Knitted Headband Ear Warmer

Last week I saw a wide headband ear warmer for sale.  It was really cute, and they are popular right now.  My daughters both asked me if I could make them one.  Rather than reinvent the wheel, I went online and searched for a pattern.  I found a blog post with a pattern.  I asked permission to post the pattern and she allowed me to do so.

http://tmatthewsfineart.blogspot.com/2011/11/free-knitting-pattern-headband-ear.html

I decided to dig in my yarn stash to see if I had some yarn to make a sample headband.  I found a ball of bulky yarn that I thought I could use.  I basically followed the pattern for the thick yarn version, and this is what I came up with.

I had Heather try it on to see if it fit.   The flower can go in either side.

Next I needed to find some yarn in a color that would match better.  Our options are so limited where we live, but I found some chunky yarn to try.  I wanted to see how that would work.  I modified the pattern a little.  Instead of increasing to 23 stitches, I increased to 19 stitches.  It didn't stretch as much, so I made it an inch longer before the decrease.  It is a little bulky but it looks fine.  Next I will try a regular worsted weight yarn in a double strand.  These headband work up really fast, so I can try different yarns until I'm satisfied with it.

I tried another headband with worsted weight yarn.  I used Caron brand Simply Soft paints.  Rainbow Brights was the color.  It seemed a little thinner than some worsted yarn, so I used three strands for the band and two strands for the flower.  It turned out almost the same size as the one I made with chunky yarn.  Being able to use this type of yarn increases the color choices and availability for me.

Sarah and Melissa in their new headbands.