Modular crochet pattern for a cowl
This is a ‘sibling’ pattern to my knitted version Colorful Scales Cowl.
If you are not familiar with my designs yet, I like to create similar looking designs in both crafts. So knitters and crocheters can enjoy the same design, but use their preferable craft to make it. Not every design I can convert from one craft to another, but if I see a potential for it, I dive in.
And in this case, one more transformation from knit pattern to crochet was done.
Crochet Scales Cowl is a bandana-style cowl with a longer triangular front and shorter back.
The cowl works in a modular technique and is made with twenty seven triangle elements.
What is modular crochet?
It’s a technique that creates a fabric out of several modules or elements. But you don’t need to finish individual pieces and then sew them together like for example, you’ll do with granny squares. With modular crochet, the elements are joined together by starting the next element on the edges of the previous element. So, you build your project one by one element and connect them to each other as you progress with the project.
For this project, I used triangle elements, here how one finished element looks like.
But after you worked a few more elements, they look like a shell. This is an interesting part of this technique. As you build each element on top of the previous, the sides are turning, and the triangle transforms into a shell.
Every element works the same way, only the first row will be slightly different depending on the position of the element. To begin with some of the elements, you need to know chainless foundation single crochet (fsc). And I made a short video tutorial on how to do it.
One more video tutorial is added to the pattern, how to do single crochet front loop only (sc flo).
For the stitch pattern for the cowl, I chose sc flo because I wanted to replicate ridges like purl ridges in the knitted version. The video tutorial shows not only sc flo but also a comparison of different single crochet stitches (sc), normal sc and sc back loop only (sc blo).
The pattern includes also a photo tutorial to show some crucial moments of connecting elements, plus a video tutorial on how to create a circle out of a flat strip of elements.
One last note about modular crochet. I think this a great project as in-between projects or on-the-go project, you’ll work quickly on one element, put the project aside, and when you have a little more time work on one more element, and so on. I hope you’ll give this technique a try and find it fun and kinda addictive.
And if you like the technique, you may try also a scarf, that uses modular crochet but a slightly different stitch pattern Tweed on Tweed Scarf.
The Crochet Scales Cowl pattern uses fingering weight yarn and is written for two sizes, adult small and medium. But it gives also directions on how you can change the size of the cowl by changing yarn thickness and hook size, or by changing the number of stitches for each element.
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