How to Knit a Headband

A knitted headband will keep your ears warm when the air outside is at a temperature less than comfortable. You can also adapt these instructions to make a lighter, thinner headband that can be worn in warm weather to hold your hair off your face. Here's how to make one.

1. Gather your materials. Needles in size 8, 9 or 10 (US size) are best for this pattern. Also find a worsted weight (normal) yarn in a color you like.
   
   
2. Make a gauge swatch. Knit about a 4" x 4" sample square, and measure how many stitches are in each inch, and how many rows, with the yarn you've picked. Write down that information.
   
   
3. Cast on the number of stitches you'd need for the final piece to be 2.5" (6.4 cm) wide. (If you were getting 10 stitches per inch, you'd cast on 25, for example.) In this example, it'll be 16 stitches for a size 8 to 10 needles.
   
   
4. Knit every row. Because you'll want your headband to have some stretchiness, knit in agarter or cabbage stitch. (In this example, cabbage stitch is used.)
   
   
5. Continue knitting until the piece is as long as you would like your headband to be. Heads vary in size, so measure your own, and take off one to two inches for the stretchiness of the stitch.
   
   
6. Bind off your stitches. Tidy the ends with a yarn needle as shown.
   
   
7. Sew the bound-off edge to the cast-on edge. For added flair, twist the headband once before sewing the edges together. The twist will make the headband more comfortable at the back of your head, so your hair can fall normally.
   
   
8. Finished.
   
   

• Thinner headbands are possible with smaller yarns and needles, just change the number of stitches you've cast on. These would be more of a decorative, hold-your-hair-back type, rather than a winter weather warm-your-ears-while-snowboarding type.
• For another alternative, knit two rows. Then, on the third row, wrap the yarn around the needle four times on the first stitch, three times on the second and third stitches, and twice on the fourth stitch. On the fourth row, knit again. The extra times you wrapped yarn around the needle in the third row will make big gaps in this row, which are decorative.
• Alternatively, you can make knit or crochet flowers (do an online search for free patterns), and attach them either by sewing them on or sewing them to pin backs and pinning them on your headbands.
• Try keeping all your knitting stuff in one place.
• You can alter this pattern with different yarns or stitches.
• You can also do embroidery stitches on the garter-stitch (that's the knit every row fabric name) headbands with yarn and a big needle. Embroidery stitches are also available online for free if you haven't done that before.

• Always watch your knitting. Don't leave it to chance, or you'll end up with something that could probably be used as a belt for a four-year-old, or a crown for the amoeba queen. It takes only a few minutes, and really does help.

• One ball/skein/hank of worsted-weight or medium-weight yarn, preferably wool (for warmth) if you're not allergic.
• One pair of needles, in size 8, 9, or 10 US. (The bigger the needle, the looser the knit.)
• Scissors to cut your yarn at the end.
• A darning needle or yarn needle to sew the two ends together and weave in any yarn ends.
• Embellishments (optional)