Crochet Cowl Pattern- Free Crochet Pattern for Beginners

Follow this fun crochet cowl pattern to whip up a magical scarf for you and a friend! Find the Free Crochet Pattern Below.

Everyone welcome to this month’s guest poster Nicole from Woven Tale Designs! She designed this adorable crochet cowl pattern with a bonus matching wristband that I know you all are going to love!

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Welcome to the pattern for the Bindle Cowl! This innovative design is inspired by the “Far from Home” theme from the beloved fairytale Pinocchio.

As a fun fact, a “bindle” is the official name of the sack at the end of a stick that hobos and hitchhikers use to carry their belongings in.

When designing this crochet cowl pattern, the further along the finished look became the more it took the shape of a cowl-sized bandana.

This design is extremely comfortable to wear, and extra insulating for those chilly winter days!

This is an Easy level crochet cowl pattern, written in US terminology.

Pictures and graphics are also included to help you visually understand the creation process. This crochet cowl pattern is intended for children, ages 4 – 10. The bonus matching wristband pattern will be for the average adult wrist size.

The Bindle Cowl also features a bonus pattern included for those crafty parents out there! Originally the Bindle Cowl was designed as a back-to-school pattern for parents and their kids.

The idea is that the parent/guardian coordinates wearing a wristband that matches their child’s cowl when sending them off to school or picking them up at the end of the day.

A fun way to coordinate the colors is to get your child involved in the design process: Your child’s main cowl color (“Color A”) will be their favorite color, and the coordinating color (“Color B”) will be the parent/guardian’s favorite color. And then you would switch those colors for the parent/guardian’s matching wristband. The yardage for the bonus pattern is not included in the “Materials section because it uses very minimal amounts of yarn.

Special Stitches will be listed below. You will also be using these Easy Level skills when working up this pattern: Crocheting into the raw ends of rows, and beginner crochet beading.

You can find the link to the paid PDF version of the pattern here.

This post contains affiliate links meaning I (Ashley) may receive a small commission from purchases made at no extra cost to you.

Materials

Hook:
5mm H hook

Yarn:
Approx. 255 yards of “Color A” Worsted Weight yarn, Yarn Bee’s Soft & Sleek
Approx. 15 yards of “Color B” Worsted Weight yarn, Yarn Bee’s Soft & Sleek

Other:
50 Beads (optional)
Crochet Thread or Sewing Thread (optional)
Needle (for weaving ends)
Scissors

Stitch Key (US Terms)

Ch – Chain
Dc – Double Crochet
Dc3tog – Double Crochet 3 sts together*
Dec – Decrease
FO – Fasten Off
Hdc – Half Double Crochet
Inc – Increase
Picot – Picot St*
Sb – Slide Bead*
Sk – Skip
St(s) – Stitch(es)

Special Stitches:

Double Crochet 3 Together (Dc3tog): *Yarn over and insert hook into the next st, and pull up a loop. Yarn over and pull through the first two loops on the hook.* Repeat between asterisks two more times, then yarn over and pull through all the loops on your hook.

Picot St (Picot): After chaining up the instructed number of chains, sl st into the front loop of the last st made.

Slide Bead (Sb): This particular term is in reference to incorporating a singular bead into your work. Simply select the farthest right bead in your bead strand and slide it to the right along the crochet thread until it is placed right up against your crochet hook (or last stitch made). You will then, proceed to work up any stitches that follow in the pattern.

Gauge

14 sts X 7.5 rows in Dc = 4” Square

Bindle Cowl Pattern Instructions

[Chapter 1 – Cowl Base]

Row 1: {With Color A} Ch 2, and hdc inc into the back bump of the 2^nd ch from the hook. Ch 1 and turn. (2 sts)

Row 2: Hdc inc across, ch 1 and turn. (4 sts)

Row 3: Hdc, hdc inc 2, hdc. Ch 1 and turn. (6 sts)

Rows 4 – 6: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 7: Dc 2, ch 2, sk 2, dc 2. Ch 1 and turn.

Rows 8 – 10: Dc across. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 11: Dc, dc inc, dc until the last two sts, dc inc, and dc. Ch 1 and turn. (8 sts)

Row 12: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 13: Repeat Row 11. (10 sts)

Row 14: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Rows 15 – 27: Repeat Row 11. (36 sts)

Rows 28 – 61: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 62: Dc, dc dec, dc across until the last three sts, dc dec, and dc. Ch 1 and turn. (34 sts)

Rows 63 – 74: Repeat Row 62. (10 sts)

Row 75: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 76: Repeat Row 62/84. (8 sts)

Row 77: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 78: Repeat Row 62. (6 sts)

Rows 79: Dc across and ch 1. Place st marker into the back bump of the ch and turn. This st marker is an important landmark for the start of Chapter 2, please do not skip this step!

Rows 80 & 81: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 82: Repeat Row 7.

Rows 83 – 85: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 86: Hdc, hdc dec 2, hdc. Ch 1 and turn. (4 sts)

Row 87: Hdc dec 2, ch 1 and turn. (2 sts)

Row 88: Hdc dec, and FO. (1 st)

[Chapter 2 – Border & Seam]

{PLAIN BORDER SEAM – NO BEADING, With Color B}

Step 1: Join to the marked turning chain from the end of Chapter 1 (“Cowl Base”), and ch 1. All sts made in the remaining steps of this chapter will be worked into the raw edges of your cowl base. To simplify the written instructions, the raw edges will be represented by brackets, […]. Anything written inside those brackets will be worked into that individual raw end. For example, when you read [dc inc], that means you will be working a Double Crochet Increase stitch into that one raw end.

