If you like the look of cables but want a quick and easy project without the fuss of actual cable crossings, this pattern is for you. It is a highly textured lace that relaxes into cable-like curves without blocking.

The pattern has a lot of lateral stretch but the “cables” give it vertical stability, so it will fit easily over your head but won’t sag around your neck when worn. It’s great for synthetic yarns since blocking is unnecessary, and an aran or heavy worsted weight yarn will make this a quick project at less than 40 rounds. It’s also very economical: the example cowl used only 73 meters (80 yards) of yarn!

Gauge is not very important but you should be fairly close to the recommended gauge to ensure that your cowl will fit over the head. The size can be easily increased by adding more stitches or rounds, but this will of course use more yarn.

The example cowl is about 46 cm (18”) in circumference without stretching, and about 12 cm (4.75”) tall. After casting on, one setup row is worked flat then the ends are joined and the cowl is completed in the round. The Double Chain (“Chinese Waitress”) cast on is stretchy and attractive but rather bulky and it produces a jog when joined in the round, so the project is started flat and then joined for working in the round after the setup row. (The small gap at the CO edge can be sewn closed with the yarn tail, or just left alone if you prefer.)

Likewise, the Double Chain (“Chinese Waitress”) bind-off would produce a jog at the top edge, so a few stitches before the end of the round, you will switch to a standard bind-off, which is shorter and tapers down to the beginning of the bind-off row for a smoother join. The yarn tails can be used to snug up any gaps at the edges.

Recommended materials

Yarn: Soft Baby Steps from Red Heart, or other aran or worsted weight yarn. Synthetic yarns are fine since you won’t need to block this cowl, but the yarn should be very soft for comfort around the neck.

Needles: 5.0 mm (US size 8) needles, plus 2 or 3 sizes smaller for binding off. Of course, use whatever needle sizes work best for you.

Stitch markers, removable, such as coil-less safety pins.

Crochet hook (optional but highly recommended) for casting on using Double Chain CO method. Size is not important but it should be suitable for your yarn.

Tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends

Stitches used:

Knit
Purl
K2tog
SSK
Yarn over

Double Chain (“Chinese Waitress”) cast-on and bind-off

Here are my favorite video tutorials for these methods.

Chinese Waitress Cast-on with Crochet Hook:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ragBNdHwjg8

Chinese Waitress Bind-off:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-4ZVoIabaA

Standard bind-off (used for a few stitches at the end):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zv7K_t-nUM

There are two PDFs provided, long and short. The long version contains more details and the short version is pared down to the essentials, for people who like to print their patterns without using too much paper or toner. Even if you prefer to print your patterns, I suggest looking at the long version on your computer just to get all the information before you begin.

Thanks for your interest and I hope you enjoy this pattern!