A Zigzag Chevron Cowl

Ever since I learnt to crochet, I have been both tempted and terrified by The Ripple. That delightful up-and-down pattern, made by increasing and decreasing stitches, has always appealed to me but I was so scared of The Dreaded Foundation Chain, the counting, the precision. But, as always, when you try these things they are generally never half as hard as you think they'll be, and so I am very excited and happy to share my new crocheted cowl with you today. 

It's not technically a ripple, but a zigzag or chevron design. The difference is that the points are sharper here whereas a ripple has softer, wave-like shapes, but the principle and pattern are very similar as far as I can tell.  I used this really excellent tutorial from the blog Meet Me At Mikes.*

Last January, I made this cushion, and found I was left with a lot of leftover yarn in small-ish amounts.

I really wanted to use those same colours in one project again as I think they work really well together, and some kind of scarf of cowl seemed the most likely outcome.

My zigzags are random in pattern and width, so that the cowl looks a bit different depending on which side you look at. I like this, and can be seen arranging and rearranging it in the hall mirror before I go out.

I know, it's not that cold yet, but I can be found wearing some kind of scarf or cowl on pretty much any day of the year, and one of the reasons I love autumn so much is all the cosy woolen accessories I can wear.

The join is pretty subtle - you can see it here, but once it's on it's not noticeable.

I really love how it turned out. The colours are not really "my" colours (what, no mustard yellow?!) but sometimes it's nice to have a change. I looks great with my denim jacket and my charcoal grey raincoat, and it's very warm and not at all scratchy. I know many people find wearing wool next to their skin very uncomfortable, and I do find that with rougher types of yarn, but cashmerino really is incredibly soft. Oh, and it doesn't pill either, another bonus.

And what about the pattern I was so scared of, The Ripple? Well, yes, it is just as addictive and satisfying as everyone says. You get sucked into row after row, up and down, and just want to keep going. I can really understand why it's such an enjoyable stitch to work on as well as look at. The foundation chain can be tricky - I had to concentrate hard on that - but once you're a couple of rows in it becomes hugely gratifying to work on. One day, I will make a ripple or chevron blanket. One day.

*****

For those who are interested, there are some colour and stitch details below.

I used the following eight colours: (Seven are pictured above, plus some extra dark grey I had in my stash.)

340011 - Dark Brown

340049 - Taupe/Pale Grey

340054 - Rose 
340058 - Dark Grey

340100 - White

340204 - Baby Blue

340600 - Pale Pink

340607 - Pale Lilac

I used Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino on a 3.5 mm hook. The length before being sewn together into a cowl was 80 cm or 31 inches, and there were 80 rows crocheted in trebles. It is 38 cm or 15 inches wide from top to bottom, which gives 5 full up and down zigzags or chevrons. The total weight is around 200 grams which, since I used 8 colours, is around half a 50g ball of each colour.


* The pattern (which is actually for a blanket) is all worked in double stitches - I adapted it myself to work in trebles, and shorted the length of the foundation chain.