How to make a crotcheted ear warmer (headband)

I’ve just recently got back into crotcheting again.  My mum had wanted to make a blanket for the hospice she’s been looked after in so I’d bought her wool, but then found that she wasn’t going to be able to actually do the crotcheting herself…a bit overambitious of her.  So I’ve been crotcheting a blanket at home, and then while visiting her in the evenings I’ve been crotcheting bits and pieces.

Then I spotted a couple of lovely items on other blogs, and thought I’d stand a chance of trying these.  Over the years, I’ve never actually made anything crotcheted.  I can do lots of stitches, but struggle with following patterns, so end up giving up and never restarting.  There’s a really cool ribbed pom pom hat that I want to try next (I’ve started, so we’ll see how it goes), and then an ear warmer/headband.  I always laugh at these when I see them, but given I always get a really hot head when I wear a hat, maybe these should be the answer.

The pattern I saw on Your’s Truly, G’s blog was based on double chain stitch and basically just involves making a long strip to fit round the head with a bit of stretch, stitching it together, then adding a smaller piece of crotchet rectangle as a piece of interest and to hide the join.  Of course you could make a rosette/flower and add that instead or as well as if you wanted something more ornate.  I went for basic and we’ll see how I get on in future.

What you need:

Ball of wool in whatever colour.  I used whatever ball I had and it turned out it was acrylic so not sure about that, but you could use whatever you have.

Crotchet hook – again this’ll depend on the wool you use and how tight you want the stitches.  I used a size 4 hook, and mine’s quite tight crotchet.

Instructions to make:

• Row 1: chain to make a length to be just short of going round your head.  Mine felt a bit small when I tried to test it round my head (only just meeting), but when it was complete it’s plenty big enough.
• Row 2: turn, double chain in 2^nd chain, and each chain across.
• Row 3-7: turn, chain 1, double chain in rest of the way across
• Stitch or crotchet the ends together (I crotcheted mine), then turn so the outside shows the best side.  You could do more rows to double it over but I didn’t want mine too bulky.

To make the cross-piece, do the same pattern but based on a smaller chain.  I chained my first row, then checked it would fit round the main band, pulling it in slightly rather than keeping it flat.  Then double chain 4-5 rows depending on how wide you want it.

Stitch or crotchet it round the main headband piece, turn inside out so you have the neatest side showing.

Then wear.

I love mine – unfortunately you have to suffer selfies, as I’m rubbish using my timer and standing in the right place!  I will definitely be wearing it for walks during the winter instead of a hat.  Even my brother (who initially laughed when I told him what I was making), thought it looked quite good in the end!  Not sure what the OH will think though.

They don’t take long to make, and don’t take up too much wool, so they’d be a great homemade gift for friends and family.

If you’ve made anything similar, or can point me in the direction of some good (simple to understand) patterns, do drop me a note in the comments or via Twitter.