Braided Headband on 22-pin Addi

I got a 22-pin Addi for Christmas, so I'm playing with new ideas. I took a break from Etsy orders to make up this headband last night, and finished it this morning (I have a rule about not sewing stuff together after 10 PM!)

I used worsted weight yarn from previous projects. I think the white was Big Twist, and the lavender was Red Heart Super Saver. I used less than 1.5 ounces of each. The headband weighs 2.3 ounces. 

Cliff notes version: 92 rows, drop two stitches on each. Braid dropped stitches. Cinch ends. Sew cinched ends together. Put accent piece over where you sewed cinched ends together. 

Since the ends are cinched, I didn't use waste yarn to start and finish... I just cast on and made a tube with 92 rows with each color.

To remove the tubes from the machine, cut your working yarn, leaving a long (18" or so) tail. Thread the yarn through a yarn needle and crank the machine slowly, picking up each stitch as the needle goes down. Pick up the first ten stitches, then skip the next two stitches, then pick up the remaining ten stitches. 

You will pull the yarn in the two stitches you didn't put on the yarn, for your dropped stitches section.

Once you have both tubes done and the stitches dropped, you will use a crochet hook to braid them together, picking up three loops from one side and pulling them through the three loops on your hook. 

There are lots of videos on YouTube showing you how to drop stitches and use the dropped stitches to braid your tubes. I learned how to do this from this video: 

Braided Headband

Once my braid was done, I secured the last set of loops with a stitch marker and cinched the ends of each tube together. Then I put the cinched ends together and sewed them, securing those last loops from the braid in the process. It doesn't have to be a pretty job, sewing them together, because it gets covered up with the center accent. Pull your yarn ends into the headband to hide them. 

I crocheted my center accent piece with an I hook.

Chain 16

Starting in the 2nd chain from the hook, do a half double crochet in each of the remining chains. You should end up with 15 HDC. Chain 1 and turn your work.

For the next row, you're going to work in just one loop, the one closest to you (FLO, meaning Front Loop Only). 

At the end of the row, ch 1 and turn. You should see ridges on the side facing you, while it's smooth on the back. For this last row, you're going to work in BLO (back loop only). You have to tilt your work toward you a bit to see that third loop in the back. 

At the end of this row, finish off, leaving a long tail to sew. You're going to wrap this piece around the seam on your headband and sew the short ends together. When you sew it, make sure that a few of your stitches pick up stitches from the headband, too, so that the seam on this center piece stays in place. 

If you only knit, you could knit the center accent piece too. Using size 8 needles, cast on 6 or 8 stitches and work in K1, P1 ribbing until the piece is long enough to wrap around the center seam. Cast off, leaving a long tail to sew the accent piece around your headband. 

You could even wear it with the cinched part at the back.