Free and Easy Chunky Cowl Pattern

I'm kinda addicted to cowls lately.  It all started last year after a trip to KnitPurl in Portland.  I made a cowl (NOT the one pictured) that I absolutely love with a yarn that's wonderful.  The pattern I used for that cowl (again, NOT this one) is called the Tuesday Night Cowl by Susan Lawrence and it's available on Ravelry for FREE.  The yarn I used was a worsted weight by Malabrigo in a lovely lettuce color with cool natural dye variations that are awesome.  I really liked knitting with the Malabrigo yarn and I love how it feels around my neck.  Anyway, like I said, this picture isn't of that cowl; although both have a big, chunky kind of look to them that seems to be "in" right now... a good thing for those of us knitters with short attention spans!

The cowl pictured is one that I made up after doing a little browsing at the Gap in San Francisco and seeing a ton of scarves and cowls that I knew I could make.  When I came home of course I couldn't actually remember exactly what they looked like, but was determined to come up with something quick and easy that used up some of the yarn I have at home (what a concept!).  So, below is the pattern for my Mind the Gap Cowl (or you can just click here and download the pattern).