Knit Cowl

Here’s a little knit cowl I threw together today.  There seem to be a lot of cowls out there in the blogging world lately.  I thought I’d share how I made mine.

If you’ve never sewn with knits, fear not!  They are super easy and fun to work with.  They’re totally forgiving and as soon as you make one thing, you’ll be in love!

A few notes:

I used my serger, but you can also use a zig-zag stitch on a sewing machine.  Remember: Because of the stretch of the knit, you can’t use a standard straight stitch.  Your stitches will break when your fabric is stretched.  Some sewing machines have special straight stitches designed for knits which allow for stretch.  (When in doubt, check your sewing machine manual.)

For a simple project like this, I left my stitches on the outside, to give it character.  You could just as easily hide them on the inside.

Cut 3 pieces of knit (I used interlock knits), 36″ long by 6.5″ high (the stretch should be in the direction of the length, so that when stretched, the pieces become longer, not wider.)  These can be the same fabric or different prints.  If you want your cowl a bit smaller than shown in the photo above, cut it 30″ long instead of 36″.

Place two pieces together (wrong sides facing).  Stitch along the length of the fabric.  Open the fabric to lay flat.

Add the third strip (wrong sides together again) and stitch along the length of the fabric.  Open to lay flat.

Now fold the fabric so that the first piece is laying on the third piece (wrong sides together).  Sew along the length of the fabric.  Now you should have a fabric tube.

Lay it out flat.

Flip one end of the fabric tube over so you create a twist in the fabric.

Fold the fabric in half (keeping the twist in).

Sew raw edges together.  (Shown open below).

Now you have created a loop.

And you’re done!

Enjoy!