Cold Weather Cables in Red Heart Boutique Treasure - LW2603

Cold Weather Cables in Red Heart Boutique Treasure (LW2603) – Knitted Headband and Wristers Pattern

This beginner-friendly knitting pattern, designated LW2603 and designed by Edie Eckman, delivers a coordinating cold-weather accessories set consisting of a headband and a pair of wristers (fingerless mittens). The design is published by Red Heart and is available as a downloadable PDF. The collection is united by a classic cable motif worked in the beautifully shaded, variegated tones of Red Heart Boutique Treasure yarn, making each finished piece subtly unique thanks to the yarn's built-in color variation.

What Is Being Made

• Headband: A stretchy, cabled headband sized to fit a 22–23 inch head circumference, finished by seaming the cast-on and bind-off edges together to form a continuous loop.
• Wristers: A pair of fingerless mitts measuring approximately 7 inches around the hand and 8½ inches long, described as one size fits most. The pattern specifies a Right Wrister, implying mirror-image construction for the left.

Materials

• Yarn: Red Heart Boutique Treasure in colorway 1919 Watercolors — 3 balls required. This is an aran weight yarn with a wool-blend fiber content, offering warmth, stitch definition, and the richly shaded tonal color shifts the design is known for.
• Needles: 5.5mm [US 9] double pointed knitting needles, set of 4.
• Notions: Cable needle, 2 stitch markers, stitch holder, and yarn needle for finishing.

Gauge

The pattern calls for a gauge of 18 stitches and 22 rows to 4 inches in Stockinette stitch. Checking gauge before beginning is strongly recommended to ensure proper sizing, particularly for the wristers where fit around the hand is important.

Techniques and Construction Methods

• Headband: Worked flat, back and forth in rows on two double pointed needles. Once the band reaches 18½ inches in length, it is bound off and the two short ends are seamed together to create the finished loop shape.
• Wristers: Worked entirely in the round on double pointed needles, which produces a seamless tube. Stitches are cast on, divided evenly across three needles, and joined with a stitch marker to track the beginning of each round.
• Cuff Ribbing: The wristers begin with 8 rounds of K1, P1 rib, a classic technique that creates a snug, stretchy cuff edge that hugs the wrist comfortably.
• Seaming: The headband requires sewing the cast-on and bound-off ends together, making basic seaming a necessary finishing skill.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette Stitch (St st): The foundational stitch used for gauge measurement; knit on right side rows/rounds, purl on wrong side rows.
• Garter Stitch: The first and last 2 stitches of the headband are kept in garter stitch (knit every row) to create neat, stable selvedge edges on either side of the cable panel.
• K1, P1 Rib: Used for the cuff section of the wristers to provide elasticity and a polished border.
• Cable Panel — 12-stitch, 8-row/round repeat: The central decorative element of both pieces. The cable is worked over 12 stitches and features two distinct cable crossings on Row/Round 1:
  • A back cross: 3 stitches slipped to cable needle and held in back, knit 3, then knit 3 from cable needle — this creates a right-leaning cable twist.