color I used has been discontinued, but there’s a similar green here. Last night, I crocheted another one with Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick in the denim. Both yarns are a very similar weight, and they crochet nearly identically. You’ll use almost an entire skein for this scarf.

(UPDATE 1/20/12: I just added this project to Ravelry if you want to add notes on there. Here’s the link.)

The yarn recommends an N-13 hook. But ignore that for this scarf and use a Q-19. It makes for a loose and stretchy scarf. It’s also much quicker to crochet with such a giant hook.

To begin, chain 14. Single crochet (sc) one row. Turn.

For the remaining rows, you will be single crocheting into the back loop only. In the photo above, I’ve painted the back loop in red so that you can see the one I’m talking about. Crocheting into this loop is what gives the scarf its ribbed texture.

Single crochet (sc) into the back loop for 37 rows, or until you’re pleased with the length. Don’t cut the yarn yet.

To finish, fold the scarf in half, with the ends together. Slip stitch both sides together.

Finally, weave the ends in. This yarn is much too thick for any needles I own, so I carefully wove it through using a smaller crochet hook.

Slip it on, or wrap it up and give it away. I hope you enjoy!

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