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Bun & Bow: A Knitted Hairstyle

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sock bun with bow

In case I’m not the very last person to fall for the careless convenience of sock buns, here is a cute project you can knit up this evening while watching a film. And if you watch something good, please leave me a recommendation in the comments! :)

sockbun

The tutorials I’ve seen online all recommend cutting off the toe of a sock (hence the name) and rolling it up. I didn’t happen to have an odd sock in the right colour, but I did have some Sirdar Snuggly DK in an almost-edible chocolate brown which has been in my stash for nearly 10 years. So, since toe-less socks are armwarmers by another name, I knit a pair. They have ribbing at one end and eyelets at the other, so they can be worn either way up, and you can thread ribbon through the yarn-overs too. The bows are held on with safety pins and can be positioned anywhere you like.

bow armwarmers

If you put your hair up in a sock bun when it’s wet and sleep in it (not at all uncomfortable, since it’s nice and squishy), you’ll wake up to large, soft curls the next morning. Conversely, it’s also a great solution for bad hair days. I’m going to keep my pair rolled up in my handbag from now on, in case of cold, a wardrobe emergency (requiring safety pins), or an impromptu sleepover. ;)

bow armwarmers

What You Need

Approx. 100m of DK-weight yarn
Small amount of light fingering-weight yarn
3mm DPNs
2mm straight needles
Tapestry needle
2 safety pins
Bobby pins / hairpins

bow & pins

Armwarmer Instructions

With DK-weight yarn and 3mm DPNs, CO 36 sts and join to work in the round.
Work 1×1 rib for 2cm.
Work st st for 12cm.
Next round: (Yo, k2tog) around.
Work st st for 6 rounds.
Bind off. Weave in ends.

Make two.

Bow Instructions

With light fingering-weight yarn & 2mm needles, CO 4 sts.
Knit 30 rows in garter st.
Bind off tightly, cut yarn leaving a tail 15cm long.
Using either cast-on or bind-off tail, sew cast-on edge to bind-off edge. Tie a knot to secure.
Wind yarn tightly around the piece, covering the central seam evenly and hiding the loose end. When the centre looks neat, thread end through tapestry needle, sew the yarn under the centre, secure with a knot if necessary and snip off any excess.

Make two. Attach the bows to the armwarmers with safety pins, or to your bun by sliding them onto bobby pins.

sock bun

How to Make a Sock Bun

There are numerous videos on Youtube on how to achieve a sock bun, but here’s a quick explanation:

  • Roll up your armwarmers into a donut shape. I used both armwarmers, but you may just need one, depending on how long and thick your hair is.
  • Brush your hair neatly into a ponytail, whereever you would like your bun to be, and secure with an elastic. You may want to spray some water or hairspray to smooth your hair, especially if you have layers.
  • Wrap the end of your ponytail around the rolled-up armwarmers, and begin rolling it in on itself. Your hair should get caught up in the “donut”.
  • Keep rolling, spreading your hair evenly around the rolled-up armwarmers, keeping the ponytail as taut as possible until you reach your scalp.
  • Secure the bun with a bobby pin or hairpin.
  • Slide a bow onto a bobby pin and poke it into the base of your bun.
  • Ta-da!

sock bun with bow

A Few Recommendations

  • Use a yarn colour that blends in with your hair colour.
  • Knit to a tighter gauge than your yarn requires.
  • If you’re planning on making a sock bun with damp hair, you may be better off using plant or synthetic fibres, that way your handwarmers won’t felt with use, and you won’t smell “sheepy”.
  • Make lots of itty bitty bows in different colours to coordinate with different outfits.
  • Attach your bows to all kinds of things using pins, string or clips.

bowmark

15th January, 2013  // Arms & Legs, Layers, Style // tags: , , , .

Free Pattern: Bow Pouch

bow pouch

BOW POUCH – FREE PDF PATTERN
Download on Ravelry
(in English & French)

A dainty little pattern for your leftovers. Making this is so quick and simple, that I don’t think even a beginner knitter could go wrong. I’ve included life-size schematics, so you can get away with only printing the second page. Then grab your yarn & needles & a tapestry needle and head to the park. Though these photos are rather autumnal, this is actually the first pattern for my summer collection. More on that later!

