I got a bad haircut that looks a little better with hats and headbands. I like both, but don't have enough of the latter. So I thought I'd make some up.

This is a design in progress. I plan on making several continually-improving versions while my hair grows out. But I thought I share the process with all of you.

I started with some handspun I had laying around. 84 yards of a two ply handspun to be exact. I think the white portions are merino and the blue is a merino/tencel blend, but I could be wrong.

Consulting my WPI (wraps per inch) tool told me that I had a yarn averageing 9 wpi. My handy chart informed me that this translated into an appropriate needle size of US 9. (By the way, if you are ever working with unidentified yarn of any kind, a WPI tool is an excellent thing to have on hand. I highly reccomend haivng one.)

Into a ball the yarn went. Knitting commenced and voila I had a headband.

This is merely a passable headband. It is stockinette, which means it rolls unless you steam block the hell out of it.

Passable Headband
copyright ninaclock designs 2006

- cast on 2 sts
- knit 9 inches of i-cord
- P1, M1, P1
- K row
- P1, M1, P1, M1, P1
- K row
- P1, M1, P3, M1, P1
- K row
- P1, M1, P5, M1, P1
- K in stockinette stitches until piece mearsures 13 inches from 1st increase
- K1, ssk, K4, K2tog, K1
- P row
- K1, ssk, K2, K2tog, K1
- P row
- K1, K3tog, K1
- P row
- K2tog, K1
- knit 9 inches of i-cord
- bind off all sts

It's a merely passable headband. A non-curling fabric and a smaller gauge would go a long way to improving it. But sometimes when I design I just have to start. Actually, I think this headband design is actually going to morph into a hat. We'll see!