Topic: percentage knitting
On BareHare I was singing the praises of the lowly headband as an excellent vehicle for using up handspun yarn oddities (and you always have a few yards left over from plying/skeining, etc). Cyndy asked what my favorite pattern was.
I have two that I use. One is garter stitch (shown above) and is worked horizontally, with buttons added for closure and interest. Measure your head around and over the ears, estimate a stitch gauge (or work a small swatch) and multiply the two together. With a pair of straight needles, cast on that number and knit FLAT until the rectangle is 4 or more inches. Bind off. Overlap the short ends and adjust to fit the head. Sew down neatly on both sides, then sew on 3 buttons as shown.
The other is shown on this BareHare link. This is the most useful one in severely cold weather as I get the tightest fit. Knit vertically with a 16" circular needle, work up a small gauge swatch in 1x1 ribbing and measure it S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D. Then measure your head and do the math. Cast on (you need an even number) and JOIN the stitches. Work the headband until it is 4 or more inches and cast off SO LOOSELY that it looks sloppy.
Happy knitting :)
