sew a knit cowl

Here’s a little knit cowl I threw together today.  There seem to be a lot of cowls out there in the blogging world lately.  I thought I’d share how I made mine.

If you’ve never sewn with knits, fear not!  They are super easy and fun to work with.  They’re totally forgiving and as soon as you make one thing, you’ll be in love!

A few notes:

I used my serger, but you can also use a zig-zag stitch on a sewing machine.  Remember: Because of the stretch of the knit, you can’t use a standard straight stitch.  Your stitches will break when your fabric is stretched.  Some sewing machines have special straight stitches designed for knits which allow for stretch.  (When in doubt, check your sewing machine manual.)

For a simple project like this, I left my stitches on the outside, to give it character.  You could just as easily hide them on the inside.

sew a knit cowl

Cut 3 pieces of knit (I used interlock knits), 36″ long by 6.5″ high (the stretch should be in the direction of the length, so that when stretched, the pieces become longer, not wider.)  These can be the same fabric or different prints.  If you want your cowl a bit smaller than shown in the photo above, cut it 30″ long instead of 36″.

sew a knit cowl

Place two pieces together (wrong sides facing).  Stitch along the length of the fabric.  Open the fabric to lay flat.

sew a knit cowl

Add the third strip (wrong sides together again) and stitch along the length of the fabric.  Open to lay flat.

sew a knit cowl

Now fold the fabric so that the first piece is laying on the third piece (wrong sides together).  Sew along the length of the fabric.  Now you should have a fabric tube.

sew a knit cowl

Lay it out flat.

sew a knit cowl

Flip one end of the fabric tube over so you create a twist in the fabric.

sew a knit cowlsew a knit cowl

Fold the fabric in half (keeping the twist in).

sew a knit cowl

Sew raw edges together.  (Shown open below).

sew a knit cowl

Now you have created a loop.

sew a knit cowl

And you’re done!

sew a knit cowl

Enjoy!

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