Cozy Cabled Headband and Fingerless Mitts Knitting Pattern

There is one gift I give every year because it fits everyone: a headband and a pair of fingerless mitts. They are quick, they use one skein, and the cable looks like a lot more work than it is.

The problem with cable patterns

Cable patterns often rely on charts and assume you can read them. Written patterns skip the stitch count. Here every row is written out, and each section ends with a stitch count so you catch a mistake before it travels up the work.

What is inside

• A 7 page printable PDF.
• The headband: 20 stitches, an 8-row cable repeat, in two lengths (120 rows for S/M, 136 rows for M/L).
• Fingerless mitts: 32 stitches for S/M, 36 for M/L, with a cuff, a cabled hand, a thumb opening and a picked-up thumb.
• Gauge, yardage, a size table with the math, finishing and a troubleshooting table.

Three samples from the pattern

The cable rows. Row 1 (RS): K1, p2, C6F, p2, k6, p2, k1. Row 5: K1, p2, k6, p2, C6F, p2, k1. The left cable crosses on Row 1 and the right on Row 5, so the crosses alternate. The C6F is explained in full: slip 3 to a cable needle in front, k3, k3 from the cable needle.

The mitt thumb math. On Hand Rnd 4, work p2, k6, p2, k3, then knit 6 stitches with scrap yarn, slip them back and knit them again with the main yarn, then k13. That is 10 + 3 + 6 + 13 = 32 for S/M. For M/L it is 10 + 4 + 8 + 14 = 36.

The size math. Headband rows are a multiple of 8, so 120 rows is 15 repeats and 136 rows is 17. At 26 rows per 4 inches, 120 rows is 18.5 inches and 136 is 20.9 inches.

What you need

About 200 yards of worsted yarn for the S/M set or 230 for M/L, 4.5 mm (US 7) needles, a cable needle, scrap yarn, a stitch marker and a tapestry needle.

Who it is for

Knitters who have done a hat and a scarf and want to try cables. The cable is a simple 6-stitch cross, repeated, and the mitts are made in the round so there is no sewing except the headband seam.

Get the pattern

The Cozy Cabled Headband and Mitts Set is a $7.99 instant PDF download.

If you like this set, the Complete Pattern Library has all six paid patterns for $29.99.

Beth