How to Knit a Simple Easy Headband for Beginners and Kids Knitting

I’m always looking for fun new beginners knitting projects so I learned how to knit simple, easy headbands a couple months ago. They are so fun to make! Knitting is a fun way to create something useful and for this project you only need to know how to do the basic knit stitch. Easy and cute, the perfect DIY knitting project for beginners and kids!

Since you don’t need a lot of yarn to make one of these easy beginners knit headbands, these are a great DIY project to use up leftover small balls of yarn.

Knitting headbands is a great project for any beginning knitter but especially for kids like me. My mom taught me to knit last year when I was 10 years old.

To practice, I made a lot of easy square coasters but that got old fast and we had more than enough coasters in our house at that point!

Then I started knitting scarves for my little brother’s stuffed animals. As I got better at knitting, I tried making a scarf for myself and one for my mom.

That’s when I got the idea to try knitting a headband since you start the project just like you would when making a scarf, you just cast on less stitches and end it differently.

Now that I’ve been knitting these easy beginner’s headbands for a couple months, I have almost a dozen! I wear one every day to help keep my hair out of my face which is especially helpful when doing chores around the homestead and taking care of our animals.

I like to make them to color coordinate with my favorite clothes. It’s so fun being able to make my own homemade knitted headbands to match!

Supplies Needed to Knit an Easy Beginners Headband

-One ball of yarn, I prefer medium weight non-itchy yarn

-two 5.5mm sized knitting needles (these are my favorite knitting needles)

-yarn needle

-needle and thread (optional, only needed if adding a decoration)

-one felt flower or button for decoration (optional)

Directions for Knitting a Headband

This beginner’s headband uses the basic knit stitch which I learned how to do last year when my mom taught me how to knit using the book “Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of All Ages“.

Step 1: Cast on 4-6 stitches depending on how wide you want your headband. Most of mine are 4 stitches wide but when I was first making them I made some 5 or 6 stitches wide to see which I liked best.

Step 2: Knit with the knit stitch until the strip of knitting is long enough you can wrap it around your head with the ends meeting at the back.

To make sure it’s not too loose, hold it around your head with a medium amount of tension to determine if it’s long enough. If it’s too long it will be too loose but if you stretch the knit strip too much when testing length around your head it will end up being too tight.

Step 3: When you have a good length for the headband that works for you, cast off/bind off. Make sure you leave a generous tail of yarn that you will need to sew with in the next step.

Step 4: Thread the tail through the eye of the yarn needle, I use one of these to make it easy! Make sure the headband is not twisted and line up the two ends of the knitted strip.

Step 5: Start stitching the two ends together by putting the yarn needle through the other end of the headband and pulling it through until the two ends of the headband are touching. Repeat this process until the two ends are sewn together and then tie the yarn off in a knot.

Step 6: Using the needle, carefully thread the loose end of yarn back through your knitting to hide it. Trim the end of the yarn off. The headband is all done!

Step 7: If you choose, you can sew on a contrasting-colored button or felt flower for decoration. 

How to Make Variations of an Easy Beginners Knit Headband

My favorite style of headband is narrow since I mainly use it to keep my hair out of my face. There are other variations you can make for simple homemade knit headbands:

1. Ear Warmer headbands:

I also have a couple of homemade knit headbands that are wider so they fit over my ears. These work great for wearing outside when it’s chilly enough to make my ears cold but not quite so cold I need to wear a hat.

To make a knit headband wide enough to cover your ears, simply cast on more stitches to the width you prefer for your headband and the rest of the steps are the same. So easy!

2. No-Sew Knit headband that ties:

I knit a couple headbands in a different style that are tie on instead of being sewn together in a band. For this style, knit the headband strip in a length at least six inches longer than your head size.

After casting off, instead of sewing the ends together leave them how they are. To wear the headband, you can tie it off in a knot on top of your head or turn it so the knot and tail ends are under your hair or ponytail in the back.

3. Unique Embellishments:

I like to add a little extra touch of creativity to each headband I make. Instead of just a plain knit headband, I often sew on a fun embellishment. Sometimes it’s a colorful button, a colorful felt flower, or a shape I cut out of leather or knit fabric scraps. The possibilities are endless!

4. Simple Crossover Headband:

This is a fun and easy way to make a simple variation on the basic knit headband I’ve been making. It’s easy to do and looks pretty!

I like to make a lot of these knit headbands and match them with my clothes. It’s so fun! The knit headbands are so easy to make that once I figured out how to make a knit headband I can knit one in no time at all.

When I’m watching a movie at night, I like to keep my hands busy with knitting. Once I figured out how to make these easy beginner’s knit headbands, I knit three headbands during one movie!

I hope you have as much fun as I do making these easy beginner’s knit headbands!