Growing up in the countryside on a farm I have done my fair share of hard labour (mostly agricultural stuff) but as a girl with long hair I found that it often got in the way. Coming home at the end of the day my hair would have been a tangled mat of knots and looking like I had been (and most probably was) pulled through a hedge backwards if it had not been tied back and pinned up with bobby pins. Now some days I didn’t want to have my hair tied back in a tight pony tail but it still needed to be tamed so in came headbands to the rescue.
The headband pattern I’m giving away today is based on the basket weave stitch which is one of my favourite intermediate stitches to work with. The basket weave stitch, when done with a decent yarn and a reasonable tension (I’m very much guilty of having an overly tight tension), has a marvellous stretch and texture which makes it perfect for wearing on your head all day no matter the weather.
Skills You Need:
You will need to be able to do the following crochet techniques (all given in US terms with abbreviations) to complete this pattern. I will give you written descriptions with some of the slightly harder stitches but if you need further help I will link to some videos at the end:
– Chain stitch (ch)
– Single Crochet (sc)
– Double Crochet (dc)
– Half Double Crochet (hdc)
– Front Post Double Crochet (fpdc)
– Back Post Double Crochet (bpdc)
– Sewing buttons
Tools and Materials:
You can make this head-band with any yarn size that you want just remember that it will come out a different size to the one stated in the pattern.
– Crochet hook: 4mm
– DK weight yarn (no more than 35g)
– Tapestry needle for weaving in ends
– Sewing needle
– 1 – 2 buttons depending on preference
– Measuring tape
Pattern Instructions:
To make this pattern wider than stated or if you are working with a finer yarn, you will need to work in multiples of 8 + 7 extra stitches. This way you always end up with an odd number of repeats which is needed to work the pattern correctly.
Special stitch instructions:
– FPDC: this is essentially a normal double crochet but instead of working in the usual top “v” of the stitch we will be working in the row below with the post section that was created. To work a FPDC yarn over and insert your hook behind the post to your left. To do this insert your hook in between the first and second post of the previous row and go behind the second post so that your needle comes back out between the second and third post. Yarn over and pull up a loop and complete the rest of your double crochet (yarn over, go through two loops, yarn over again, go through the last two loops)
– BPDC: this is similar to the FPDC but instead of going from front to back we will do the opposite and go in from behind this time. Yarn over and bring your hook to the back of your work and insert between the two post from behind. Now go in front of the post to your left and out toward the back of your work between that post and the next. Yarn over and pull the loop through ensuring the yarn catches the post and pulls it back so you can complete the rest of your double crochet (yarn over, go through two loops, yarn over again, go through the last two loops).
– Ch 15
– Dc 13 (starting in the 3rd ch from hook), ch 2 and turn
– FPDC 4, BPDC 4, FPDC 4, HDC (in the last DC), ch2 and turn
– BPDC 4, FPDC 4, BPDC4, HDC (in the ch 2 you just did, ch 2 and turn
– BPDC 4, FPDC 4, BPDC4, HDC, ch 2 and turn
– FPDC 4, BPDC 4, FPDC 4, HDC, ch2 and turn
– *FPDC 4, BPDC 4, FPDC 4, HDC, ch2 and turn
– BPDC 4, FPDC 4, BPDC4, HDC, ch 2 and turn
– BPDC 4, FPDC 4, BPDC4, HDC, ch 2 and turn
– FPDC 4, BPDC 4, FPDC 4, HDC, ch2 and turn*
– Repeat *-* (rows 7-10) until piece reaches desired length. I went to 23 inches for an average female adult size which then also allows for some button-band length
– To finish DC every stitch on your last row and then if desired loosely sc around the entire piece to create a nice border. Make sure that your sc are very loose so that you do not reduce the stretch of the headband.
Now that the crocheting is done you will need to weave in all ends and tidy those up before we get to the buttons.
Placing the buttons can be entirely down to your taste. I personally like to sew in two buttons approximately one inch from the end with one button in a FPDC section leaving the BPDC between them. Due to the nature and spacing of the basket weave stitch I have not included the making of button holes simply because they can easily fit between the stitches (assuming you are not using humongous buttons). This also means that the headband will fit a wider range of crochet-worthy people because the band is naturally adjustable.
If you need any help with front or back post stitches please see the tutorial video below.
I hope you have enjoyed this pattern today and I hope to see some finished objects if you are willing to share using any of the contact methods below.
You may sell finished items made from this pattern but please credit relaxingwithyarn.com as the designer (or any of my social tags below).
For any quesons you may have please contact me on randrews@relaxingwithyarn.com
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