Quick and Easy Cowl

by Cameron

If you ever need a beautiful gift in a hurry, a cowl is your answer. As little as one yard of fabric and 30 minutes of work (if that) and you have something that's both a little luxury and completely useful - the perfect gift. There are roughly one million ways to make a cowl. This tutorial shows one of my favorites. It makes a pretty generous cowl that can be worn long or doubled around your neck.

Supplies:

• Piece of fabric at least 36" x 60" (I used 1 yard of a beautiful wool gauze that's 60" wide, but if you wanted to you use a narrower fabric, you could just buy 1 2/3 yards)
• Thread

Step 1: Pin and sew together the long edges of your fabric. This will give you a tube that's 18"x60".

Step 2: Fold your tube in half so the short ends of the tube are meeting. Matching the long seam you've just created, pin the tube openings together, leaving a 4"-6" gap unpinned. This part is difficult to explain, but not to do. It will get a little awkward as you move around the circle, put just keep going.

Step 3: Stitch the circles you've just pinned together, stopping 4-6" before completing the circle (where you've left your pin gap). Pull the scarf out through that whole.

Step 4: Fold under and pin your edges of the hole. Here, you can either invisibly hand stitch your cowl, which would probably take you all of 15 minutes OR you can stitch it closed on your machine. With matching thread and some careful edge stitching, you can be done with your scarf in about 2 minutes. If sewn on a machine it won't be invisible, but it's close enough for me.

Step 5: Practice gracefully receiving compliments on your gorgeous scarf.

This wool gauze makes for a perfect light weight scarf for hiking or walking around, but if you want something cozier, try a Mammoth Flannel or one of the other beautiful wools we have in the store right now. This would also be a perfect summer scarf in a double gauze, a linen gauze, a lawn, or even a knit.