Winter
Chunky Headband with Ears (or
without Ears)
1
skein Chunky [6] yarn
Scrap
yarn for ear lining Chunky [6]
Size
15 knitting needles
Tapestry
needle with hole large enough for chunky yarn
Size
N crochet hook
Gauge
2 st/1” and 4 rows/1” measured in moss stitch pattern
CO
5
Two
Cast On options
Option
1: Long tail cast on and bind off end then use mattress stitch to sew ends
together.
Option
2: Provisional cast on and use Kitchener’s stitch to attach starting row to
ending row.
I’ve
used the crocheted provisional cast on for this project. Use a similar weight,
smooth, different colored yarn. Crochet two chain stitches then use crochet
hook to pull yarn over knitting needle and pull through loop until you have 5
stitches. Crochet two more chain stitches off the needle then leave a large
loop at the end to identify which end to pull when you are ready to remove
provisional stitches. These stitches don’t count anywhere. They only exist to
hold the first row’s stitches live.
The benefit of
starting with a provisional cast on and then using Kitchener’s stitch to graft
the two ends together is a smooth, invisible join that has nice stretchability.
If you aren’t ready to do this process then just cast on as normal and bind off
as normal and sew the two ends together. The join will barely be noticed since
it’s at the back of the head.
Start
knitting with main yarn.
Row
1: Knit 5
Row
2: Purl 5
Row
3: Knit 5
Row
4: Purl 5
Row
5: sl 1, KFB, K1, KFB, K1
Row
6: sl 1 wyf, P6
Row
7: sl 1, KFB, K3, KFB, K1
Row
8: sl 2 wyf, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P2
Row
9: sl 2, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K3
Repeat
rows 8 and 9. The two slipped stitches at start of each row will form an icord
edge. Be sure to bring the yarn forward
when slipping the first two stitches on the wrong side of the work (even
numbered rows). It won’t take long to see the pattern forming. It is a moss
stitch with an icord edge.
Work
until piece measures 2” less than desired head circumference.
In
general, for baby work to 15”, for toddler work to 16”, for child work to 17”,
and for adult work to 18”.
RS
Row 1x: sl2, K1, sl 2 knitwise together, K1, pass both slipped sts over last
knit st, K3
WS
Row 2x: sl 2 wyf, K1, P1, K1, P2
RS
Row 3x: sl 2, K1, P1, K3
WS
Row 4x: sl 2 wyf, K1, P1, K1, P2
RS
Row 5x: sl 1, K1, sl 2 knitwise together, K1, pass both slipped sts over last
knit st, K2
WS
Row 6x: sl 1 wyf, P4
RS
Row 7x: sl 1, K4
If
you used long-tailed cast on, bind off and join two ends with mattress stitch.
If
you used provisional cast on, remove scrap yarn and insert live stitches onto
other needle. There will be five
stitches on each needle for a total of ten stitches. Needle 1 will be front
needle and Needle 2 will be back needle.
Kitchener’s
Stitch:
First,
prepare for Kitchener’s stitch by sliding tapestry needle purlwise into first
stitch on needle 1 then knitwise into first stitch on needle two. Be careful to keep the working yarn from
sneaking up over the needles as you work.
Now
we begin:
Insert
tapestry needle knitwise into first stitch on Needle 1 and push it off Needle 1
then insert tapestry needle into second stitch purlwise.
Now
insert tapestry needle into first stitch purlwise on Needle 2 and push it off Needle
2 then into second stitch purlwise.
Let’s
go back to needle 1 and insert tapestry needle knitwise into stitch 2 and push
it off needle 1 then purlwise into stitch 3. Now needle 2’s turn. Insert
tapestry needle purlwise into stitch 2 and push it off needle 2 then knitwise
into stitch 3. Do the same for stitch 4 and 5 and that’s it. Weave in yarn end
and cut off.
See
the pattern? For stockinette stitch there’s an easy mantra I recite, “knit off
purl then purl off knit”. It’s technically knitwise and purlwise but saying “knit off purl then purl off knit” kept
it straight for me. The closest needle, Needle 1 will always be knit off purl and the farthest needle,
Needle 2, will always be purl off knit
for stockinette stitch joins.
Ears
(Crocheted
version)
Make
2 in main color
Make
2 in contrasting color
In
magic loop, 5 hdc, slip to join (5)
2
hdc in each hdc (10)
*2
hdc in same stitch, 1 hdc, repeat from * (15)
Using
main color, crochet together a back ear piece and lining ear piece with single
crochet. Leave a tail about 12-16” to sew to headband.
Ears (Knit version)
Make
2 in main color
Make
2 in contrasting color
CO
2
KFB
x2
K1,
KFB x2, K1
K2,
KFB x2, K2
K3,
KFB x2, K3
K4,
KFB x2, K4
Bind
off, leaving 1 stitch on needle. Turn ear and pick up 1 stitch in center of
bottom of ear and 1 stitch at other end of bottom of ear, bind off these three
stitches. This is to complete the shaping of the ear but if picking up stitches
is intimidating you could use yarn tail and tapestry needle and gather up
bottom by stitching into center and far end of bottom of each ear back and ear
lining.
Crochet
back of ear and lining together using main color yarn and single crochet stitch.
Or whipstitch for those not knowing how to crochet.
Attaching
ear:
Fold
headband in half with seam in center. Sew ears onto headband third row from the
front about 1” from each side. Tack tip of ear to get a more pointed ear. To
tack ear tip, after sewing on ear run yarn up back of ear between back and
lining. About 1-2 stitches down from top of ear run yarn in and out from side
to side about 4x then secure by weaving yarn tail a few times in the back of
the ear. For rounded ear don’t tack tip of ear.
I
used Lion Brand Hometown chunky for most headbands and Wool Ease for the white
and gray multi-colored headband.
Legend
CO = cast
on
K = knit
P = purl
Sl = slip
stitch. Insert needle as if to purl but with yarn in back (unless otherwise
noted with wyf) and slip stitch from left needle to right needle without
working it.
KFB = knit
into stitch then knit into stitch again but through back before finishing
stitch by releasing from left needle.
Wyf = with
yarn in front
Wyb = with
yarn in back
RS = right
side
WS = wrong
side
Icord =
knitting stitches on a straight needle but never turning work and always
working from right side, which causes yarn stretched across back of work to
pull work into a tube shape.
Hdc = half
double crochet
SC =
single crochet