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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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Long John Cowl Pattern

January 12, 2015 13 Comments

Free Pattern - The Long John Cowl by Hands Occupied

As I said last week, it’s another cold January in Chicago this year! It’s not quite the polar vortex level of cold temps of 30 below from last year, but it’s been close. A Fargo native, I can handle my cold weather. Part of handling cold weather in chill-town (see what I did there? Like Chi-town, eh? Eh?), is leaving the house prepared. Not unlike the Faux Woven Cowl designed during last year’s polar vortex, the Long John Cowl is all about comfortably keeping warm and layering for the cold.

Free Pattern - The Long John Cowl by Hands Occupied

The weave of the Long John Cowl is accomplished by working two rows of knitting, and two rows with slipped stitches. I intentionally designed this cowl so it’s a little tall. Between its height, structure of the stitches, and the chunky yarn used to make it, the Long John Cowl (LJC) keeps your face shielded by staying up while you walk around the big city (or any city).

The LJC  also, by virtue of being a variation of your standard stockinette stitch, it is right at home if you roll up the top and bottom hems. As you can see below, it rolls up into a nice donut shape, which is how I’ve been wearing this cowl indoors. When you’re dealing with subzero temps, accessorizing with neckwarmers both indoors and out is a must. But you don’t necessarily want want 2/3 of your face covered when you’re trying to get some work done.

Free Pattern - The Long John Cowl by Hands Occupied

Long John Cowl – The Pattern

Supplies
2-3 skeins Spud & Chloe Outer in Rhino
size 11 US needles
tapestry needle or crochet hook for weaving in ends

Abbreviations
CO – cast on
sts – stitches
k – knit
p – purl
sl – slip
wyib – with yarn in back (hold the yarn on the wrong side of the work as you, in this pattern’s case, slip a stitch)
BO – bind off

CO 72 sts and join into a circle. This pattern is worked in the round.

1-2. k around
3. k1, sl 1 wyib
4. p1, sl 1 wyib

Repeat rows 1 through 4 to desired length. BO all stitches, break yarn and weave in ends.

Free Pattern - The Long John Cowl by Hands Occupied

See? Doesn’t the outside of the LJC look just like long john fabric? The little squares repeating throughout the cowl act as little heat pockets to hold in your body warmth despite cold temps and windchill.

Free Pattern - The Long John Cowl by Hands Occupied

Free Pattern - The Long John Cowl by Hands Occupied

I think I’ve made a decent case here for the Long John Cowl, but I’ll leave you with this: an outtake from the below-zero backyard photo shoot for this post. That’s right! I took photos outside when it was below zero wearing a sweater, gloves and the LJC. The glasses fogging thing was a bit of a problem, but hey! The cowl was warm. I deem this cowl cold-tested, Fargo native-approved.

Free Pattern - The Long John Cowl by Hands Occupied

 

Filed Under: Free Patterns, Knitting, Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: chicago, convertible cowl, cowl pattern, free knitting pattern, knitting pattern, LJC, long john cowl, polar vortex

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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Comments

  1. Denise

    January 12, 2015 at 9:21 am

    Once again your amazing…I just love this.

    Reply
  2. sewbusy

    January 13, 2015 at 2:59 pm

    so did you use double pointed needles or circular needles to work it “in the round”?

    thanks,

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 13, 2015 at 3:13 pm

      You can use either. Whichever you’re more comfortable with! :)

      Reply
  3. Lettie Conlin

    January 14, 2015 at 6:57 pm

    Thank you very much for this delightful pattern! Warm and stylish!!

    Reply
  4. GG

    January 14, 2015 at 11:12 pm

    This is super cute! I found you on Instagram and you are now my fiber friend in my head!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 15, 2015 at 8:15 am

      Haha, I am 100% the same way with Instagram! :D

      Reply
  5. Bonnie Haddad

    January 17, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    Bonnie – Love this cowl. How tall did you make yours? Thanks

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 18, 2015 at 8:32 pm

      Mine’s 12 inches tall and the circumference is about 29 inches. :)

      Reply
  6. Naomi

    January 21, 2015 at 12:26 am

    Dear Heidi,

    I found your website is very useful.
    But anyway,
    is this long john cowl pattern row 4 is : P1, sl1 wyiB instead of wyiF?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 21, 2015 at 11:27 am

      Since its worked in the round instead of flat, it should be wyib both times.

