I've got this big ball of red 10 gauge cotton crochet thread and a size 6 (1.80mm) hook. I've been carting these around to the oil rigs I've been sent to lately, and this is actually the first time I've pulled it out on one of my trips.
I picked out a pattern of lace from 50 Beautiful Edgings by Terry Kimbrough. The pattern in the book is shown below.
Now this pattern is great because instead of having to pick out the entire length ahead of time, you build it horizontally. So after about eight inches of lace, I decided to turn what was just going to be a sample piece into a functional headband. I have a frustratingly large head, preventing me from finding well fitting glasses, hats, and also headbands. Most headbands I buy end up being too tight and slipping off my head, so I've always wanted to make my own large-headed headbands.
I measured the area around my head where the headband would go and subtracted two inches to make it a good fit, and even that made it quite loose, but the proof will be in how well it stays on over the course of an entire day. (Another option would be to just bobby-pin it into place, but I'll try that later. I didn't bring any bobby pins to the rig).
And here is the final result:
A close up of the detail:
shows how I may have made a mistake or two along the length of lace. This was a very easy pattern, so I quickly abandoned reading the pattern to watch "Green Wing" (a terribly amusing British hospital comedy) and occasionally did a 5-chain instead of 2-chain. I'm not too concerned, since this was only planned as a sample originally.
I attached the two ends with slip-stitches, creating the headband. It has a bit of a seam, but all store-bought headbands I've ever owned had one as well, and I just turn it on the inside at the nape of my neck.
The lace hasn't been blocked or starched, but then I'm still semi-stranded in my hotel room in Texas, so I consider it quite a success! Huzzah!
