Headband!

I was looking for a headband to keep my hair out of my face when I do yoga – something not too narrow, but not super-wide; something that would stay in place but have some give; something that looked nice and could be made with cotton yarn.

None of the options I found online were what I was looking for, so I designed my own. It’s made in three rows and then the ends are sewn together. I did it with some boring Lily Sugar ‘n’ Cream (I think the color is called “natural”) held together with variegated embroidery floss for a little color pop.

chain link headband

Here’s the pattern for my headband; modifications and additional information follow.

Chain Link Headband!

Worsted weight cotton yarn, I/9 (5.5mm) hook.

Chain 67.
1. Starting in the second chain from the hook, alternate 2 sc decreases and 2 sc increases across.
2. Chain 2 (turning chain + 1). Skip first stitch and then alternate 2 sc and 4 chains over 4 skipped stitches – your sc are made into the middle 2 sc of each pair of increases from row 1. You will end with a chain 4 that includes the turning chain for the next row and is over only 3 skipped stitches.
3. Alternate 2 sc increases and 2 sc decreases across, starting in the second chain from the hook. Make your stitches into the chains as opposed to around the chains so they shape the way they are intended to.
Your finished flat piece should have a closed ring on the end with the starting slip knot, and two “fingers” on the opposite end. Sew those fingers to the starting end to close that “chain link” – it will be a bit wider than the ones mid-row but not very noticeable. Finish off all yarn/floss ends.

Or abbreviated:
Ch 67.
1. *Dec 2, inc 2* across (66).
2. Ch 2 (includes turning ch). Sk first st; *sc 2, sk 4 sts and ch 4* across. Will end with only 3 sk sts but still 4 chs (includes turning ch for next row) (22 sc, 44 ch + 2 turning ch).
3. *Inc 2, dec 2* across, stitching into ch instead of around ch (66).
Sew ends together and FO.

Fitting!

Headbands are very personal and crochet gauge is also very personal, so this is unlikely to work for you as written. Or perhaps you want to make it with a different weight of yarn. How should you adjust?

To determine your gauge:
Chain 13. Starting in second chain from hook, *sc dec, sc dec, sc inc, sc inc* twice.
It should make a gentle S shape. With your ruler against the two bumps of the S (so you are measuring straight along the overall direction of the work), measure from the first increase stitch to the last decrease stitch. If you follow the pattern as written, multiply that by 11 to get your finished size.

To determine your desired finished size:
Measure your head where the headband will lie and subtract 1-2 inches. I subtracted 1″ and the headband fits, but I could have gone a decent bit tighter. In fact at first I worried it was too loose to be used, but I’ve tried it in some workouts and it’s stable enough to forget it’s there. I do, however, have a large head, so 1″ is proportionally not so much; for a child’s head a 1″ subtraction might be just right. This is quite a stretchy pattern so you’re safe to go a bit smaller than you would normally.

To adjust the pattern:
Is there a multiple of your gauge measurement that is in your good finished size range? If so, that same multiple of 6, plus 1, is your starting chain length. For instance, if you were working larger than I did and had a gauge of 2 1/4″, your finished size for the pattern as written would be 24 3/4″ – probably way too big. If your head measurement is 22″, so you want a 20″-21″ headband, use a starting chain of 55: since 9 * 2 1/4″ = 20 1/4″, compute 9*6 + 1 = 55.

Adding or subtracting multiples of 6 chains ought to be possible given how much leeway you have for size; if it seems impossible go up or down a hook size and recalculate your gauge. That keeps you from having to alter the pattern itself. At the end, however, I’ll give adjustments for any multiple of 2 in case you really want them.

chain link headband detail

Using embroidery floss!

If you add embroidery floss like I did you’ll be starting a new length of it every row. There is enough floss in a skein to do both the starting chain and row 2, but there is not enough to do both row 1 or 3 and anything else. So: 3 skeins of embroidery floss. Hold skein 1 together with the yarn for the starting chain. Switch to skein 2 (cutting skein 1) for row 1. Switch back to skein 1 for row 2, and then start skein 3 for row 3. I quite liked the effect.

More modifications!

If you alter by a non-multiple-of-6 number of chains, the ends will no longer match up pattern-wise, but it can be done. You do have to have a starting chain that is (even number) + 1. Take that even number and divide by 6. What is the remainder?

