Leoparden Stirnband in Novita - Downloadable PDF

Leoparden Stirnband in Novita Venla – Knitted Leopard Print Headband Pattern

This Leoparden Stirnband (Leopard Headband) is a beautifully designed knitted accessory from Novita, created by designer Sari Nordlund. Worked in the round using a colourwork chart, this headband features a striking leopard print motif achieved through stranded colourwork knitting combined with decorative duplicate stitch embroidery. The finished piece measures 50 cm in circumference and 10 cm in width, making it a practical and stylish accessory for cooler weather.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a knitted headband with a leopard print design. The headband is worked seamlessly in the round, then finished with a distinctive twist: one end is flipped before the two ends are sewn together, creating a subtle turned effect that adds dimension and visual interest to the finished accessory. The leopard spot centres are added after knitting using duplicate stitch embroidery, giving the motif its characteristic layered, realistic appearance.

Yarn and Materials

• Yarn: Novita Venla, a 4-ply weight yarn, used in three colours:
  • Sandstrand (606) – the main background colour, approximately 100 g
  • Ruß (499) – used for the leopard spot outlines in the colourwork chart
  • Hafer (658) – used sparingly for the duplicate stitch embroidery filling the centres of the leopard spots
• Needles: Novita double-pointed needles, size 3 mm (or whichever size achieves the correct tension), set of 4

Techniques Used

• Knitting in the round on a set of four double-pointed needles, with stitches distributed evenly across all four needles
• Stranded colourwork (Fair Isle-style) following a printed chart, working the leopard pattern across all rounds
• Yarn float management – when a yarn must be carried across more than 3 stitches on the wrong side, the floats are twisted together to prevent long, loose strands; the twist point is varied from round to round to avoid visible ridges on the right side
• Duplicate stitch embroidery (Maschenstich) worked after knitting to fill in the inner sections of the leopard spots using the colour Hafer
• Cast-on and cast-off in the round, with all stitches cast off using the colour Sandstrand
• Finishing and seaming, including twisting one end of the headband before joining the two ends together by sewing

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch in the round (all rounds knitted) – used throughout as the base fabric
• Colourwork chart pattern – a multi-colour leopard motif worked in stocking stitch following the supplied diagram over a 64-stitch repeat
• Duplicate stitch – an embroidery technique worked on top of completed knitted stitches to add the inner colour of the leopard spots without carrying an additional yarn through the knitting itself

Construction and Sizing

The headband begins with 64 stitches cast on in Sandstrand, divided equally across four double-pointed needles (16 stitches per needle). The colour Ruß is then introduced and the chart is worked from Round 1 through Round 60, before the entire sequence of Rounds 1–60 is repeated once more. When the work reaches 50 cm in height, all stitches are cast off in Sandstrand. The tension gauge is 32 stitches and 33 rounds in the colourwork pattern = 10 cm.

Finishing Details

• The inner sections of the leopard spots are embroidered in Hafer using duplicate st