Cowl Neck Sweater Free Pattern

inside: learn how to sew a cowl neck sweater with this free sewing pattern and tutorial. Add my free cowl neck add on to a shirt pattern to create a fun cowl neck sweater free pattern.

It’s a chilly fall day today and I makes me excited to pull out my cozy fall sweaters. One of those is this cuddly cowl neck sweater that I sewed with free sewing patterns last year. Use this cowl neck sweater free add-on pattern to create the same look with your favorite shirt/sweater pattern OR use one of my free top patterns to recreate the look I sewed.

Cowl neck sweater free pattern

I sewed this pattern last year for one of my contributions to the Brother Sews blog. Did you know I post tutorials 2x a month over on their site? You can find this tutorial and all my other fun ideas HERE on Stitching Sewcial. But, I’m also going to share this tutorial here, since the free pattern has been in my shop for almost a year now.

I used a super cozy red sweater fabric for the main fabric of this top. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough fabric to sew the cowl with the same fabric. The cowl will need about a 1/2 yard of fabric for the fabric height. You won’t need the full width {so you could also cut cuffs or other small pieces with this fabric.

The free cowl pattern I’m offering here should fit with most top patterns so check out the tutorial below for making this fit on your favorite sweater pattern.

Cowl Neck add-on pattern

Here I the supplies I used to create this sweater with the add on cowl neckline.

• Womens Shirt pattern – Boyfriend tee {with modified neckline instructions below}
• Free Cowl Neck Add-On pattern
• cozy sweater fabric
• a fun print for the cowl {need about a 1/2 yard for the cowl}

Other cozy tops to sew:

• Make your own sweater pattern
• Cozy sweaters to sew {list}
• Snap Shoulder Sweater
• Free wrap cardigan pattern
• Free raglan sweater pattern

How to sew a cowl neck to a shirt pattern

Ok! So now its time to grab some cozy fabric and a shirt pattern to get started. If you have a shirt/sweater/sweatshirt pattern that you already love us that. This cowl neck add-on free pattern should work just fine for most tops in most sizes.

I’m going to show you the instructions using my womens boyfriend tee, but you can adapt to use with your pattern too. This add-on should fit on any crew neckline. You may have just a bit of easing to do later, but I would start by cutting your neckline smaller – and you can always cut it bigger if needed.

The womens boyfriend tee that I used has a scoop neckline in the front. To make it work with the cowl add-on I cut the front neck a few inches higher so it was more of a crew neck and not a scoop. You also want to cut out the cowl pattern making sure the direction of greatest stretch goes from side to side.

Gather all your pieces…. sweater pieces cut and cowl pieces cut. Now it’s time to sew.

Begin by sewing the shoulder seams of your shirt/sweater. See how the front has a small dip here, but not a big scoop? this will help the cowl add-on to fit and look better on the finished top.

Also sew the back curved seam on both cowl pieces.

Place one cowl inside the other with the right sides touching. Match the back center seam.

Pin or clip the two layers together and sew this larger cowl edge, then open up.

Tuck one side of the cowl inside the other with the wrong sides of the fabric together at this point. You will again match the back seam with both layers. Match the back seam and then mark the front center opposite the back as well.

At this point you can test that your cowl is a similar size to your shirt neck opening. Trim your shirt neckline a bit larger if needed. Both fabrics should stretch so you can ease a small difference.

Mark the back and front center of your shirt neck and then match the corresponding markings on the cowl neck.

Pin or clip the rest of the opening, easing the fabrics to fit. I had to stretch my shirt a bit to sew to the cowl, but this is perfect. We don’t want a stretched out neckline.

Sew this seam with a serger or knit stitch on the sewing machine. This neckline will ne stretched going over your head so you want to make sure it has plenty of give. After you finish sewing you should have a finished neckline.

Continue sewing the rest of your shirt as directed in the pattern. If you used my free top you can find the rest of the tutorial here. I added matching cuffs with the cowl fabric. Try it on and enjoy this cozy top. It’s like wearing a sweater around your neck. I love it!!