Bandana Cowl Knitting Patterns

I like to knit shawls, and I like the look of a shawl, but I don’t wear my knit shawls very often because they’re often a pain to keep where you want them on your body (not to mention the difficulty of eating with a giant piece of knitting wrapped around your neck!).

A great compromise is a bandana cowl, which has a triangular shape in the front but a cowl neck so you can slip it on over your head and it stays where you want it. If you’re new to this genre of knitting, allow me to introduce you to some bandana cowl knitting patterns.

You can start simple like the chunky garter stitch bandana cowl from Pixie Bell. This project uses super bulky yarn and you can have the front standing up or rolled down for extra warmth.

Or try the LYS cowl from Stitchology Shop, which uses mostly stockinette stitch with an I-cord edging and a bit of ribbing at the neck edge. This one uses DK weight yarn and is lovely in a multicolored yarn.

Of course you can add any stitch pattern or technique to one of these cowls, such as this easy eyelet pattern from Happy Dog Crafts (kind of reminds me of my winter kerchief). The original was worked in DK weight yarn but you can also use worsted weight for a little more warmth if you like.

Or how about Sweater Freak’s Endless Chances cowl (on Ravelry)? This one uses the fun and easy broken rib pattern and calls for DK weight yarn.

Add in a little color with the Creativity Cowl by Tori Yu, which uses a solid color and either a multicolored yarn or scraps to make the stripes. The original used DK weight yarn but the pattern is written so that you can use any yarn or gauge. Grab the pattern on Ravelry.

Make your bandana cowl a little more interesting with a scalloped edge like on the Asti pattern from Natasja Hornby. This fingering weight project has a pretty mosaic knit pattern along the edges and a solid color on the cowl. It’s worked flat and seamed at the back for easy wearing. Find it on Ravelry.

Play with two color brioche on a bandana cowl with this pattern from Lavanya Patricella. It’s worked in DK weight yarn and gives you practice working brioche flat and in the round.

A Simple Cowl for When You Need to Think [Knitting]

Add Some Doodles to Your Cowl with this Fun Arctic Pattern [Knitting]

I rarely understand why something becomes a trend in crafting. Gnomes and geese are both cute I guess, but I never thought we’d be making them for all seasons. (See, for example, this collection of gnome knitting patterns, or these knit geese.)

Another one I don’t totally understand is sardines or little fish more generally. Sure, they’re cute, and the shape is fun, but I had no idea when I was sharing this pattern for a fish-shaped pouch last year that it would become a hugely popular pattern that people are still searching for on the site. It is pretty cute, though, so if you weren’t around then or don’t remember you should got check it out.

Recently another fishy knitting pattern crossed my monitor: the little knit fish from Classical Songbird Designs.

Just as the name suggests, these fish are little, about 4.5 inches or 11 cm from end to end. They look like little sardines and take about 12 yards of sock yarn to make.

You can even make a two-tone fish and use just 6 yards of each color.

This sounds to me like just about the perfect use for the yarn that’s left over after knitting a pair of socks, or a mini skein or several that have been sitting around unused in your stash.

The fish are knit flat in one piece, which makes it easy to stitch on the eyes with more yarn or embroidery floss before stuffing, and you can stitch up the sides while you stuff (though it’s not a very big piece so you could probably stitch and then stuff, finishing with the end of the tail).

Because I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one wondering, I measured an Altoids box and as the pattern is written the fish are a little too big to fit in it (the box is about 4 inches/10 cm long). But you could make the fish a little smaller if you want to make a box of them. Or just make a fishy bag to put them in!

You can grab the free pattern for the little knit fish at Classical Songbird Designs.

[Photo: Classical Songbird Designs.]

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