When the weekend forecast calls for "sunny with a chance of brisk autumn walks", it's time to whip out some knitting needles and start making this super soft and cozy headband. This project was designed with simplicity in mind. Simple projects with lots of repetition allow you to get into a nice rhythm so your brain, hands, needles, and yarn can learn how to work together. At the heart of it, repetition builds stitch mastery and knitting confidence! 

NATURALLY SOFT, NOT CHEMICALLY SOFTENED

We created our LOLL yarn with a special blend of premium Merino and Baby Alpaca fibers to create soft-as-a-kitten warmth and squishiness. Sustainably grown and 100% naturally soft, (not chemically softened), LOLL is grown in the beautiful highlands of Argentina and Peru and spun in a Fair Trade Certified facility.

PROJECT SKILL LEVEL : LEARN TO KNIT

This pattern is designed for anyone who is picking up knitting needles for the very first time. We will guide you step-by-step on how to get yarn onto your needles, teach you the foundational knit stitch and then how to finish your work in a way that looks ultra professional.

TECHNIQUES YOU WILL LEARN

• How To Hold Your Needles & Yarn
• Making a Gauge Swatch
• The Slip-Knot
• Casting-On Stitches (using the Longtail Cast-On Method)
• The Knit Stitch
• Binding Off 
• Seaming Your Piece Together To Give It Shape
• Weaving In Loose Ends

TIME TO MAKE 

1-2 Hours

PATTERN SIZE

Baby, Child, (Youth), Adult

PROJECT MEASUREMENTS

Finished Circumference:
(Relaxed)
Baby: 13”
Child: 14"
(Youth): 15"
Adult: 16"

Finished Height (at back neck):
Baby: 3.5"
Child: 4"
(Youth): 4"
Adult: 4"

GAUGE

Garter Stitch,  7mm Needles
14 stitches x 26 rows = 4" x 4" square

LOTTIE HEADBAND KIT CONTENTS

• 1 ball of Project Weekend's LOLL.  Each ball weighs 125 GR. (4.4oz) and has 125m (137y). 
• 1 pair of 7mm / US 11 Knitting Needles   
• 1 Card With Links To The Online Pattern & our Knitting Video Tutorials Library
• 1 Knitters' Sewing Needle 
• 1 "PROJECT WEEKEND X Me." Woven Label

TECHNIQUE TUTORIAL VIDEOS & ILLUSTRATIONS

We've made learning easy! Easily reference our library of tutorial videos and step-by-step illustrations with just a click of your mouse. Look for tutorial links embedded throughout the pattern. When in doubt, just click and learn!

LET'S BEGIN

Let's familiarize ourselves with how to hold our needles and yarn. 

GAUGE SWATCH
WHAT IS IT & WHY MAKE ONE

A gauge swatch is a little test square of fabric that you knit before each project using the exact stitches in your pattern. Once complete, it will tell you if your knitting is too tight or too loose for the pattern that you are creating.  This is a great tool because it helps you make sure that your knitting will measure out perfectly to the pattern and ultimately fit just right.

Gauge swatches only take a half hour or so to make... often times, less.  Yet, a lot of people either rush through this process or skip it all together because they're so excited to get knitting their project. 

Please learn from our experience.....there is nothing more frustrating than knitting someone a sweater only to realize at the end (and after many invested  hours of knitting) that if only we had made a gauge swatch, our beautiful sweater wouldn't have ended up fitting two sizes too small. 

If you are new to knitting, think of the gauge swatch as a great opportunity to learn how to create your stitches before you start your main project.  

GETTING GAUGE

Every knit project will have gauge swatch instructions. The pattern details and materials list will indicate what size needle you need for each project and it will call out how many stitches per row by how many rows you need to knit to create your swatch to achieve the correct gauge.

The Lottie Headband requires a 7mm sized knitting needle and you will need to cast-on 14 knit stitches and knit 26 rows to achieve gauge. Once you complete this, your finished swatch should measure 4” x 4” (10cm x 10cm).

STEP-BY-STEP : MAKING A GAUGE SWATCH 

1. With a yarn tail approximately 20” long, create a SLIP-KNOT and place it onto one of your knitting needles. This slip-knot is considered your first stitch.   

HOW TO MAKE A SLIP-KNOT

2. Holding that needle in your right hand, CAST-ON another 13 more stitches using the LONG-TAIL CAST-ON METHOD. You should now have 14 stitches on your needle.

HOW TO CAST-ON USING THE LONGTAIL CAST-ON METHOD

3. Hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right hand. KNIT into each of the loops across the 14 stitches. This is row 1.   

