I’ve been all about the brioche stitch lately. Ever since I found a left-handed video tutorial on HandsOccupied.com, I’ve been hooked! It’s really a simple stitch, involving yarn overs and slipped stitches and best of all (no offense to my good friend Annie) it involves absolutely no purling!

In just a week I’ve made two scrumptious, fluffy cowls and I felt ready to experiment with the stitch.

I put together this simple turban headband in just a day’s worth of mindless knitting. It went together quickly and with minimal effort.

I highly recommend checking out this gal’s tutorial, as it makes more sense to see this easy stitch in action than it is to read it.

Brioche Stitch Turban

Materials:

1 skein of worsted weight yarn (I used Red Heart Boutique Treasure in the Watercolors colorway)

Size US 10 straight needles

Darning needle

safety pins (optional)

Brioche stitch:

Cast on 10 stitches.

Foundation row: YO before you even start knitting (this is the strange part where it’s easier to understand visually), slip the first stitch purlwise, k1. Repeat YO, sl 1 pw, k1 till the end of the row.

Row 2: *YO, sl 1 pw, knit the 2 criss-cross stitches together. Repeat * to end of row.

Repeat row 2 till work measures about 40 inches, or a few inches less than twice the circumference of your head. It helps to “try on” the turban as you’re knitting it as your yarn’s stretchiness may be different from mine (see assembly instructions below).

Bind off all stitches. Cut yarn leaving an 18-inch tail.

Assembly:

Here’s a rough demonstration of how to assemble the turban using a sash since I’d already constructed mine by the time I wrote this post.

Start with the middle of the strip at the nape of your neck and wrap the ends toward the top of your head. Twist the ends of the strip around twice and bring them back down toward the nape of your neck. Pin ends together.

Carefully remove the turban and pin together the long edges where they meet from the center loop toward the back of the headband. Using the 18-inch tail of yarn, thread a darning needle and sew together the short ends that you first pinned. Starting at the center back toward the front knot, sew together the long ends from underneath, running the needle through the wrong side stitches.

You can be as messy as you like because you won’t be able to see these stitches. Stitch together the long sides until you’re two inches away from the center knot. Tie off the yarn and weave in the end. Take a new 18-inch piece of yarn and sew on the other side of the turban in the same way, from the back seam toward the center knot. Here’s a crummy drawing of where the stitches should go:

Remove all the pins, place on your head and admire how awesome you are for making a functional piece of clothing.