Here's a free pattern you can knit up in a few hours.

ANKARA HEADBAND

This colorful single layer headband is a very quick knit and a terrific way to practice knitting with 2 colors without investing a lot of time and money. You only need small amounts of 3 colors of yarn for this project so it is a great stash buster.

MATERIALS: Less than one skein of 3 colors of worsted weight wool yarn

The purple and teal headband is knit in Cascade 220 yarn. (Color A is# 9420 a very dark teal, Color B is a medium reddish purple #8909, and Color C is a lighter teal #9421)

The red and blue headband is knit in Knitpicks' Wool of the Andes. (Color A is Blue Bonnet #23440, Color B is Mink Heather #24279, and Color C is Black Cherry Heather 23895) The Wool of the Andes Blue Bonnet color I used is unfortunately discontinued. Winter Night #23422 would be a good substitute.

NEEDLES: Size 8 (US)/5.0mm 16"/41 cm circular needle or size needed to get gauge.

GAUGE: To save time, take time to check gauge. Over Colorwork Chart, 16 sts to 4"/10cm.

FINISHED SIZE: Women's Large, width 20"/51 cm unstretched, length 4"/10cm Try changing the size of this headband to make it for a man or a child by going up or down a needle size.

NOTE: The purple and teal headband features a K1, P1 corrugated ribbing. I've included directions for that in parentheses. Two-color/corrugated ribbing has a tendency to curl so a twisted cast on is a good choice to alleviate that problem. I have photos and a video of how I do a twisted cast on - see the right hand sidebar of my blog for links.

With Color A, loosely cast on 90 stitches. Join, being careful not to twist. Work 2 rows of K1, P1 ribbing. (Corrugated Rib Version - Rows 1 and 2: *P1 with Color A, K1 with Color B; repeat from * across row. )

Work the 15 rows of the Colorwork Chart below. Stranded color knitting charts in the round are worked right to left, from bottom to top.

If you're new to stranded color knitting, remember that almost all colorwork needs blocking to look its best so don't worry if your tension isn't absolutely perfect. If you're unsure how to hold the yarns, check the right hand sidebar for photo tutorials of four different ways you can hold two yarns without tangling the yarns.

With Color A, K 1 row even. Work 2 rows of K1, P1 ribbing. Bind off loosely. (Corrugated Rib Version-Row 1: *K1 Color A, P1 Color B; repeat from * across row. Row 2: *P1 Color A, K1 Color B, repeat from * across row. Repeat Row 2. Bind off loosely with Color A.)

FINISHING: Weave in all ends. (See the links to the right for more information on using reverse duplicate stitch to weave in ends.) Block headband by immersing it in lukewarm water then laying it flat on a towel to dry.

Copyright 2008 by Nanette Blanchard. All rights reserved.