0: Follow pattern as written.

2: Start row 1 with two increases; you will also end with two increases. Row 2 will begin as written and end with chain 2, skip 1 instead of 4, 3. Row 3 will begin and end with two decreases.

4: Start row 2 as written but end with 2 decreases. Row 2 will start with chain 4, skip 3 instead of 2, 1 and end as written. Row 3 will begin and end with two increases.

A little glamour in the morning

I’d been wanting a new lightweight robe for a while. My current one was a friend’s big pajama shirt originally, with the sleeves shortened. While it had a lot going for it, it wasn’t very long and it was flannel, so it was fairly warm. I was looking for something equally light or lighter and with a bit more coverage.

bathrobe, hanging up

My first thought was to use up some of my excess stash by patchworking a bunch of fabric together confetti-style and using it to sew a robe. Such a robe would take a long time to make, though, and need to be double-sided or else have a million exposed raw edges. Before I ever got started on that project we went to the thrift store. After picking up a crayon-colored dinosaur bedsheet I found a beautiful fabric shower curtain.

shower curtain laid out

It had a little fade on the edge of the teal band but otherwise no damage or discoloration. And let’s get a closeup on those branches.

shower curtain detail

So lovely! I used it for the same pattern I would have used with the pieced robe idea, previously used for my beloved bird jacket. The back of that jacket is in two halves, perhaps because the kimono-style sleeves make it hard to fit the full thing on a standard fabric width, but I joined them into a single piece (making it slightly wider in the process – I box-pleated the extra in at the neck). One advantage to using a shower curtain is that you’d rarely find a standard fabric with a design this large.

bathrobe on, from the back

I was only able to extend the pattern pieces by about an inch and a half, but I added the teal strip onto the bottom and finished a good six inches longer than the pattern. Plenty long for me. The leftover fabric from the opposite side of the curtain made the front edge band, and leftover teal became belt loops and a hanging loop at the top back. I bought the belt cord new.

bathrobe on, from the front
Professional bedhead. Do not attempt.

Every once in a while you start a project with an idea of how good it could be, and the project exceeds your expectations. I’m thrilled with this robe!

Just a simple snow hat

One day last fall I decided to start a project I could just work on in the evenings. I thought a snow hat would be nice – something with a brim to keep my glasses dry. I was remembering some multicolored bulky yarn – white, silver, and blue – but when I went to look for it there was nothing. Instead I combined off-white, gray, and tweedy blue yarn for my own custom bulky yarn.

me in my crochet snow hat

Given the trueness of my purple shirt in that photo I have to imagine I really was that red-faced.

Simple Snow Hat Pattern

Worked with 3 strands of worsted-weight yarn held together and a K hook.

You may find my crochet pattern abbreviations and conventions useful.

1. Fsc 46.
2. Sc 14, sc BLO 18, sc 14.
3-4. Sc around (46).
5. 2sc, sc 4, 2sc, sc 35, 2sc, sc 4 (49).
6. Sc 7, 2sc, sc 11, 2sc, sc 11, 2sc, sc 11, 2sc, sc 5 (53).
7. Sc 2, 2sc, sc 7, 2sc, sc 36, 2sc, sc 5 (56).
8-10. Sc around (56).
11. Sc 17, dec, sc 17, dec, sc 16, dec (53).
12. Sc 5, dec, sc 12, dec, sc 11, dec, sc 11, dec, sc 6 (49).
13. *Sc 5, dec* around (42).
14. *Sc 2, dec, sc 2* around (35).
15. *Sc 3, dec* around (28).
16. *Sc, dec, sc* around (21).
17. *Sc, dec* around (14).
18. Dec around (7).

I might make this again with a change: make rounds 11-13 into four decrease rounds, two of 3 dec and two of 4 dec, and maybe also add another round to the “sc around” block that’s currently 8-10. It should make it a little deeper and less boxy.

I don’t think I recorded the brim, but it was to go across 3 times, starting in the unused front loops of hat round 2. I increased a few times in the middle so the brim would stick out and decreased on each end so it gets slightly narrower.

bottom view of crochet snow hat, showing brim

It’s not as warm as my beehive hat (the second one in that link), but with the mild winter we’ve had it’s seen a lot of use.