Heartsease (& Cuddle Me) Cowl Crochet Pattern with Phototutorial

Hearts-ease and Cuddle Me are just two of the many charming names for the wild pansy, or viola. (Some of the others are: Love Lies Bleeding, Love in Idleness, Call Me to You, and Jack Jump Up and Kiss Me - all very evocative of romance.)

Heartsease

Cuddle Me

Here just in time for Valentine's Day is a quick-to-make and completely customizable cowl pattern. The Heartsease Cowl is trimmed with hearts top and bottom...

...while Cuddle Me features a simpler picot edging. Since they're stitched in the round, you can make these cowls as snug or loose as you like. Your starting ring will determine the size: use fewer motifs for a closer fit, and more for a drapier cowl.

All crochet terminology is American. You can click on any picture to see an enlargement.

Size: Custom

Yarn Requirements: 160-180 yarns of worsted weight (#4) yarn will make a smaller cowl (18"-22" diameter by 7"-8" tall).
Use more yarn for a longer or taller cowl.

Yarns I Used:
NaturallyCaron Joy in Cerise (1 entire skein) - finished size 18" x 7 1/2"
NaturallyCaron Country in Deep Taupe (1 entire skein) - finished size 22" x 8"

Hook Size: H or size appropriate for yarn

How Did These Yarns Behave?
Very well indeed. The Joy is a bit splitty, but very silky and slippery which makes it easy to work with. Joy develops a pleasant halo with wear, has lovely drape, and feels very nice against the skin. It blocked well, without undue stretching. Country is a wonderful yarn for the price. It works up well, gives great stitch definition, blocks nicely, and holds its shape.

I look happy because my
neck is nice and warm

Heartsease/Cuddle Me Starting Rounds Chart

Heartsease and Cuddle Me Cowl Crochet Shorthand Pattern

Stitch Notes:

Tr2tog (Triple crochet 2 together). Make a partial triple crochet in first area indicated, leaving the final loop on the hook, then another partial triple crochet in next area indicated, leaving the final loop on the hook. (There should now be 3 loops on the hook.) Pull through all 3 loops on hook to complete.

Ltr: (Linked Triple Crochet) Yo, insert hook in indicated stitch, pull up loop; insert hook into indicated space or stitch below; pull up loop; yo, pull through 2 loops; yo, pull through 3 loops; yo, pull through 2 loops.

Starting Row: Right side facing at all times.
Ch 3; tr in 1st ch; dtr in 1st ch (leaf made).
Ch 3, hdc under top 2 strands of dtr (do not turn; picot made).
*Ch 3, tr in picot sp; dtr in picot sp (leaf made). Ch 3, hdc in top 2 strands of dtr (picot made). Repeat from * to desired length, ending with picot.

(Heartsease has 14 leaves and picots, and is about 18" around. Cuddle Me used 18 leaves and picots, and is about 22" around. You can make whatever size you like by increasing the number of leaves and picots. Odd or even numbers are fine.)

Remove hook from loop. The picot edge is the top edge of the cowl. Bring ends of starting row together, wrong sides together (do not twist). Working yarn should be inside the ring. Insert hook from front to back through beginning ch st. Pull loop through beginning ch st.

For Cuddle Me cowl (picots only), proceed to Cowl Round 1, below. You will be working in the opposite direction, still with the right side facing.

For Heartsease cowl: Your hook will probably be pointing the wrong way. Remove it from the loop, and put it back through the loop so that it points towards the first picot (not back at the one you just made). The heart trim will be worked along the picot edge, right side facing. (The leaf rounds will be worked later into the dtrs along the bottom edge.)

Heart trim:
(This will be easier if your ball of yarn is above the ring. Pull it up through the ring if necessary.)
Ch 4, sc in next picot sp.
[*Ch 4; yo, ltr (insert hook in back loop of 2nd ch, yo, pull up loop; yo, insert hook in picot sp, pull up loop; yo, pull through 2 loops, yo, pull through 3 loops, yo, pull through 2 loops); sc in same picot sp. First lobe made. Repeat from * for second lobe, working in same picot sp. Heart made.
Ch 3, sc in next picot.]
Continue making heart trim around starting row, ending with ch 3.
Remove hook. Insert hook, from bottom to top, through beginning stitch of starting round and back loop of 1st chain from trim round. Pull loop down through these stitches. This will bring the loop from the top to the bottom of the row, in position for the next round. Gently snug up loop.
Bring ball of yarn back through ring so that it is below work.

Cowl Round 1:
Ch 2 (counts as first dc throughout), dc in picot sp (stem made).
*Ch 4, tr2tog in top strands of dtr and dtr sp (first partial tr goes in top sp of leaf dtr, where picot was attached; second partial tr goes in dtr sp - see photos below for clarification). Leaf made. Dc 2 in next picot sp (stem made).
Repeat from * around, ending with leaf. Join final leaf with sl st to starting dc of round. (Do not join to ch 2.)

