When it comes to knitting, I like quick projects. If it takes too long to make I tend to get distracted and never seem to finish. For example, one time I knitted a sock. Just one. That’s why I enjoy knitting hats and headbands. By the time you start to get bored, you’re already done! Here’s a headband that I made last winter following a pattern from Ololi Makes:

Headbands are especially fun because they are a practical way of trying out new stitches. I found a basket weave stitch on Pinterest that I wanted to try. It’s from the website Studio Knit. It looks complicated, but there are no special stitches you need to know, just knit and purl. The weave stitch is done in multiples of 6 and follows a repeated 12 row pattern:

• Row 1: Knit
• Row 2: Purl
• Rows 3&5: *K1 P4 K1*
• Rows 4&6: *P1 K4 P1*
• Row 7: Knit
• Row 8: Purl
• Rows 9&11: *P2 K2 P2*
• Rows 10&12: *K2 P2 K2*

I cast on 18 stitches and knit through this pattern several times. It ended up looking like this:

 

I kept going until the piece was long enough to fit around my head. Then I casted off and used an embroidery needle to connect the two ends together. This is how it looked:

I thought the edges looked messy so I decided crochet a border around both sides with some extra yarn:

This made the edges look more polished:

Last step was to try it on!

I like how this pattern looks on the headband, but I think it would look even better on a larger project. I bet it could look really cool with chunky yarn knit into a cozy blanket. I am definitely a fan of the basket weave and I’m sure I’ll use it again in future projects!