Loom Knitting Headbands & Leg Warmers

Knitting headbands & legwarmers on the loom is just as easy as making a hat! The only difference is at the end when you cast off. For an adult size headband, use the same size loom you would use for a hat. Cast on as you normally would and  knit down about 9 inches (more or less depending on how big you want your headband).

Once you have this done, pull the bottom loops back onto the pegs and knit them together.( Pull the bottom row over the top)

Once you have done this, cut off about a foot and a half of yarn and attach it to your needle. Starting at your first peg, wrap the yarn around and pull the bottom over the top. Then take your needle and put it through the yarn on the peg, releasing it from the peg. Wrap the yarn around the next peg & repeat all the way around, releasing each loop from the peg as you go. 

Once your headband is free from the pegs, sew a knot into the bottom and cut off any extra yarn. Your headband is complete!

I have found that super bulky yarn works the best because it stretches less & fits better because of how thick it is. 

To make leg warmers, use a small 24 peg loom. Knit as normal until they are the desired length. Use the same cast off technique as you would with the headband. I made mine about 14" and they go from my ankle to an inch under my knee. I wear them with leggings and boots; they're really cute and warm!

Making a Wine Cork Wreath

Wine cork wreaths are awesome because you can keep them up year round! Adding bows, flowers, ornaments, or whatever you want can keep them festive for any season. Things that you need to make the wreath are:

• Wine corks. A lot of wine corks. (around 150ish I'd say)
• Hot glue. (I used at least 25 mini sticks)
• A plain straw wreath
• String
• Bows/flowers for decoration 

I used a straw wreath as a base, but it was a little messy. I think using a styrofoam circle as a base might be easier. You can buy these wreaths at craft stores, I think I paid around $6.

Make sure you take the plastic off of it, but do not cut the twine. Use a sturdy string and tie it around the top before you start with the corks.

I work at a seafood/ steakhouse restaurant where we sell a lot of wine. I also have friends and family save their corks for me too. ( use your resources for finding corks! make friends with a bartender & have them save their corks for you!) Since I get most of mine from the restaurant, I have a lot of  the same corks. I separated the really cool & unique ones to the side and used the more plain and repeat ones at the beginning.

I didn't take pictures as I was making this wreath, but you'll be able to see in the pictures the pattern I followed/ made up. I started on the inside of the wreath, stacking the corks on top of each other. Once I got to the top, I just started gluing like crazy in every direction just to cover up all the straw.

It is tricky trying to get them to fit nicely by each other, so just be patient and play around with it.

After I had a pretty good base layer, I added on the cool corks that I set aside earlier and placed them wherever they could be seen. I pretty much only used one layer of corks and it turned out great! Once all the corks were in place, I lightly glued some flowers in and it was ready to  be hung.

This is the finished product! Except one of the flowers is M.I.A...I didn't want to glue them in with too much glue, because I want to be able to take them out and put other decorations on. Bows, ornaments and ribbons would all look great, too! Cheers.