HOW TO KNIT THE KNIT STITCH

4. Switching needles again, hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right hand. This is called TURNING YOUR WORK and you will do this each time you knit to the end of a row.

5. Repeat Knitting each row until you have completed a total of 26 rows.

6. BIND-OFF your stitches

HOW TO BIND-OFF (CAST-OFF)

7. Lay your swatch flat and measure the length and the width.

SWATCH TOO SMALL
If your swatch comes out smaller than 4”x4”, it means you are knitting too tightly, so unravel your swatch and start again, this time loosen up your stitch tension a bit.

SWATCH TOO BIG
If your swatch comes out larger than 4”x 4”, you are knitting too loosely, so tighten up your stitch a little bit when knitting.

SWATCH IS JUST RIGHT
Once you create a swatch that measures 4”x 4”, Congratulations! you have found your gauge tension for this project. So go ahead, unravel that swatch (you're going to need that yarn for your beanie!) and begin your knit project.

MEASUREMENTS ARE OFF BY A TINY BIT?
No stress! When you’re working on beginner projects like this, it’s normal to be a bit off on your stitch gauge measurements. If you're within +/- 0.25", go ahead and start your project!

PATTERN

LOTTIE HEADBAND

LE'TS GET TO IT!

1. With a yarn tail approximately 20” long, create a SLIP-KNOT and place it onto one of your knitting needles. This slip-knot is considered your first stitch.

2. Holding that needle in your right hand, CAST-ON  another 11, 13, (13), 13 more stitches using the LONG-TAIL CAST-ON METHOD. You will now have 12, 14 (14), 14 stitches on your needle.

3. ROW 1: Hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right hand. KNIT across the 12, 14, (14), 14 stitches.

Image shows knitting the first stitch.  

Image shows midway through knitting the first row.  Each stitch is knit and transferred over from the left needle to the right needle. 

Image shows all of the stitches have been knit off the left needle onto the right needle. 

4. Get ready to knit the second row by switching the needles over by holding the needle with the stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right hand. This is called TURNING YOUR WORK and you will do this after each row you knit.

5. Repeat ROW 1 and Knit across all 12, 14, (14), 14 stitches.  Once finished, turn your work.


6. Repeat this process of knitting across the row and turning your work until your work measures 12.5", 13", (14"),  15”  from the cast-on edge.   

HOW TO KEEP THOSE EDGE STITCHES TIDY: One of the side edges of your work will eventually become the top edge of your beanie cuff, so here’s a little trick to make sure your edge stitches stay nice and tidy.

 When you begin knitting the first two stitches of each row, hold the yarn tail a little bit tighter than your regular tension. This will help keep the edge stitches looking tight and uniform. Once those two first stitches are knit, you can return to your regular knitting tension for the remainder of the row.

Midway through the knitted work. 

The completed knitted portion. 

7. BIND-OFF your stitches and trim a yarn tail approximately 8-10" long.

TIP: When binding off, loosen up your stitch tension a bit. If the tension along this edge is too tight, it will shorten the edge and it won't be the same length as your cast-on edge. 

8. Weave in the bind-off yarn tail end into your work.  

9.  Lay your piece flat on a table. Follow the picture diagram to create the twist.

The knitted work has been bound off and the bind-off yarn tail has been woven into the work and trimmed.  The cast-on yarn tail still remains as we will need it to sew up the twist.   

CREATING THE TWIST

1.

Fold the knitwork in half lengthwise so that the bind-off edge sits on top of the cast-on edge by overlapping the edge by a half.  

2.

Wrap the bind-off edge down around the corner of the cast-on edge, so that it looks like a letter "C".

3.

Wrap the cast-on edge up and over the corner of the bind off edge, so that it looks like an inverted letter "C".

4.

Thread the cast-on yarn tail through your sewing needle and begin sewing back and forth along the bind-off/cast-on edges. 

5.

Sew along the bind-off/cast-on edge, being sure to sew through all 4 layers of the "C's" each time you pass the needle through your work. 

6.

Sew from one corner of the work all the way to the opposite side. 

Not generally necessary, but if you would like to reinforce this seam, and you have enough yarn tail left,  you can sew back along the same seam line to the starting point. 

7.

Once done, weave the needle through the entire length of the seam allowance and trim the yarn tail neatly.  

8.

Image shows work has been sewn with a small seam allowance (on just the opposite side of the edges) and the yarn tail has been trimmed.  

9.

Pull each side away from each other.  This is the headband, inside out.  

Lastly, turn the headband right side out.  

10. Proudly sew on your Project Weekend x Me. woven label.