Friday, January 10, 2014

Simple Recipe for Chunky Knit Headbands


The decorations are down - well, for the most part.  No doubt I'll be finding the odd little thing for the next few weeks as there always seems to be straggler items that I don't notice because I've been living with them so long. Oh well, the bulk of the work is done so it's time to start getting sorted for this year's projects.

Perhaps because it's been bitterly cold out, or perhaps because there is a big pile of wool in the corner of my office and filling a storage bench that I could use for other things, the first item on my agenda is my wool stash.


I've never liked wearing hats, but it's too cold these days to go without something a little extra to keep you warm and I just love the wool head bands / ear warmers.  (What I don't love is the name as I'm just never sure what to call them, but they seem to be popular and I agree.)  So this project is first on the agenda in the knit/crochet section and ideal for using up my bits of wool and fancy yarns.

To that end, I'm very happpy with my latest recipe for a simple and very effective chunky knit headband. 

The recipe:  Number 9.0 needles.  44 stitches.  15 rows.  Double rib.    What yarns to use in those rows is where the fun is for me.


 This teal example with purple and cobalt accents is knit with Charisma yarn and the faux fur yarn.   The result is very very very soft.


But then I began to experiment with other yarns, and loved the results using 3 strands of Astra in place of the Charisma.  In conjunction with the faux fur yarn, that's 4 strands you're knitting with in the main section (I leave the edges faux fur free so as not to tickle), so the result is super thick and warm.  Even more colour combinations to play with means extra fun for me.



 To really mix it up I've made some wth Charisma (chunky wool) for the edges, switching to the 3 Astra with faux fur yarns for the center.  I have a fair amount of certain colours to use up but didn't want to make many identitical, so I thought it was a good opportunity to experiment. For super thick and soft but a little more structure, I now like to include one strand of Astra with the soft Charisma yarn as it gives it just that little bit more oomph.

And so we're off on stash busting mission #1 with simple knit headbands.  Current count = 10.


1 comment:

  1. They're so nice and squishy - I think they're going to be a big hit! But with my short hair I need an all over hat :)

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