# Crochet - Snug Cowl

(created Feb 28, 2021)

Yesterday, I finished crocheting a small, snug wool cowl. I used a burgundy-colored yarn from Bartlett Yarns, located in Maine. 

=> https://bartlettyarns.com

Bartlett Yarns makes woolen spun yarn and not worsted spun. Woolen spun yarns make a "stickier" wool, which is good for people who like to do steeking. 

I used Bartlett Yarns to make my shoulder bag. I bought that yarn when we visited Maine in 2015. Last fall, I bought six skeins of yarn from Bartlett Yarns because I planned to make two shoulder bags, one for my Mom and one for a friend of our neighbor's who saw my shoulder bag and liked it a lot. 

At the moment, I'm not planning to make those shoulder bags. When viewing yarn colors online and seeing the yarn in person can be a big difference, color-wise. Kim's neighbor wanted colors of browns, grey, and green, which are colors that I like. But the warm brown yarn that I thought that I was buying looks too orange-ish, and the green was brighter than I thought that I was buying. And the purple-ish yarn that I bought was not as purple as I thought.

I'm fine with all of the colors for me, but I'm not sure about for other people. I may use this yarn to make cowls, mittens, and socks for myself.

When out in the cold birdwatching and hiking for three or four hours, scarves unravel some, letting in cold air. I made this cowl to be a snug, tight wall of wool. This is a mid-sized one. I'll make one smaller and larger than this one.

About the yarn:

* "Garnet Heather" - that's the name of the burgundy-colored yarn
* Fisherman 2-Ply Yarn, 210 yards, 4 ounces
* $11.50 per skein
* 100 percent wool spun from select, soft fleeces with natural oils for dry, cozy warmth sourced from farmers in the USA
* Hand wash, flat dry

From their website:

=> https://bartlettyarns.com/product/fisherman-2-ply-yarn

> Bartlettyarns are spun on the "woolen system" for a traditional home-spun appearance, softer twist and more bloom than worsted yarns.

> The 2-ply knits to the same gauge as what is commonly known as "4-ply knitting worsted."


My crocheting:

* I used a 3.5 mm hook
* single crochet, back loop only
* chained 26, which meant that I made 25 SC-BLO per row. This equaled 6 inches wide. 
* chained one, of course, at the end of each row.
* crocheted until the rectangle was 22 inches long.
* folded the rectangle in half and slip-stitched the ends together.

It's a snug hoop. I could have probably made it 21 inches long for the circumference. That would have made it more snug, but the back-loop only crocheting makes the cowl easy to expand or stretch over the head. The 6 inches was the height. 

That's about it. I started crocheting on Sun, Feb 21 or Mon, Feb 22, 2021. I crocheted a bit about each evening, and I finished it yesterday afternoon. Quick project, but it will be useful.

I'll make one that's 4 inches tall and another that's at least 8 inches tall. Instead of a hoop to pull over my head, I make them as a tiny scarf with buttons and button holes. Wraps that I fasten around my neck/face.

Crocheting in the back loop only is slower for me than crocheting through the stitches normally. I started the project by using one of my new new Prym ergonomic crochet hooks. I enjoyed the thicker handle with the rubber group. 

Prym hooks, however, are made of white plastic. The white color made it easier to see what I was doing with the dark-ish colored yarn. But the woolen spun wool did not slide easily over the hook. The hook and the yarn seemed to grab, making squeaking sounds. It was not smooth. I took effort.

After several rows, I switched to a steel hook, and then I tried a wooden hook, and both worked much better with the sticky wool yarn, although these two normal hooks were more uncomfortable to hold after using the Prym.

I wrapped the 3.5 mm steel hook with a lot of tape to make the handle thicker and shaped like the Prym, but the tape was too slippery to hold. I used some kind of first aid-type of tape, not athletic tape. To give the handle a bit more grip, I wrapped the slippery tape with electric tape, which made the hook easier to grip, but it's still a bit slippery. I like better than using the small steel hook without tape.

I did not tape the wooden hook. It's part of a set of wooden crochet hooks that Deb got for me a couple years ago. But it's obvious to me now that crocheting with thicker handles will probably be the norm for me going forward. I may have to wrap the wooden hooks if I want to use them.

I wound up crocheting most of this cowl with the unwrapped 3.5 mm wooden hook because it's slightly longer than the steel hook. I crocheted easier with the wooden hook than with the steel hook, and it had nothing to do with the wrapped handle versus no tape. I think the issue was with how the end of each hook is shaped. I don't know. 

I hope that the Prym hooks work well with other wool yarns. I assume that the hooks work fine with cotton yarns. I plan to curtains this year by crocheting motifs in cotton.

I plan to wrap most of my steel crochet hooks to make thicker handles, but I need to find something to finish the handle to make the hooks easier to grip. I wish that Prym made an option with steel hooks. I could feel the plastic hook give or bend a little.

I probably used a hook size that was too small for the yarn, but I wanted a tight, stiff weave, and that's what I got. An ergonomic handle would make this type of tight crocheting easier on the hand.

-30-

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