This reversible cowl for any gauge (worsted or heavier weight is recommended) uses a 2-color slip-stitch pattern which makes for completely different looks on the two sides; and the fit of the cowl will differ depending on which side is out, and on how it’s positioned, giving you multiple different looking cowls in one!

The construction makes a cozy double-layered cowl with no twists like a normal cowl wrapped double around your neck, and with lots of different ways to wear it, tight or loose.

There is a simple version, in which the same colors act as the main and contrasting colors throughout the whole thing (but you can add stripes or color blocks if you want to!); and then there’s the more complex switching colors version, in which you make diagonal lines back and forth throughout, flipping which is acting as the main color and which is the contrasting color.

Use any weight from worsted to super bulky, and pick out your cowl’s height and length according to your gauge and your style preferences.

This cowl is part of the leethal Bulk Trio - 3 neck accessory patterns which are all ideal for bulky or super bulky weights. (Each single pattern is $6; the whole trio is $12.)

You need
2 (or more) colors in any weight yarn from worsted to super bulky (or a finer weight to hold double or triple stranded); sizes vary significantly, as any height can be paired with any length, so yardage estimates are just given in ranges, not by size
-- worsted: 320-700 yards / 290-640 meters
-- aran: 275-600 yards / 250-550 meters
-- bulky: 250-500 yards / 230-460 meters total
-- super bulky: 230-400 yards / 210-370 meters total
-- for the simple color version, approx 60% in the main color, 40% in the contrasting color
-- for the switching colors version, approx the same yardage in main and contrasting, half and half
needles sized to work with your yarn - a circular of any length

Gauge
Use a needle size that works well with your yarn, in the stitch pattern - you may want to use a size or two larger than normal.

The samples
-- Grey and orange/pink simple color version: Space Cadet Elara bulky weight (Dark Skies, How Dare You, Tickled) - 3 skeins grey, 1 full skein orange, and 1 partial skein pink (exactly 290 yards / 265 meters used in main color, 190 yards / 175 meters used in contrasting colors); size US 13 (9mm) needles.
Medium size height, short size length.
-- Red and aqua switching colors version: Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd’s Wool Worsted, held triple stranded (Red, Lakeshore) - 2 full skeins each color (250 yards / 230 meters per skein, so approx the same as 333 yards / 305 meters of super bulky weight yarn total); size US 15 (10mm) needles.
Small size height, long size length.
-- Greens and yellows simple color version: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino heavy worsted (Filigree, Terrarium) - approx 75 yards / 70 meters of the dark shade, 35 yards / 30 meters of the light shade, and Jill Draper Makes Stuff Adirondack aran weight (Antique Gold, Straw into Gold) - approx 90 yards / 80 meters each color; size US 10 (6mm) needles.
Small size height, medium size length.