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HEADBAND OVERVIEW
The Uplands headband is an elegant knit headband that will keep your ears warm on cooler days. It is knit from delicate alpaca yarn and it is double-layered, making it extra warm.
The headband is designed in beige and brown colors. It is worked in plain stockinette and has a decorative knot in the middle.
This knitting project is fairly easy and meditative, it lets you practice the basic stitches and knitting in the round.
The headband has a seamless look. A long tube is knitted in the round on circular needles using the magic loop method and the edges are seamed together using the horizontal mattress stitch, which resembles a row of knit stitches.
The seam is also covered with the knot (a shorter band in a contrasting color), which is knitted separately. It is worked the same way as the band – in the round. Since the knot doesn’t have edge stitches it looks very neat and clean. It’s wrapped around the finished band and seamed in the back. This way there are no visible seams.
You will also find a video tutorial on this headband at the end of the written instructions. Enjoy!
Measurements: To fit women’s medium (head circumference approx. 54-56cm/ 21″-22″), but it is easily adjustable.
If you are knitting for a smaller/bigger circumference just knit fewer/ more rows.
If you want to make the headband narrower/ wider simply cast on fewer/ more stitches (for this pattern, it is not important if it is an even or an odd number of stitches).
Finished size: 10cm (4″) wide and 24.5cm (9.6″) long.
Gauge: 26sts x32 rows = 10x10cm (4″x4″) in Stockinette stitch after blocking.
Techniques used in this project: Long Tail cast on, knitting in the round, the horizontal Mattress Stitch.
Be sure to check out my other headband knitting patterns.
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SUPPLIES
To knit this headband you will need the following supplies:
- Yarn: ~ 60g DK / light worsted yarn (category #3) in a lighter color for the band; ~ 10g DK / light worsted yarn (category #3) in a darker color for the knot.
I used DROPS Puna in Taupe (04) for the band and Light Brown (03) for the knot. It’s 100% soft and light alpaca.
If you don’t have the mentioned yarn at hand, here are similar yarn options:
- King Cole Baby Alpaca DK
- Wool and the Gang Sugar Baby Alpaca
- Debbie Bliss Aymara
- Alpaca Cloud DK
- King Cole Natural Alpaca DK
- Needles: 3.5mm (US4/UK9) circular knitting needles with a long cable for the Magic Loop method (80cm/32” or longer). Alternatively, you can work with double-pointed needles.
- Tapestry needle
FREE UPLANDS HEADBAND KNITTING PATTERN
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Save the pattern to your Ravelry queue.
Headband
With a lighter yarn cast on 50 stitches using the Long Tail cast on method (or the one you prefer).
Join in the round
Join in the round using the Magic Loop method:
Step 1: Move the stitches to the center of the cable, bend the cable in half and pull it through the center of the stitches. Move the stitches, so one half is on the front needle, the other – on the back needle.
Step 2: Pull out the needle that holds the yarn tail, so the stitches rest on the cable.
Step 3: Make sure the stitches are not twisted, place a marker to identify the beginning of a new round and you can start knitting.
The band
Work in stockinette (knit all stitches) until the headband measures approximately 50 cm (19.7″) long or until your desired length.
Bind off
Step 1: Work 2 sts, bring the first st over the second one.
Step 2: Work the next st, bring the first st over the second one.
Repeat step 2 until you have 1 stitch left, cut the yarn leaving an 80cm (32”) long tail to seam the headband. Draw the yarn tail through the last stitch and pull it snug.
You will find a detailed tutorial on how to bind off knitting HERE.
The seam
Seam the cast-on and the bind-off edges of the tube together using the Horizontal Mattress stitch (you can follow the link for a detailed horizontal Mattress Stitch tutorial). The seam is going to be covered by the knot/middle part, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect.
Fold the headband so you can bring the edges closer together. Cast-on edge above the bind-off, the layer with the yarn tails on top.
Step 1: Locate the first stitch, which is directly above the cast-on edge. Insert the needle underneath that stitch (under both legs of the “V”), and pull the yarn through.
Step 2: Now locate the first stitch, which is directly under the bind-off edge. Insert your needle through the center of that first stitch (from front to back, through the center of the “V”), and bring it up through the center of the next stitch (from back to front).
Repeat steps 1 and 2 all the way around – work under the stitch on the top piece and into the centers of the stitches on the bottom piece. This is how the finished seam looks:
Middle part
The middle part is worked exactly the same way as the headband, it is just smaller.
With the darker yarn cast on 24 stitches, join in the round using the Magic Loop method and knit in stockinette for 10cm (4”). Bind off.
Alternatively, if you don’t want the middle part to be double-layered and you don’t want to work in the round: cast on 12 stitches and knit flat in stockinette for 10cm (4”). Bind off.
Assemble
Pinch the headband a little and place the middle part between the layers of the tube to cover the seam.
Wrap the middle part around the headband and seam the cast-on and seam the edges of the tube together using the Horizontal Mattress stitch, just like you have seamed the headband.
Working on a smaller peace may be tricky, but it gets easier after the first few stitches.
Move the edges of the middle part to the right as you seam.
Weave in all loose ends.
I always advise wet blocking the finished item, this process transforms the stitches, making them look smoother and neater.
Simply soak the knitted item in lukewarm water with some soak wash for 10-15 minutes. Lift it from the water and gently squeeze the excess water out. Next, lay it on a clean towel, and roll it up to remove moisture.
Pin the item to a blocking board or lay it on a clean and dry towel (make sure it doesn’t transfer color) and let it dry. Your knitting will look much better after this.
HEADBAND VIDEO TUTORIAL
I hope you enjoyed this headband knitting pattern, be sure to check out my other knitting patterns!
Thank you for stopping by,
Mirella.
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5 Comments
Hi, really useful video working on round needle. Can you post video how to knit using two needles please
Wonderful pattern <3! If I'd like to avoid the magic loop, would working the double stockinette stitch flat produce the same results?
Thank you so much! You can work with double-pointed needles instead – just divide the stitches evenly between the four (or three) needles and work the stockinette stitch. You will have the same tube with no seam. Or you can work flat, but you’ll need to seam the sides together if you want the headband to be double-layered.
I know this comment is a couple years old, but yes you can work it flat. Start with Judy’s magic cast on, and distribute over two needles (search for “agnete cardigan start” on YouTube to see petite knit demonstrate the technique). You can then knit one, slip one purlwise w yarn in front, which will create the tube without working in the round. First stitch of the row is slipped, last stitch is knitted.
This will also give you a provisional cast on edge which makes it easy to close the tubes with a kitchener stitch (look up YouTube for how to Kitchener in the round.)
I just finished mine today using the methods described above and am really happy with the results!
Thank you for the lovely pattern!
Hei Mirella!
Todella kiva ohje ja kaunis pääpanta. Kiitos!