Crocheted Calm Cowl: Because Everyone in Southern California Needs More Extreme Winter Wear

One fine November day whilst gazing out the window of my office at the cloudless, bright, 80-degree day, I had the most obvious revelation- I clearly need a thick, exceedingly warm, cold-weather cowl or I could never make it through the harsh winter of Southern California.  I had been eying the "Calm Cowl" pattern by Suzana Davidovic on Ravelry for awhile, and RIGHT NOW was the time to make it- before temperatures began to dip into the 70s and the chill became unbearable.

This pattern (located for FREE here- you need a Ravelry account to view it), is extremely popular with over 2,000 completed projects.  I love using patterns that have been so widely tested on Ravelry- that means that any weird little errors have usually been worked out and corrected by the author, and sometimes other crocheters will provide alterations to the original that can really enhance the final project.  I looked through the notes of quite a few "Calm Cowl" makers and I decided to use the alteration to the first two rows suggested by Ravelry user OneFlewOver (project notes and alterations located here).  The alterations resulted in a pretty, delicate edging and I'm very happy with the results.  So happy in fact, that if I were to make another, I would add the same edging to the other side.

The entire thing is made using single and double crochet stitches, but instead of working stitches into the stitches of the previous row, the stitches are worked between the stitches of the previous row.  This results in a very solid look because the stitches are all so close together.  The project is worked in the round and the pattern calls for each row to be joined.  If I were to do it over, however, I would keep working in the round without joining because the seam looked a little wonky on so delicate a cowl.  If you do make this without joining rounds- please, for the love of all that's holy, remember to use a stitch marker. If you don't, you will certainly lose your place after about 3 rows and end up tossing the whole thing out a window.

One thing I particularly love about this cowl is that both the front AND the back of the stitches looks pretty, which definitely isn't always the case:

You can twist and wrap this thing to your heart's desire without having to worry about revealing an ugly side.

I desperately wanted to try out a luxury yarn on this project, particularly the lovely Madeline Tosh DK Merino that many Ravelry users chose. But at over $20 a skein, this cheapskate had to pass.  I substituted the (very cheap) Caron Simply Soft in white (it took a little over 1 full skein), which I already had in my hoard.  The texture came out quite nice, in my humble opinion.  One day I'll spring for the fancy stuff, but the Simply Soft resulted in a perfectly nice scarf that hopefully won't smother me to death when I insist on wearing it outside because IT'S WINTER AND I WANT TO WEAR A SCARF even if the sun is withering the plants on my patio with its relentless gaze.

Amigurumi Hedgehog Pincushion Pattern

Never again suffer the indignity of a jab in the hindquarters from a wayward pin!

Materials
Acrylic worsted weight yarn in two shades of brown (one light, one dark)
Size F crochet hook
Size E crochet hook
2 9mm safety eyes
Yarn needle
Black embroidery thread
Embroidery needle
Poly-Fil stuffing (or equivalent)

Things to Know

This is an original pattern by Robyn of Knot Yo Grandma. It has been provided at no charge and cannot be sold or redistributed. Please do not claim this pattern as your own. When referencing this pattern, please link back to this post.

This pattern is worked entirely in the round with single crochet stitches using increases and decreases.  Do not join rounds—continue working in a spiral. Use a stitch marker to mark the last stitch of each row. The number in parenthesis at the end of each line in the pattern represents the number of completed stitches in each round. 

CH= Chain
SC= US Single Crochet (UK Double Crochet)
SC BLO= Single Crochet in back loops only
Inc=Increase (2 stitches in 1 stitch)
Dec=Decrease
st= Stitch(es)
rep= follow instructions within *stars* this many times in a single round

Body Pattern

Begin with light brown yarn, use size F hook.

Begin with 3 SC into Magic Circle (3)
R1: Inc in next SC, SC in next 2 SC (4)
R2: *Inc, SC in next st* rep x 2 (6)
R3: *Inc, SC in next st* rep x 3 (9)
R4: SC in each st around (9)
R5: SC in each st around (9)
R6: *Inc, SC in next 2 st* rep x 3 (12)
R7: *Inc, SC in next 3 st* rep x 3 (15)
R8: *Inc, SC in next 4 st* rep x 3 (18)
R9: *Inc, SC in next 5 st* rep x 3 (21)
R10: *Inc, SC in next 6 st* rep x 3 (24)
R11: *Inc, SC in next 7 st* rep x 3 (27)
R12: *Inc, SC in next 8 st* rep x 3 (30)
R13: *Inc, SC in next 9 st* rep x 3 (33)
R14: *Inc, SC in next 10 st* rep x 3 (36)

Change working yarn color to the darker brown

R15: *Inc, SC in next 11 st* rep x 3 (39)

Place safety eyes and snap washer backs into place.  Embroider nose at the tip of the cone using black embroidery thread.

R16: *Inc, SC in next 12 st* rep x 3 (42)
R17: *Inc, SC in next 13 st* rep x 3 (45)
R18: *Inc, Sc in next 14 st* rep x 3 (48)
R19 through R24: SC in each st around (48)
R25: *Dec, SC in next 6 st* rep x 6 (42)
R26: *Dec, SC in next 5 st* rep x 6 (36)
R27: *Dec, SC in next 4 st* rep x 6 (30)
R28: *Dec, SC in next 3 st* rep x 6 (24)

Start stuffing body

R29: SC in each st around (24)
R30: *Dec, SC in next 2 st* rep x 6 (18)
R31: SC in each st around (18)
R32: *Dec, SC in next st* rep x 6 (12)
R33: Dec in each st around (6)

Sew the hole closed and hide the yarn tail in the body.

Ear Pattern (Make 2)

Begin with light brown yarn, use size E hook.

Begin with 6 SC in Magic Circle
R1: Inc in each SC (12)
Finish off to complete first half of ear

Repeat above instructions using dark brown yarn, but do not finish off.  Once both halves are completed, match the light brown and dark brown pieces together with right sides facing out.  Hide any yarn tails between the two pieces.  Once the two halves are matched, SC through BOTH layers in each st around with the dark brown yarn.  Finish off and leave a long tail.  Pinch the bottom of the ear together and sew a few stitches using the tail to keep the bottom pinched.  Sew the ears onto the body using the rest of the tail.

Feet (Make 4)

Use light brown yarn and E hook.
Begin with 6 SC in Magic Circle
R1: Inc in each SC (12)
R2: SC BLO in each st (12)

Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing.

Pin the feet to the bottom of the body.  Make sure the hedgehog can stand upright while the feet are pinned, and then sew the feet to the body.

Since the instructions for the ears are a little confusing, below is a picture of how the two halves should be put together and both layers should be stitched through:

It should look like this after the final round of single crochet:

That’s it, your hedgehog is done!

Now have fun stabbing him.