Following Rounds:
Ch 2, dc in same st (stem).
*Ch 4, tr2tog in back loops of 1st and 2nd ch below (leaf made). Dc 2 in second dc below.
Repeat from * around. Join round with sl st in first dc of round.

Continue making rounds until cowl is desired height. On last regular row, join ends as follows:

Heartsease Final Cowl Round: Join with sc in top of ch 2.

Cuddle Me Final Cowl Round: Join with sc in second dc.

Heartsease Base Trim:
Make heart trim as at top of cowl (note: each lobe will be attached to a separate dc of stem):
*Ch 4, ltr, sc in first dc of stem; ch 4, ltr, sc in second dc of stem. Ch 3, sc in next dc.
Repeat from * around.
Join final ch to first sc with sl st.

Cuddle Me Base Trim:
All picots will be made in second dc of stems.
*Ch 3, sc in same dc.
Ch 4, tr in sc just made (inserting hook through left 2 strands of sc), sc in second dc of next stem.
Repeat from * around.
Join final leaf to first sc with sl st.

Cut yarn, weave in ends, and block.

Heartsease and Cuddle Me Phototutorial with Instructions in Plain English:

Starting Row: The right side will be facing you at all times.

Chain 3:

Triple crochet in 1st chain:

Now double triple crochet in 1st chain (leaf made). (Don't forget to yarn over 3 times for the double triple crochet.)

Chain 3,
half double crochet under top 2 strands of the double triple crochet below (do not turn).
Picot made.

*Chain 3,
triple crochet in picot space;
double triple crochet in picot space (second leaf made).

Chain 3,
half double crochet in top 2 strands of double triple crochet below (second picot made).

These are the basic elements of the starting ring: the leaf and the picot. Keep making them (leaf, picot, leaf, picot) until your starting row is as long as you want.

If you're wondering how big my samples are: Heartsease (pink) has14 leaves and 14 picots, measures about 18" around, and fits closely. Cuddle Me (taupe) has 18 leaves and 18 picots - 22" around - and is a bit drapier. You can make whatever size you like by increasing the number of leaves and picots. Odd or even numbers work equally well. (Just be sure to end with a picot.)

When you're happy with the length of your starting row, it's time to join it into a ring. Instead of slip stitching the ends together, we're going to cheat a little bit (for a closer join):

Remove hook from loop. (Remember, the picot edge is the top edge of the cowl.) Bring ends of starting row together, wrong sides together (do not twist). Working yarn should be inside the ring.

Insert hook from front to back through beginning chain stitch,

and pull the loop through.

Here's what it looks like in the taupe yarn.
Insert the hook through the very first chain stitch,
then pull the working loop through.

For Cuddle Me cowl (picots only), proceed to Cowl Round 1, below. You will now be working in the opposite direction, still with the right side facing.

For Heartsease cowl: Your hook is probably pointing the wrong way now. Remove it from the loop, and put it back through the loop so that it points towards the very first picot (not back at the one you just made). The heart trim will be worked along the picot edge, right side facing. (The leaf rounds will be worked later into the double triple crochets, along the bottom edge.)

Heart trim:
(This will be easier if your ball of yarn is above the ring. Pull it up through the ring if necessary.)
Chain 4,
single crochet in next picot space.

Now it's time to make a heart. We'll be using an easy linked stitch in each lobe. Take a look at the picture below:

Ready? Here we go.

Heart:
*Chain 4;
make linked triple crochet:
yarn over once;
insert hook in back loop of 2nd chain, pull up loop;
yarn over, insert hook in picot space, pull up loop;
yarn over, pull through 2 loops,
yarn over, pull through 3 loops,
yarn over, pull through 2 loops - linked stitch made.
Single crochet in same picot space. Your first lobe is done!

Making the linked triple crochet.
Don't forget - hook goes through the back loop only
of the second chain stitch.

The chain 4 and the linked triple crochet
bend down to make the lobe,
which is attached with a single crochet
in the same space.

Repeat from * for second lobe, working in same picot space. Heart made. (All the following hearts will be made this way -  2 lobes in each picot space.

Chain 3,
single crochet in next picot. Now you're ready to make the next heart.

It's pretty simple: make a heart in each picot space, then chain 3 over to the next picot, attach with a single crochet, and make the next heart.

Continue making heart trim around starting row, ending with a chain 3 after the final heart.

Time for another sneaky move with the hook and yarn. Right now, the hook and the working loop are on top of the starting row. We want to move the working loop down to the bottom edge of the ring so we can start making the cowl rounds. Instead of breaking the yarn and reattaching it, we're going to pull the loop through to the bottom.

