Knit Headband Ear Warmer Tutorial

Posted on January 21, 2021November 30, 2021tutorial

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It’s getting pretty chilly in the mornings these days so I whipped up a headband to keep my ears warm. This knit ear warmer headband uses brioche stitch, so it’s extra thick and warm.

You’ll love this quick knit headband for practicing brioche and using up leftover worsted weight yarn. It features an i-cord edge, so you’ll get a smooth finish on your edges. I think a nice edge elevates the whole project, don’t you? Clean edges can even distract from other minor mistakes, so they’re always a worthy goal. See my i-cord cast-on and i-cord bind-off tutorials if you’re interested in more ways to create nice edges. My free pocket shawl pattern, Inanna, is a good project to practice the i-cord techniques.

I’ve knit three of these headbands so far and I’m happy with the results. For the one pictured, I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. It’s on the lighter side for a worsted weight. I made one with a heavier worsted weight that was a ball of mystery leftovers, and that turned out great as well. This really is a perfect use for small amounts of leftover yarn. If you want to adjust the width of the finished headband, just add more stitches to your cast on. As long as you start with an even number of stitches you can follow this tutorial as it’s written.

knit brioche rib ear-warmer headband

This ear-warmer headband is a quick project and is perfect to practice your brioche stitch. You'll also knit an i-cord edge as you go for nice smooth edges on your finished headband. There is variance in the thickness of worsted weight yarns, choose the appropriate needle size for the brand you're using. Eighteen stitches should make a wide enough headband with any worsted weight yarn. You can make a wider headband by casting on more stitches, just make sure you have an even number.

See Notes at end for abbreviations.

Materials

Approximately 60 yd (55 m) worsted weight yarn.

Tools

Appropriate-sized needles for your yarn, usually US 7, 8, or 9. The headband is knit flat, so straight or circular needles with both work.

Instructions

Using either the knitted or cable cast-on, cast on 18 stitches.
Set up row: sl2pwyif, k1, *yo, sl1, k1, repeat from * to last 3 sts, k1, sl2pwyif.
Row 1: k3, *yo, sl1, k2tog, repeat from * to last 3 sts, k3. (The two sts you're knitting together will be overlapping. They are the stitch you slipped on the previous row and the yarn over that went over that slipped stich.)
Row 2: sl2pwyif, k1, *yo, sl1, k2tog, repeat from * to last 3 sts, k1, sl2pwyif. (Don't forget, after you slip the stitches purlwise with the yarn in front, you'll bring the yarn to the back by going between the needles.)
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until piece measures 16 in (40 cm), or length necessary to fit your head.
Fold the headband in half so the cast-on edge is laying on top of the live stitches on your knitting needle. You will now bind off and connect the ends together simultaneously. (See how I do it in the video below.) First, place the first cast-on stitch on your right-hand needle, knit one from left-hand needle, pass cast-on stitch over new stitch and off the needle. Second, place the next cast-on stitch on your right-hand needle, knit one from left-hand needle, pass previous stitch and cast-on stitch over new stitch together and off the needle. Repeat the second step until all stitches are bound off and headband is joined in a loop. ***Don't forget to treat the slipped stitches with the yarn-overs as one stitch and knit them together in the bind off just as you did for the rest of the headband.