Have a Circular Knitting Machine? Make a Twisted Headband!

April 6, 2024 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

Over the holidays I started getting into using my circular knitting machine more, and though I would never give up on knitting and crocheting with real needles and hooks, I’ve got to say it’s a lot of fun for quick little projects. I have a Sentro 40 pin (and a 22 pin that I actually haven’t used yet!) and it’s been a lot of fun learning what they can do.

One of the classic early projects that a lot of people do when they first get a machine is to knit a twisted headband. It’s a really quick and easy project, and when you do it on a 40 or 48 pin it’s wide enough that it can double as earwarmers when you need it.

I shared my method for making a twisted headband over at Our Daily Craft, and this project comes in clutch for bad hair days or when you’re growing out your bangs like I (still) am. It’s almost like a messy bun hat.

They’re really quick and easy to make and this would be a great gift to stockpile for the holidays. You can make it on whatever machine you have, using whatever weight 3 or 4 yarn you have lying around. The one pictured here is Berroco Ultra Alpaca, which is great for a winter headband, but you could use an acrylic or a blend with less wool for headbands to wear year round.

Use the same pattern to make one on a 22-pin and it would be great to wear any time regardless of fiber.

Don’t have a knitting machine and you want to make one of these? It’s just a knit tube so you can cast on 22, 40, or any number of stitches you like, knit in the round until it is almost as long as your head is around where you would want to wear it (I did 20 inches/51 cm). Bind off and follow the instructions in the pattern to make the twist.

Grab the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

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Use Your Sock Yarn Scraps to Knit a Colorful Scarf

Using your yarn stash is important to me throughout the year, but as I start to feel the end of the year coming on I get more excited about using things I already have in the house. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to go to a store in the thick of holiday shopping times, or I like the idea of having a little space in my stash when the new year rolls around.

It’s super satisfying to use up all the little odd balls you’ve made over the year (or years), and I have several stash busting blankets I work on when it’s cold and will maybe finish someday.

If you’d like to start a stash busting project that’s perfect for using up odd balls, check out the Soukish pattern from Neisha Abdulla. This pattern is made for fingering weight/sock yarn, and it’s worked in a tube with allover color work.

This is great for a couple of reasons. You don’t really have to weave in your ends when you can hide them in a tube (this is one time you might even get by just tying a knot when you change colors!) and you can change colors whenever you run out of yarn and it will look good.

Of course the pattern is made with blocks where the designer changed colors, but you can change yours more or less often as you need to make it work for your stash. You can use blank charts to design your own color combinations, or even your own stitch patterns if you like. You can also adjust the length of the scarf as needed or turn it into a cowl based on the amount of yarn you have.

This project looks like a lot of fun and would be a great thing to have on hand to stitch up and then to wear during the cold, gloomy months.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Neisha Abdulla]

Another Way to Use Up All Your Sock Yarn Scraps

Gather Your Scraps for a Fun Wrap

A Scrappy Shawl Knitting Pattern to Use All Your Odd Balls

Use All Your Yarn Scraps on This Great Cardigan Knitting Pattern

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