Remove hook from loop.
Insert hook, from bottom to top, through beginning stitch of starting round and back loop of 1st chain from heart trim round.
Pull loop down through these stitches.

Now the working loop is in position for the next round. Gently tug on yarn to snug up the loop. Bring ball of yarn through ring, if necessary, so that it is below the work.

The rest of the cowl will be stitched from the bottom of the starting ring down, and will go very quickly.  You'll be adding the bottom trim before you know it.

Cowl Round 1:
Chain 2 (counts as first double crochet throughout),
double crochet in picot space (first stem made).

Here's how the first stem looks
in the taupe cowl.

Take a look at your work, and at the picture below. Remember the small space you stitched into when making the picots - the space at the top of the double triple crochet? You'll be using that small space again in the next step, and the large space right next to it.

First stem made in the pink cowl.

Let' s make a leaf.

*Chain 4,
make leaf:
triple crochet 2 together in top strands of double triple crochet and in double triple crochet space;
(See Stitch Notes at top of shorthand pattern.
You're making one partial triple crochet in the top space of the double triple crochet, where picot was attached;
and a second partial triple crochet in the large space of the double triple crochet.
When both partial triple crochets have been made, you should have 3 loops on your hook.
Yarn over and pull through all loops.)

Leaf made!

Double crochet 2 in next picot space. Stem made.*

That's it: stem, chain 4, leaf. Stem, chain 4, leaf. Before you know it you'll be back where you started.

Repeat from * to * around, ending with leaf.
Join final leaf with slip stitch to starting double crochet of round. (Do not join to chain 2.)

Last leaf of this round...

gets slip stitched to first double crochet.
(Don't attach to the chain 2!)

The rest of the rounds are made the same way - the only difference being that you will attach each leaf to the chain 4 below, instead of stitching into a space.

Following Rounds:
Starting Stem:
Chain 2,
double crochet in same stitch.

Every round will start with a chain 2,
double crochet in same stitch.

Leaf:
*Chain 4,
triple crochet 2 together in back loops of 1st and 2nd chains below (leaf made).

Making the first leg of the leaf.
Hook goes through the first chain below.
(Be sure to stitch into the back loop only.)
The next leg of the leaf will go into
the back loop of the second chain.

Leaf made. See how neatly it's attached
to the chain 4 below it?

Regular Stem:
Double crochet 2 in second double crochet of stem below.

Both stem stitches go in the SECOND double crochet of the stem below.

Repeat from * around (leaf, stem, leaf, stem, all the way around).
Join round with slip stitch in first double crochet of round.
(Remember - don't slip stitch to the chain 2!)

Continue making rounds until cowl is desired height, or you're almost out of yarn. (My pink cowl was 12 rounds high, before adding base trim. The taupe cowl was 14 rounds high.)

When your cowl is tall enough and you're ready to add the bottom trim, finish the last regular round as follows:

Heartsease Cowl Final Round Ending:
Join with single crochet in top of chain 2.

This is the only time you stitch into that starting chain 2.

Finish last round with a single crochet.
Now it's time for some trim!

Cuddle Me Cowl Final Round Ending:
Join with single crochet in double crochet (again, skip the chain 2).

Cuddle Me ends in the usual spot, with a single crochet
instead of a slip stitch.

Ready to make the trim row? Just think - in 10 minutes your cowl will be done!

Heartsease Base Trim:
Make heart trim as at top of cowl (note: each lobe will be attached to a separate double crochet of stem below).

*Chain 4,
make linked triple crochet,
single crochet in first double crochet of next stem (first lobe made);
chain 4,
make linked triple crochet,
single crochet in second double crochet of stem (second lobe made).

First lobe is made in the first double crochet
of the stem below.

Second lobe is attached to second double crochet.

Chain 3,
single crochet in first double crochet of next stem.*

Chain 3, then attach to next stem for another heart.

Repeat from * to * around (heart, chain 3, heart, chain 3, all the way around).
Join final chain 3 to first single crochet with a slip stitch.

Cut yarns, weave in ends, and be sure to block. A good spraying and shaping will help those pretty hearts to flatten out and show their curves.

And you're finished! Isn't it beautiful?

Cuddle Me Base Trim:
All picots will be made in second double crochet of stems below.

*Chain 3,
single crochet in same stitch.

Chain 4,
triple crochet in single crochet just made (inserting hook through left 2 strands of single crochet),
single crochet in second double crochet of next stem.*

Leaf made, and attached to next stem, ready for another picot.

Repeat from * to * around (picot, leaf, picot, leaf).
Join final leaf to first single crochet with slip stitch.

Cut yarn, weave in ends, and block.

Now you're ready to make the next one...

You may do whatever you like with the items you make from this pattern, but you may not sell the pattern or re-post it.

Thanks for viewing, and happy crocheting!

P.S. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below, or contact me in Ravelry, and I will be happy to help if I can.

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