      Reply
  7. GG

    January 24, 2015 at 6:33 pm

    I have some burly spun, that should work right? Or should I go up a needle size?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 25, 2015 at 10:44 pm

      The yarn’s website says they recommend a size 13 needle, so you might want a bigger needle and to cast on fewer stitches.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Wow, Sew a Simple Spring Table Runner and Placemat Combo! DIY Heart Handwarmers! Crochet a Long John Cowl Pattern! Craft a Bow-Tie Patchwork Pillow! Felt an Amazing Pair of Love Birds! Dye Watercolor Napkins! Instagram Magnets! PLUS . . . Recipes, Inspira says:
    January 14, 2015 at 4:42 pm

    […]  http://www.handsoccupied.com/2015/01/long-john-cowl-pattern/ […]

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

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Craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. / #latchhookbook out now!
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knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
Happy Wrestlemania weekend, folks!!! 🎊 It’s c Happy Wrestlemania weekend, folks!!! 🎊 It’s coincidentally International Punch Needle Rug Hooking Day today, so I’d be remiss not to share a first look at this project finished JUST in time to wear while I watch some rasslin’ on a pirate ship in a football stadium in Tampa! 💪🏻 I’m excited to watch tonight’s women’s matches the most. Eee!
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Pictured: A blond woman in a denim dress and glasses wearing a giant belt made with punch needle. The belt is made with wool in primary colors and was inspired by the WWE Universal Championship title belt. 
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This is just a preview - after jab 2.0 tomorrow (feeling grateful 🙏🏼), I’ll be editing together a vlog about the design process for this wooly waist cover. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to make some of your wilder craft ideas come to life. Stuff you’ll never find a pattern for, you know? I’ll finish editing that ASAP, but I might take a few days to edit if I feel like trash from 💉 and only want to watch wrestling and wrestling YouTube for a day or two. 😂
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#ipnrhd #punchneedle #wwe #wrestling #championshipbelt #wool #yarn #handmade #universalchampionship #universalchampion #rugmaking #wrestlingfan #wrestlemania37 #wrestlemania
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Pictured: The back of an in-progress punch needle project. A wooden punch needle tool sits on the work.
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#punchneedle #woolrug #rugmaking  #kpambassadorsapr21 #sponsored #griefproject #handsoccupied #wrestlingfan #universalchampion #yarn #yarncraft #wool #needlepunch
Happy Easter / One week til Wrestlemania! Finishin Happy Easter / One week til Wrestlemania! Finishing up the punch needling part of this crazy @wwe inspired project by tonight. 💪🏻🧶 Anybody else have crafty plans for this fine spring day? 
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Pictured: A blond woman sits, smiling and holding an in-progress punch needle project inspired by the Universal Championship belt. Houseplants are in the background and there’s lots of sun. 
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I'm finally starting to get some of my energy back I'm finally starting to get some of my energy back from the past few weeks, and as I dip my toe back into production mode, the long-promised seamed sweater knitting YouTube series is at the top of my list. I've got FOUR versions of a simple sweater I've been playing with since last JULY to feature as a free pattern for folks who want to knit along during the series. Pictured is the first prototype for the series, knit in 2 colors of @knit_picks Mighty Stitch yarn. I imagine this soon-to-be short sleeved number will come in handy as an emergency Waldo costume or Christmas sweater. 🌲 
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I've got my own list of topics I think folks would like to see in a series like this: things like tips for construction, working with vintage patterns, how to seam as invisibly as possible, and more, but as always, I'd love to hear from you: What scares you about knitting seamed sweaters? What would be helpful to cover, especially since we'll be doing more long form video content. I get so much positive feedback on my series of 20 minute+ intarsia tutorials, so I'm using those as a starting point as I produce this series. Seamed sweaters using vintage or self-improvised patterns are one of my favorite things on the planet, so I'm eager to share some seamed sweater skills with y'all super sweet folks. 😉 
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Pictured: A red and white striped, short sleeved sweater knit in pieces that have yet to be seamed. They are laid out on a yellow and orange colorblock background and one sleeve is yet to be bound off. 
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#handsoccupied #seamedsweater #kpambassadorsmar21 #sponsored #knitpicks #waldo #waldosweater #wip #yarncraft #yarn #knitting #knittersofinstagram #heidigustad #vintageknitting #sweaterknitting
Work continues this evening on my absurd punch nee Work continues this evening on my absurd punch needle pro wrestling inspired championship belt project. I’ve finished most of the front pretty quickly thanks to the @knit_picks Wool of the Andes Bulky yarn I’m using. For now, I’ve got a couple more weeks until Wrestlemania, & I’m on track to finish this in time! 
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The biggest question I have is what to do with the “plates” - the open circles in the picture. Should I try to closely replicate the Universal Championship belt or go rogue and make it wool themed? Please advise in the comments. ☺️🧶🙏🏻🐑 
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Pictured: The front of an in-progress punch needle project. A wooden punch needle tool with navy yarn running through it rests on top of the work. 
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#kpambassadorsmar21 #sponsored #knitpicks #punchneedle #rugmaking #primarycolors #punchneedlerughooking #punchneedlelove #wool #wip #yarncraft #yarn #yarnaddict
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