Crochet a toddler cowl- beginner

Now let me start off by saying, I do not use crochet patterns often, well actually, at all! I own crochet books and use them for ideas or inspiration etc, but I can never follow a pattern without deviating. And I can't stay with a project for long, my hands get sore and my mind gets bored and counting with distractions doesn't work great! So this isn't a traditional crochet pattern which is why I think it works for beginners! 

I used what i think is 4ply, and used two stands of wool as one, i just pulled the middle end out and the outer end of wool and used them as if it were one piece. it gave the cowl a bit more chunky-ness which i like! and i used a 3.5ml hook because i couldn't find anything bigger.

For juju, who has a head circumference of 52cm I started with 51 chains, this is the top of your cowl, if you have your child handy you can try it on them once you slip join your chain to make sure it's large enough to fit over their head but only stretched, not too loose. (Or it will end up like Roos cowl-see pics below- i didn't have him handy to measure so i used the same sizes as Jujus which didn't work) My second round is single stitches into each chain link without increases. Rows 3-9 are treble stitches, with increases (an extra stitch) every 5th stitch, or whatever works for you! My 10th row (bottom) is single stitch, I ended up with 65 stitches. (Told you I don't count well with distractions- I had my kiddies watching a movie-back to the future 3-  and they have to ask questions about what's happening the entire time) 

What you will end up with is 10 rows, the top being smaller- small enough to not be too lose around their neck but not too tight that it can't fit over their heads! And it flares out slightly to sit out onto shoulders. It really is a forgiving piece, miss a stitch or add a stitch and it won't change too much of the overall piece. As long as you get the initial chain size right and you arent crocheting too tight you are good to go!  Of course you can make this larger for older ones, Tehy helped me crochet her one also... She got sick of the movie half way through and then got sick of crocheting half way through also, she got to the fifth row and gave up, so she has called it a head band rather then a cowl which she is happy with! The only thing you will need to change is the initial chain stitch- which will be longer to fit larger heads and you will have more rows to cover their longer neck and wider shoulders. You could use two different balls of wool to add some interest, or you could use a larger ply size or just use a single stand of the smaller ply if you wanted a thinner cowl if you want it for say- spring/summer rather then autumn/winter here! Good luck, I hope you make some sense of it, if you need any extra info, have questions or want to show your finished work leave me a comment and let me know how you go! :) 

Have to add a pic of the dread head rasta style beanie I made hubby also!