Step 2: *[Sc inc], [sc].* Repeat between asterisks 3 more times, then [sc inc].

Step 3: Rotate your piece slightly clockwise, and work {sc, ch 2, picot} into the top of the dec st from Row 88 (Chapter 1, “Cowl Base”).

Step 4: Rotate your piece slightly clockwise. *[Sc inc], [sc].* Repeat between asterisks 3/4 more times, then [sc inc].

Step 5: {SEAMING THE TOP & BOTTOM EDGES} Fold the bottom edge of the cowl base up,

“hotdog style,” to meet the top edge of the scarf base. All sts in this step will be used to seam the top and bottom edges together. Work your hook into the bottom raw edge first, and then the top raw edge before completing a stitch. *[Hdc], [hdc inc].* Repeat between asterisks 33 more times, then [hdc].

Step 6: Continuing along the top edge of your cowl base, work *[sc inc], [sc].* Repeat between asterisks 3 more times, then [sc inc].

Step 7: Rotate your piece slightly clockwise, and work {sc, ch 2, picot} into the unworked loops of the foundation ch of the inc st from Row 1 (Chapter 1, “Cowl Base”).

Step 8: Rotate your piece slightly clockwise. *[Sc inc], [sc].* Repeat between asterisks 3 more times, then [sc inc] and FO.

Step 9: With your tapestry needle weave the fastened off end and starting end of the border seam into the spine of the seaming hdc sts. This will create a seamless look to your scarf. Continue to weave any remaining ends in.

{BEADED BORDER SEAM – OPTIONAL, With Color B}

Step 1: Thread the large eyed needle with your crochet thread/sewing thread and strand 50 beads onto the thread.

Step 2: Remove the thread from the needle. Match the end of your thread to the end of a new strand of your Color B yarn. Create a slip knot using both matched ends and connect your hook into the knot to begin crocheting.

Step 3: Join to the marked turning chain from the end of Chapter 1 (“Cowl Base”), and ch 1. All sts made in the remaining steps of this chapter will be worked into the raw edges of your scarf base. To simplify the written instructions the raw edges will be represented by brackets, […]. Anything written inside those brackets will be worked into that individual raw end. For example, when you read [dc inc], that means you will be working a Double Crochet Increase stitch into that one raw end.

Step 4: *[Sc inc], [sc, sb, ch 1].* Repeat between asterisks 3 more times, then [sc inc].

Step 5: Rotate your piece slightly clockwise, and work {sc, ch 2, picot} into the top of the dec st from Row 88 (Chapter 1, “Cowl Base”).

Step 6: Rotate your piece slightly clockwise. *[Sc inc, sb, ch 1], [sc].* Repeat between asterisks 3 more times, then [sc inc].

Step 7: {SEAMING THE TOP & BOTTOM EDGES} Fold the bottom edge of the scarf base up, “hotdog style,” to meet the top edge of the scarf base. All sts in this step will be used to seam your top and bottom edges together. Work your hook into the bottom raw edge first, and then the top raw edge before completing a stitch. *[Hdc], [hdc inc, sb, ch 1].* Repeat between asterisks 33 more times, then [hdc].

Step 8: Continuing along the top edge of your scarf base, work *[Sc inc], [sc, sb, ch 1].* Repeat between asterisks 3 more times, then [sc inc].

Step 9: Rotate your piece slightly clockwise, and work {sc, ch 2, picot} into the unworked loops of the foundation ch of the inc st from Row 1 (Chapter 1, “Cowl Base”).

Step 10: Rotate your piece slightly clockwise. *[Sc inc, sb, ch 1], [sc].* Repeat between asterisks 3 more times, then [sc inc] and FO.

Step 11: With your tapestry needle, weave the fastened off end and starting end of the border seam into the spine of the seaming hdc sts. This will create a seamless look to your scarf. Continue to weave any remaining ends in.

[Chapter 3 – Bonus Parent Wristband]

{WRISTBAND BASE}

Row 1: With your primary color ch 2, and 3 hdc into the back bump of the 2^nd ch from the hook. Ch 1 and turn. (3 sts)

Row 2: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 3: Dc inc, dc, dc inc. Ch 1 and turn. (5 sts)

Rows 4 & 5: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 6: Dc 2, ch 1, sk 1 (counts as st), dc 2. Ch 1 and turn.

Rows 7 – 12: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 13: Repeat Row 6.

Rows 14 & 15: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 16: Dc dec, dc, dc dec. Ch 1 and turn. (3 sts)

Row 17: Dc across, ch 1 and turn.

Row 18: Dc3tog, and FO. (1 st)

{WRISTBAND BORDER}

Step 1: Join your secondary color to the top of the last st made in Row 18 and ch 1. All sts made in the remaining steps of this chapter will be worked into the raw edges of your scarf base. To simplify the written instructions the raw edges will be represented by brackets, […]. Anything written inside those brackets will be worked into that singular raw end. For example, when you read [dc inc], that means you will be working a Double Crochet Increase stitch into that one raw end.

Step 2: Rotate your base slightly clockwise. *[Sc], [sc inc].* Repeat between asterisks seven more times, then [sc].

Step 3: Rotate your base slightly clockwise, and into the unworked loops of the first st made work {sc, ch 2, picot}.

Step 4: Rotate your base slightly clockwise. *[Sc inc], [sc].* Repeat between asterisks seven more times, then [sc inc].

Step 5: Rotate your base slightly clockwise, and into the top of the last st made work {sc, ch 2, picot}. FO and weave in all ends.

Huge thanks to Nicole for sharing this wonderful pattern! Be sure to tag @ACraftyConcept and @woven.tales.designs on Instagram so we can see all your cowl and wristband projects!