Cozy Seed Stitch Hooded Cowl

A warm, squishy hooded cowl in super bulky yarn and seed stitch. Seed stitch lies flat, is reversible, and looks the same on both sides of the hood opening — no ribbing and no curling edges. The cowl is knit as a tube; the hood is then worked flat and seamed along the top. Designed for beginners who are comfortable with knit, purl, and knitting in the round on a circular needle.

Skill level: Beginner

Skills used: Long-tail cast on, knit, purl, joining in the round, bind off in pattern, mattress stitch

Sizes

One size, to fit most adults.

Finished measurements

• Cowl circumference: 26½" (67.5 cm)
• Cowl height: 8" (20.5 cm)
• Hood height (from top of cowl to bind-off): 12" (30.5 cm)
• Hood depth after seaming: 13¼" (33.5 cm)

To make a snugger cowl, cast on 54 stitches (24" / 61 cm). To make a looser cowl, cast on 66 stitches (29¼" / 74.5 cm). Always use an even number of stitches.

Materials

Yarn Super Bulky weight (Category 6), 260 yards (238 m).

Example: 3 skeins Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (80% acrylic, 20% wool; 106 yd / 97 m per 170 g skein), or any super bulky yarn that matches gauge.

Seed stitch uses more yarn than stockinette. If your skeins are under 100 yards (91 m) each, buy an extra skein.

Needles US 13 (9 mm) 24-inch (60 cm) circular needle, or size needed to obtain gauge.

A 16-inch (40 cm) circular needle will also work for the cowl but will be snug; a 24-inch (60 cm) needle is more comfortable for both the cowl and the hood.

Notions

• 1 stitch marker
• Tapestry needle
• Scissors

Gauge

9 stitches and 16 rows/rounds = 4" (10 cm) in seed stitch, blocked.

Swatch: Cast on 13 stitches and work seed stitch flat for 20 rows. Measure the center 9 stitches and 16 rows. If your swatch is smaller than 4" (10 cm), go up a needle size. If it is larger, go down a needle size.

Gauge affects both fit and yarn usage. Take time to swatch.

Abbreviations (US)

Pattern Notes

• Seed stitch is worked by knitting the purl stitches and purling the knit stitches as they face you. If you see a V, purl it. If you see a bump, knit it. This one rule works in the round and flat.
• Use an even number of stitches throughout.
• The cowl is a closed tube. You will pull the finished piece on over your head like a sweater.
• When the hood begins, you stop joining in the round and work back and forth. The opening this creates is the face opening.
• Seed stitch looks the same on both sides; still mark the RS when you begin the hood so you can track row count.
• Do not join the hood in the round. If you accidentally join, you will close the face opening.

Stitch Pattern

Seed stitch in the round (even number of sts)

• Rnd 1: *K1, p1; rep from * to end of rnd.
• Rnd 2: *P1, k1; rep from * to end of rnd.
• Rep Rnds 1–2.

Seed stitch flat (even number of sts)

• Row 1 (RS): *K1, p1; rep from * to end of row.
• Row 2 (WS): *P1, k1; rep from * to end of row.
• Rep Rows 1–2.

These two versions use the same stitch sequence. When you switch from the round to flat knitting, just turn the work and continue to knit the bumps and purl the Vs.

Instructions

Cowl

Using a long-tail cast on and the circular needle, CO 60 sts. (60 sts ÷ 9 sts × 4" = 26½" / 67.5 cm ✓)

Pm and join for working in the round, taking care not to twist the cast-on edge.

Tip: After joining, knit the first stitch firmly to close the gap. The beginning of the round will sit at center front (the face slit starts here later).

Work seed stitch in the round until the cowl measures 8" (20.5 cm) from the cast-on edge, ending after a Rnd 2.

(8" × 16 rows ÷ 4" = 32 rnds ✓. 32 rnds of k1, p1 / p1, k1 on 60 sts ✓)

Stitch count remains 60 sts.

Hood

You will now work back and forth in rows on all 60 sts. Do not join. The gap at the beginning of the row is the face opening.

Row 1 (RS): *K1, p1; rep from * to end of row. Turn.

Row 2 (WS): *P1, k1; rep from * to end of row. Turn.

Continue in seed stitch flat until the hood measures 12" (30.5 cm) from the start of flat knitting, ending after a WS row.

(12" × 16 rows ÷ 4" = 48 rows ✓. 48 rows on 60 sts ✓)

Stitch count remains 60 sts.

BO in pattern: On the next RS row, bind off in seed stitch (knit the knits and purl the purls as you bind off) until 1 st remains. Fasten off, leaving a 24" (61 cm) tail for seaming the hood.

(BO 60 sts → 0 sts remain ✓)

Finishing

1. Weave in the cast-on tail and any yarn joins on the WS of the cowl. Leave the long bind-off tail for the hood seam.

2. Seam the hood top

Lay the piece flat with the cowl tube at the bottom and the hood rectangle at the top. The two selvedges of the hood are the left and right sides of the face opening. The bind-off edge is the top of the hood.

Fold the bind-off edge in half so the two front corners (the top of each face-opening selvedge) meet. The fold is center back.

With RS facing you, use mattress stitch and the long bind-off tail to sew the two halves of the bind-off edge together, starting at the face-opening corners and working toward the center-back fold.

You are seaming 30 sts to 30 sts (60 ÷ 2 = 30 ✓). This seam runs from the top of the face opening, over the crown, to center back. Do not sew the hood selvedges — those stay open for the face.

(Hood width 26½" folded in half = 13¼" / 33.5 cm hood depth ✓)

3. Close the small gap at the base of the face opening (where you switched from rounds to rows) with a couple of stitches if needed.

4. Weave in the remaining tail on the WS of the hood seam.

5. Block lightly. Seed stitch in super bulky yarn usually only needs a steam block or a mist-and-pat. Do not stretch the fabric out of shape; you want the cowl to keep its 26½" (67.5 cm) circumference. Let dry fully.

Wear

Pull the cowl on over your head. The tube sits around the neck and upper chest. Open the hood slit around your face and settle the seamed top over the crown. The seed-stitch edges will not curl.

Schematic (not to scale)

              hood top seam (folded BO edge)
         ●====================●   ← 13¼" (33.5 cm) depth
        /                      \
       /        HOOD 12"        \  face opening (selvedges, left unseamed)
      /         (30.5 cm)        \
     |                            |
     |---------- COWL 8" ---------|  26½" (67.5 cm) circumference
     |         (20.5 cm)          |  (60 sts in the round)
     |____________________________|
              cast-on edge

Customizing

• Taller cowl: Work more rounds before starting the hood. Every 4 rounds adds 1" (2.5 cm). Extra yarn needed: about 15 yards (14 m) per extra inch of cowl.
• Deeper hood: Work more rows before binding off. Every 4 rows adds 1" (2.5 cm) of hood height. Extra yarn needed: about 15 yards (14 m) per extra inch of hood.
• Looser or snugger fit: Adjust the cast-on in steps of 2 stitches. Each 2 stitches changes the circumference by about ⅞" (2.2 cm). (2 sts ÷ 9 sts × 4" = ⅞" ✓)