Head Band Mania

It's that time of the year folks! Turn your thermostats down to fifty to save money, invest in an over priced North Face jacket and gawk at ladies on campus who elect to face the chill in bare legs. Oh wait, that's just at college.But a recent new fad I see extending beyond the campus this year are custom crochet head bands. I found a nifty, easy little pattern that I thought I would share. Of course I made some tweaks and what not, but the directions below will be exactly how I made these awesome toasty ear warmers.

Instructions

Use a H hook, heavy worsted yarn. If opting for lighter weight consider using two lighter yarns together.

ch = chain         dc= double crochet

Row 1: ch 4. Then dc into the chain, adding one dc. This is the equivalent to chaining three, double crocheting into that stitch, and then performing three more double crochets in the remaining 3 stitches, so one each. You should have 5 double crochets (remember a chain of three = 1 double crochet). 

Row 2: Turn (aka flip your work around so your hook is back to the same side you started). And then dc in each stitch again while increasing by one dc. (Again increasing by one dc means that you will perform your chain of three first, and then dc into that same stitch, result in an extra stitch for the next row).

Continue dc'ing and adding a stitch on each row until you have 9 stitches. Continue rows with 9 stitches for anywhere between 18-24 rows. I try it on as I go and use my best judgement, it hasn't failed so far but for you sticklers out there I do about 20 rows. 

For the final rows, dc and then decrease by one dc in each row until you are back down to four dc stitches like in the beginning. I'm not so hot at explaining how to decrease a dc, so click HERE for instructions that I used to learn. 

At this point you can connect the two ends if you like, and voila you are done.

I personally don't connect them just yet. I dc all the way around the top and bottom edges to create a kind of cinch on the top and bottom of the headband that will help hold it tight on your head. Adding these extra dc's along the top and bottom also increase the width of the band. 

For instructions for the flower technique I used, look below at the toddler crochet hat.