Ribbed Headband with Flower Trim

This is so easy that you still have time to make one of these for Christmas.  I made this one is just a little over an hour.

WW yarn (I used Bernat Special Value yarn)
J hook
Yarn needle
Large button (optional)

Stitches used:
Ch (Chain)
DC (Double crochet)
HDC (Half double crochet)
FPDC (Front post double crochet)
BPDC (back post double crochet)
TC (Triple Crochet)

Even if you have never done post stitches before, you should be able to make this headband.  Here is a link to an article from Crochet Today that explains how to do post stitches, and shows some of the lovely effects that can be achieved with them.   (If you Google front or back post stitches, you'll find lots more tutorials for these stitches.)

Size: 4 inches wide by approximately 18 inches in diameter.
Can easily be modified to make larger or smaller.

My headband is worked quite loosely so it is somewhat lacy in appearance.  Using a smaller hook and working more tightly will create a more solid headband.  You will need more rows to get enough length, and  a longer beginning chain to make it as wide as mine.  The pattern works with any uneven number of DCs in the first row.  The stitch pattern could also be used to make a ribbed scarf.

Chain 15 fairly loosely.
1st row:  DC in 3rd chain from hook and in each chain across. (13 DC) (Ist two chain count as a DC in this row.)
2nd row:  Chain 2, (counts as first HDC here and throughout rest of pattern), turn, *FPDC in next stitch, HDC in next stitch* repeat from * to *  to end of row, working last HDC into the turning chain. (7 HDC's and 6 FPDC's)
3rd row:  Chain 2, turn, *BPDC in next stitch, HDC in next stitch*, repeat from * to * across, working last HDC into the turning chain

Notes:  Each row has 13 stitches in it.
You will always BPDC into the previous rows FPDC and vice versa.  All HDCs are made into the HDCs of the previous rows.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until headband is long enough to fit around your head snugly. (I did 32 rows, all worked loosely, and my headband was about 18 inches long before I sewed the ends together.) Sew ends together.

Flower trim:

Chain 4, join with slip stitch to form a ring.  *Chain 3, slip stitch into ring to form a loop*.  Repeat from * to * 6 or 7 more times, making chain 3  loops around the outside of the ch 4 ring.  (each loop will form a petal, and you can make any number of petals, I made 7)
Once you have your  loops made, you will stitch into the loops to form petals.
Into each loop do:  1 SC, 2 HDCs, 2 DCs, 1 TC, 2 DCs, 2 HDCs, 1 SC .  This will form a petal.  In between each petal I slip stitched into the area between each loop, but I don't think this is necessary.

Sew flower to headband, using it to hide the area where you joined the ends.  If desired sew a button to the center of the flower.

Alternatively, a row of large buttons or a felt flower would also be an effective and attractive way to hide the seam.  (or maybe your sewing is better than mine and your seam looks good and doesn't need hiding!)

Lots more flowers in bloom

My hydrangeas are exceptionally prolific this year.

Here are endless summer (pink) and Annabelle hydrangeas (white). The Annabelle hydrangeas are one of the most carefree flowers I've ever grown. I cut a bunch of them every fall and put them in vases to dry. They turn a beautiful ivory color and I keep them all winter.

A Walk in the Garden

Sweet William
Coreopsis
I can practically smell the sweet scent of this pink peony.

Still more blooms

Lots more things in bloom this week. I didn't get pictures of all of them, but here are a few. More poppies, red ones this time.
A purple iris. these are taller than the yellow ones I have, and have much skinnier leaves. the leaves are almost grass like.They don't multiply as quickly as the yellow ones either.
This is known to me as Jupiter's Beard. I can't remeber what the real name of it is.
A flowering shrub, Wiegella.
The first rose of the season.

More things blooming!

This is a pink variety of lily of the valley. I only planted white ones, but a few years ago, some pink ones appeared among the white ones, and each year there seem to be a few more. They smell just as good as the white ones.


This plant goes by the unlikely name of trailing pink soapwart. The plant is only about 6 inches tall and is literally covered with these tiny pink flowers.

This is some sort of perennial salvia. The flowers are a very clear shade of blue.

This is a rhododendron that we planted when we moved into our house about 30 years ago. It is taller than the house. The color is more pink than this picture shows.

Look at What's Blooming!!

I went for a walk around our property today, and was pleasantly surprised to find so many things in bloom.

This is a surprise plant. It's a variety of Lamium, and it is one that I discarded in the woods last year. I like the vari-colored leaves and it's trailing habit for my porch pots, and I dumped the entire planter in the woods when I cleaned up last fall. The soil around this plant is still a flower pot shaped hump. I think I'll dig it up and put it in a pot again this year.








Irises and lilacs are among my favorites. I received the yellow irises from a friend and they've multiplied quite a bit. This one is growing at the edge of the woods. I suspect I must have gotten tired of planting them and tossed it there.



Here's my first oriental poppy of the year. I grew this one and about a dozen more poppy plants from a packet of seed I bought for 10 cents at a yard sale a few years ago.



This is lunaria, a biennial. It's pretty, but a nuisance plant, self seeding with abandon. One plant can turn into dozens in just a few years. I pull most of the seedlings out, but I think its pretty, so I always leave a few and resign myself to the task of keeping it from taking over. It's the one that produces those pretty dried seed pods that are round and silvery, hence the common name, silver dollar or money plant.



This is a redbud tree in bloom. My father in law grew it from seed, and its growing at the edge of the wooded area around our house.





These beautiful blue and white Columbines are one of the most carefree flowers I ever planted. They grow without any pampering whatsoever. I just tossed a few seed where I hoped they would grow, and they did. The only problem is that they do self seed quite badly. No problem though, I just dig up the plants and give them away or plant them elsewhere. If I'm really on the ball, I can solve the problem by taking the seed heads off the plants before they open. These plants produce tons of seeds, many of which I've collected and given away.

The dogwood trees are also in bloom as is some of the wild honeysuckle, but I didn't feel like fighting my way into the woods to get their pictures.

It's still winter, but....

For Christmas this year my son gave me an amaryllis bulb. I love watching things grow, so this was a great gift for me. I planted it on Dec 26th and it grew like a weed. By the end of January it was 30 inches tall. On Valentines day the first two flowers appeared, and a couple of days later two more showed up. There is still a flower stalk that hasn't opened yet, so there should still be one or two more blooms.