Stella by Starlight

By Lee Juvan

Spinning a beaded yarn can be time

consuming, and this small project makes
the most of those precious yards of yarn.
This dressy little headband reminds me of
something that The Great Gatsbys Daisy
Buchanan might have worn for a jazzy
party at dusk. The beads are small and
subtle, but they catch the fading light like
so many tiny stars.!
I spun a 3-ply fingering weight yarn
from ramie top, with beads on all three
singles, and knitted a simple headband
with the Cats Paw lace insert. To improve
the fit of the headband (I find knitted
handbands often stretch), I fastened it at the
nape of the neck with a laced i-cord. I think
it would be even prettier with a silk ribbon.
Then, its simple to adjust the lacing when
the headband needs to be tightened up.
Finished Size: About 3.25 inches (8.25 cm)
wide and 16 inches (40.6 cm) long, without
ties. I-cord or ribbon lacing is 22 inches (56
cm) long.!
Yarn: about 54 yd (50 m) of fingering weight
yarn. Shown here: handspun 3-ply yarn spun
from ramie top (from Halcyon Yarn), about
20 wraps per inch (1,225 yards per pound).
Any commercial fingering or sport-weight
yarn can be substituted. Beads were strung
onto singles before plying. I used a small
amount of 2-ply ramie spun without beads
for the i-cord. You can easily substitute
ribbon or twisted cord.!
Needles: Size 2 (2.75 mm); Size 1: Set of 2
(2.25 mm) double-pointed for i-cord.!
Notions: About 7 grams size 11/0 Japanese
seed beads, round silver-lined clear glass;
tapestry needle; dental floss threader or Big
Eye beading needle.!

Gauge: Approx. 23 sts = 4 inches in St st. Not

critical for this project, but your final
measurements and yardage may vary.!

Directions: Using size 2 (2.75 mm) needles

and the knitted CO method, CO 7 sts. Work
rows 1-12 of chart once19 sts. Repeat rows
13-18 until piece measures about 15 inches
from beginning of chart pattern (about 23
repeats). Work rows 19-29 of chart once.
Piece should measure about 16 inches. BO
remaining 7 sts purl-wise.!
!
Weave in ends. Soak headband in
warm water for 20 minutes and gently roll in
towel to remove excess water. Block on a flat
surface to open up lace pattern (do not iron
beaded yarn!). Lace i-cord or ribbon sneakerstyle through eyelets and between stitches at
both ends of headband to create an
adjustable closure.!

knit on RS, purl on WS

purl on RS, knit on WS

yarn over

k3tog

slip 1, k2tog, psso

k2tog

ssk
no stitch
pattern repeat

Copyright 2008, 2014 by Lee Juvan. All rights reserved. For personal use only. You may not sell or distribute copies of this
pattern in any form, on paper or electronic. You may not sell any items created with this pattern. Version 1.1 (13 June 2014).

29

25

23

21

15

13

17

19

27

11