Quhirl

It is no secret that I love a headband.

When I had long hair, I found headbands a really useful way of keeping my general hairy messiness in check. With a short crop, headbands are definitely more a matter of adding a wee bit of volume to my heid and some colour and variety to what I’m wearing. Accessorising an outfit with headband is fun!

So I thought I’d make a simple twisty headband out of Ooskit . . .

This headband is formed of two knitted strips, each with a slipped stitch edging and a textured appearance that’s formed by a narrow twisted stitch motif.

The two bands are cast on provisionally, knitted to the length desired, twisted around one another, before being joined together with a three needle bind off.

The effect is that of a very simple, braided crown.

I’ve tried to knit quite a few headbands in my time, many of which have not been terribly successful because they have proved difficult to fit. You don’t want it too tight, but you don’t want it to slip off, and it needs to retain some stretch. This headband is really easy to knit to the length you want it, retains its elasticity (due to the twisting) and is super-simple to fit to heids of any size with exactly the right the amount of (negative) ease.

In Scots, Quhirl is a word applied to many encirling, whirly things, from millstones to spindles . . . and now to headbands too! A super-quick weekend knit, Quhirl works up speedily, and can be whirled up and on your heid in just a few hours. It’s a pattern that’s great for using up small quantities of yarn, and I keep thinking of how much fun a two-shade Quhirl would be. I must make that happen.

So, the Quhirl pattern’s on Ravelry and in the KDD shop and we have kits available too (from which you might make several Quhirls).

For various reasons, I’m not at my desk for part of next week, so our forthcoming Friday pattern will be delayed just a couple of days until Sunday (28th). I seem not to have reached the end of my twisted stitch kick just yet, so photography and pattern editing permitting, there may be just a wee bit more to come from this series after that . . .

Have a great weekend!