As I mentioned before, there are 3 different closures you can choose from: A fold-over & sew closure, a button flap closure, and a loop closure. The fold-over closure is the easiest, and doesn’t even require a button. The loop closure is also very simple, and I’ve included a tutorial on how to crochet the loop, so don’t fear the hook! :)

The pattern already has lots of Ravelry , and has been downloaded over 100 times. One knitter has even finished hers, out of Handmaiden sock yarn no less. See, it’s so pretty!

Here’s what I might put in mine:

  • Bobby pins
  • Keys
  • Stitch markers
  • iPod
  • Eraser & pencil lead
  • Tissue
  • A skipping stone
  • Almonds
  • A lump of sugar, in case I meet a horse
  • A piece of chalk for spontaneous graffitti
  • Plectra
  • IChing coins
  • Marbles
  • & all manner of other small thinglings that are always getting lost.

What will you keep in yours? Comment ‘cos I’m curious. :)

If you don’t fancy wearing it on your wrist, you can make one just to keep in your handbag / backpack / knitting bag, or even cooler, if your bag has a detachable strap, you can slide your pouch onto it!

Also, this is my favourite dress. I can’t tell you how delighted I was when I got it home & found out that it had POCKETS!

>o<

bow

knitted bow pouch

bow pouch

Hellooo wonky garter stitch!

I can’t wait to see everyone’s lovely sock yarn creations. Hope you enjoy! :)

Translations

Many thanks to Nylwenn for the amazing work she did on the French translation! I have a feeling that if you knit La Bow Pouch in French, it will look more graceful, but I can’t be sure. :) Cliquez ici pour télécharger “La Bow Pouch”.

5th April, 2011  // Arms & Legs, Balay, Downloads // tags: , , , , , .

Her Ribbons & Her Bows

Ev’rybody knows
That Baby’s got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls

– from Just Like a Woman, by Bob Dylan

I love ribbons.

Organza ribbons that look like watercolours…

my favourite things

Velvet ribbons with the dark sheen and softness of night.

velvet ribbon

Satin ribbons like running water.

dark ribbon

I love the whipping sound they make in the wind.

I love feeling like a Victorian child when I walk into a haberdashery shop & see all the rolls of ribbons lined up like sweets.

I’ve used ribbons in my designs before. For this cropped cover-up

Medi

… for the Country Stockings I mentioned on Thursday

Country Stockings detail

& for the small & simple KniTwit Bracelet, which is nevertheless rather a nice opportunity to showcase a bit of pretty ribbon. I have a lot of small lengths of ribbon that I’ve snipped from clothes & tags, and keep in my oddments box. Do you do that too?

Recently, my love of ribbons reached new heights when I discovered Minty, from S/S 2010 issue of Knitty. Except for a few eyelets, you just knit around and around, which means that Minty takes all of a few hours to knit. I have had more comments on my Minty hats than any other hat I’ve knit. My boyfriend even stole asked for my first one (which was black & had icord). The second, pink one, you may have seen on Wednesday’s post, hanging out on my shelves.

pink minty

The third is grey & I worked the “pepperminty” crown shaping, just for a change. :) I switch out the ribbons to better match my outfit. When I went to Istanbul for the weekend, I even put a couple in my pocket, so simple!

minty with ribbon

Ribbons are definitely my embellishment of choice. They can be hip or elegant, simple or sophisticated, and at a pinch, you can use them to wrap up parcels. :) Of course, ribbons are nothing without bows. Do you know how to tie the perfect bow? Or maybe you’d just prefer to knit one

bow wristlet pouch

P.S. I hope you will excuse the delay in releasing the Bow Pouch pattern. This week has been such whirlwind of blogging, I thought it would be best to save it for next week.

2nd April, 2011  // Inspiration // tags: , , , , , , .
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