Cobbles & Bricks Headband Pattern & Tutorial

Here's a quick and easy headband pattern just in time for warmer weather. (We're having a wave of seeming-summer in Wisconsin this week - lucky us!)

Great for keeping flyaway hair out of one's eyes, bangs out of one's facial cleanser, and for those times one prefers to sport stylishly unstyled tresses, headbands are also handy for using up extraneous bits of yarn.

Stretchy and textured, the Cobbles & Bricks Headband is easily customized. Make it as wide or narrow as you like, using any yarn that takes your fancy.

You can leave off the cobbles and make it all brick (very stretchy)...

A bit of my gorgeous new Planet Penny Cotton Club yarn
(shameless product plug)

...or leave out the bricks and make it all cobbles (less stretchy)...

...or mix the two textures as I have here.

Another lovely shade of Planet Penny Cotton Club  : )

Size: Custom (mine measure from 1 to 1½" wide, by about 21" long)

Yarn Requirements: about 30 yards (more for cobbles only, less for bricks only)

Yarns I Used:
Planet Penny Cotton Club ~ 100% mercerised cotton (Peach)
Stitch Nation Washable Ewe ~ 100% wool (Clover)
Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe (Grape)
Planet Penny Cotton Club (Gerbera)

How Did the Yarns Behave?

Very well, all of them. Planet Penny's Cotton Club yarn (peach headband, pink swatch) gave great stitch definition and a lacier, more open look. The Washable Ewe (green headband) made a springy, cushy headband with good recovery. The Bamboo Ewe (purple swatch) yielded a soft and dense allover-cobble swatch.

Hook Size: Whatever fits your yarn

All crochet terminology is American.

Cobbles & Bricks Charted Pattern

Cobbles & Bricks Shorthand Pattern

Special stitch: 3-hdc puff - Yo, insert hook in ch-2 sp, pull up loop (3 times); yo, pull through all loops on hook. (Note: in Row 1 the puff stitch is slightly different than this. See instructions below.)

Chain 7.

Row 1: TURN and sc in 5th ch. Ch 1, sc in 3rd ch. Ch 1, make puff st (insert hook in 1st ch, pull up loop, [yo, pull up loop] twice, yo, pull through all loops on hook). Ch 2, TURN.

Rows 2 and beyond: [Hdc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1.] Repeat. Make 3-hdc puff in ch-2 sp. Ch 2, TURN.

Customization options: For wider headband, chain any multiple of 2, plus 1 stitch. For bricks only, replace puff with single hdc in ch-2 sp at end of each row. For cobbles only, replace all hdcs with 3-hdc puffs across.

Repeat Row 2 until headband is desired length, finishing with an even-numbered row.

Final row: Ch 1 after making puff.

Joining: Remove hook from loop, turn work, and fold headband in half so that Row 1 is in front of ending row. The empty loop should be in back, on the right side (or left side if you're a leftie). Pull loop through last ch of Row 1 to bring it to front of work. [Ch 1, insert hook through next ch-1 spaces of both layers; sl st together.] Repeat. Ch 1, insert hook through 1st ch of Row 1 and ch-2 sp of ending row; sl st together. Cut yarn, tie off, and weave in ends.

Cobbles & Bricks Photo Tutorial with Instructions in Plain English

Chain 7. (For a wider headband, chain any multiple of 2, plus 1 extra chain.)

Row 1:
TURN, single crochet in 5th chain;
chain 1, single crochet in 3rd chain;
chain 1, make puff stitch in 1st chain.

The Row 1 puff stitch is like a partial single crochet plus 2 partial half-double crochets all pulled together at the top. Here's how it's made:

Insert hook in 1st chain, pull up a loop.
Yarn over, insert hook in same chain, pull up a loop (do this step twice).

You should now have 6 loops on your hook.
Yarn over, pull through all loops on hook. You can tug on the yarn a bit to make your puff puffier.

Chain 2, TURN.

Note: If you found it hard to pull through all the loops, be sure, next time, to pull them all up to the same level. If you're a tight crocheter, it helps to consciously pull the loops a little higher than you normally would.

Rows 2 and beyond:

Take a look at your first row, and find the spaces under each chain-1 and inside the chain-2 (this space is pretty tight - you might want to poke your hook through it to open it up a bit).

Make a half double crochet in the first chain-1 space below. Chain 1.
Repeat in the next chain-1 space (half-double crochet, chain 1).

These are the "bricks" of the pattern.

Time for a "cobble", which is a 3-half double crochet puff in the chain-2 space at the end of the row. Here's how to do it:

[Yarn over, insert hook in chain-2 space, and pull up a loop.] Do this 3 times.
You should now have 7 loops on your hook, as pictured.

Yarn over, and pull through all the loops on the hook.
Chain 2 and TURN.

That's it - now you know the pattern. It will go very quickly from here on in.

Repeat Row 2 ... (Half double crochet in chain-1 space below, chain 1 [twice]; make a 3-half double crochet puff in the chain-2 space at end of row; chain 2, TURN) ...

...until your headband is the desired length. (Mine are about 21½ - 22" long.)

Tip: Cotton yarn will relax with wearing, so make the headband a bit snug if using cotton.

Gorgeous stitch definition on this
Planet Penny Cotton Club yarn.
(Is there no end to these shameless plugs?)

Finish with an even-numbered row. (This will help the ends to match up better.) There's no right or wrong side, by the way.

Final Row: Chain 1 after making puff.

To join ends:
Take the hook out of the loop.
Fold the headband in half so that the working loop is in back, and the starting row in front. (Make sure you don't twist the headband - unless of course you want to.)

To bring working loop to the front, pull it through the 5th chain of the starting row.

Now you're ready to slip stitch the two ends together.

Chain 1, then insert hook into the chain-1 spaces of both layers.
Make a slip stitch.
Chain 1 again, then slip stitch again in the next chain-1 spaces of both layers.

Chain 1.
To make your final slip stitch:
Insert hook through the 1st chain of Row 1, then through the chain-2 space of the ending row.
Slip stitch.

Cut yarn, tie off, and weave in ends. Pretty quick, wasn't it? :)

Try on your new headband and admire the cobbledy edge...

...and if you're like me, you'll head straight to your stash to choose yarn for the next one.

You may do whatever you like with the items you make from this pattern, but you may not sell the pattern. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment, or you may contact me in Ravelry.

Thanks for viewing, and happy crocheting!

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