Lots of you seem to be interested in patterns for things to make with sock yarn other than socks. Last month I shared a collection of shawls made with sock yarn, aiming for projects that could be made with one skein of yarn or less.
This month I’ve gathered sock yarn cowl knitting patterns, which again are low on yardage used, but you can make them as tall as you like or as your yarn allows. Or grab all the leftovers from your previous sock projects and make a multicolored cowl.
I don’t know the yardage on each of the patterns, but I tried to make sure they called for less than 300 yards/274 meters of yarn (most are closer to 200 yards). That might be more than one skein, but again, you can combine yarns if you need to, or just make the project smaller.
No Frills Knitting has probably the most basic thing you can do with an extra skein of sock yarn, the Hundred Stitch Snood. This would be a great first circular knitting project, too, since it’s just straight knitting, or something to make when you need a quick gift.
If you’d rather knit a cowl than the second sock of a pair you started working on, Barbara Benson has the solution (or two!). Her patterns (on Ravelry) Second Sock Cowl and Second Sock Cowl 2: Electric Boogaloo, each use about 50 grams/200 yards of sock weight yarn. The first, pictured above, uses an easy allover pattern with stitches slipped with the yarn in front to add extra texture. The second is made with a simple lace and eyelet pattern.
Adding lace is a popular way to make a sock yarn cowl, since eyelets open up the fabric. Jo Strong’s Irish Mesh Cowl, a free download on Ravelry, uses Irish mesh stitch to make a long, narrow cowl you can wrap multiple times around you neck or wear long.
The Finny Cowl from Erineen Designs on Ravelry has an allover easy lace pattern with ribbed edges. The pattern is both written and charted.
Cally Monster’s Free Falling Cowl (also on Ravelry) can be worked with a variety of yarn weights and gauges, and the pattern has two different sizes if you’re short on yarn. It includes a charted lace pattern.
If lace isn’t fancy enough for you, try lace and beads with the Lemme Cowl from Laura Nelkin. This cable lace pattern includes beads around the top of the cowl (of course you could add more if you want). There’s also a coordinating sock pattern if you want to make socks with your sock yarn, too. The pattern is available on Ravelry.
Combine cables, mesh and a multicolored gradient yarn to make the stunning Fading Memories Cowl by Ann Budd. The cables expand (as does the width of the cowl) as you work from the top down. This pattern is a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association and you can learn more on Ravelry.
Or you can just do textured stitches on your sock yarn cowl, like the Loretto Road Cowl from Joanna Herriott. It uses textured stitch patterns and twisted stitches and is made to be worked with a single ball of yarn. Get the pattern on Ravelry.
This one breaks my “uses less than 300 yards” rule, but if you have a large skein of sock yarn, or a couple of skeins you don’t want to make socks with, this is a great one (and you could also make it smaller). The Niki Lace Cowl from Blackbird Mountain Des on Etsy has an easy repeating eyelet pattern and is long and skinny so the design can easily be altered to use less yarn by casting on fewer stitches.
