First things first, the winner of the Buttons giveaway as chosen by a random number generator is..... Sauceyjill! She wrote: "Love that cowl! And that lavender is awesome! Pretty! I'm also excited about your aran sweater! Who doesn't love a good cable pattern?!"
Yay! Congrats Jill!
I made myself this lovely Anthropology inspired plaited head wrap last week, but I just call it my braided headband. I love a good braid, so when I saw this free pattern I downloaded it immediately. It as perfect timing as I stumbled upon it right after my favorite ear-muffs broke. Sometimes in the winter, when I have my hair in a ponytail or in a bun, as I tend to do, wearing a hat is just not that practical, but I need to keep my ears warm! So, I used to turn to my ear-muffs, but now that those are gone I needed a new solution. The headband is it!
I looked at a couple of different braided headbands before officially settling on this one. There are several out there that use a braid-style cable to achieve a similar look, but what really drew me to this pattern is that it is actually braided! The construction is really interesting. You knit a long tube, then do some looping and weaving, graft the ends together and the result is a continuous braid!
I knit mine on 5mm instead of the recommended 6mm needles, I did it on dpn’s and it was a bit fiddly but nothing I couldn’t handle. I CO 18 sts to make up for the smaller sized needles. It took more yarn then I expected, nearly half a skein in total.
I also steam blocked my long tube before braiding in hopes that the braid would lay flatter on my head, and it worked. Love it! I think I'll make one in thinner yarn, maybe fingering weight, to wear as a regular headband to keep my hair out of my face.
My mom took these FO shots for me yesterday and somehow managed to get this totally wild, super freaky faceless shot. This has not been photoshopped, after she took the picture and we saw this on the monitor we were both a little disturbed...
Isn't that weird!? At least the braid looks good.
okay, the faceless shot is weird! but it's cool, I wonder if you did photoshop it, if your face would show up by bumping the contrast and darkening the area...
ReplyDeleteTanis,
ReplyDeleteDid you try doing a large i-cord instead of fiddling with the double points? I did a belt that way once and some fingers on gloves. In fact I may try the one I'm going to make soon that way. BTW very pretty.
that faceless shot is odd for sure.
ReplyDeleteThanks for picking me oh great number generator! I'm so excited!
I love that headband!! It looks really pretty. That last photo is so odd- funny how cameras 'see' things sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThe headband is cute. Do you think you could share your braiding technique for the pattern? If it's as hard as you say, then I'd like an alternative.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could share what I ended up doing, but I'm not sure I can adequately explain it. It's not that it's hard, you just have to focus. If/when I make another one I'll take process photo's and share my method.
ReplyDeleteI used to wear a headband all winter (a rather ridiculous one, with a pom-pom right in the middle), but lately have been using a hat and/or earmuffs, depending on how cold it is. But I think maybe it's just about time for a headband again, because you're right, some hairstyles just don't work with hats. But earmuffs leave my forehead open to the frigid winds we get around here, and that's no good either. I end up having to take my hair down to put my hat on and put it back up again when I get where I'm going. A little silly. A new headband might just be the solution.
ReplyDeleteYours looks great, btw!
That is one crazy photo! I love it though, is that the stormy? It looks gorgeous in the shots!
ReplyDeleteBy the way - are you planning on being at the knitters Frolic in Toronto?
Yes, I will be at the Knitter's Frolic, can't wait! The yarn used to knit the headband is a darker version of my usual stormy. A happy accident!
ReplyDeletewhoa, freaky! the braid looks great though!
ReplyDelete