Weatband with Fair Isle Pattern in Schachenmayr Universa - S7560 - Downloadable PDF

Knitted Headband with Fair Isle Pattern – Schachenmayr Universa (Pattern S7560, Free Downloadable PDF)

What Is Being Made

This free downloadable knitting pattern provides instructions for a knitted headband (Stirnband) featuring a traditional Fair Isle (Norwegian) colorwork pattern. The finished headband is designed to fit a head circumference of 52–56 cm and measures approximately 10 cm in width, making it a practical and stylish accessory for cooler weather. The headband is worked flat and then joined in the round at the end to create a seamless, polished finish.

Design Details

The headband showcases a classic Norwegian (Fair Isle) colorwork motif worked over a panel of 19 stitches, using a two-color stranded knitting technique. The colorwork chart covers 14 rows that repeat continuously, with every row charted for clarity. The motif is flanked on both sides by a 5-stitch ribbed border worked in the main color, giving the headband a neat, structured edge. The total cast-on is 29 stitches in wool white, and the piece is worked to approximately 52 cm (126 rows) before the live stitches are joined to the cast-on edge using mattress stitch to form the band.

Colorwork and Fair Isle Technique

Fair Isle, or Norwegian-style stranded colorwork, involves carrying two colors of yarn simultaneously across the back of the work. In this pattern, the anthracite yarn is carried behind the ribbed border stitches and woven in at intervals to prevent long floats. Each square on the colorwork chart represents one knit stitch in the indicated color. This technique creates a double layer of yarn across the colorwork section, adding warmth and structure — ideal for a headband intended for cold-weather wear.

Stitches and Techniques Used

• Ribbing (Bundmuster): A simple 1 knit, 1 purl rib stitch worked over the 5-stitch borders on each side of the headband, providing elasticity and a tidy edge.
• Stockinette stitch (Glatt rechts / Grundmuster): Knit stitches on right-side rows and purl stitches on wrong-side rows, forming the smooth background of the colorwork panel.
• Fair Isle / Norwegian colorwork (Norwegermuster): Two-color stranded knitting worked over the central 19-stitch panel, following a charted repeat of 14 rows.
• Flat knitting: The headband is worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round, then seamed to finish.
• Mattress stitch seaming: The open stitches of the final row are joined to the cast-on edge using mattress stitch to close the band into a loop.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Schachenmayr original Universa — a DK weight yarn, used in two colors:
  • Fb. 00102 Wollweiß (wool white) — 50 g
  • Fb. 00196 Anthrazit meliert (anthracite marl) — 50 g
• Needles: Milward knitting needles, size 3.5–4 mm

Gauge

The stated gauge for the Norwegian colorwork section is 27 stitches and 25 rows = 10 × 10 cm. Achieving the correct gauge is especially important in colorwork knitting, as stranded fabric tends to knit up more tightly than plain stockinette. Knitters are encouraged to swatch and adjust needle size as needed to match the gauge before beginning the full headband.

Skill Level and Suitability

This pattern is well-suited to knitters with some colorwork experience, as it requires managing two yarn colors simultaneously and reading a charted repeat. However, because the colorwork section is relatively narrow at 19 stitches and the repeat is only 14 rows, it is also an excellent introduction to Fair