You can check out the video tutorial here!
For all my scrunchies I used Bernat Velvet yarn because velvet scrunchies are the best scrunchies. But you can use any weight or style yarn you’d like and I’ll discuss how to alter the patterns for different yarns below.
1. Flat
This is the most beginner friendly way to knit a scrunchy. You can use any stitch pattern you’d like!
Make a piece that measures 3in (8cm) tall and 15in (35cm) long.
I simply knit every stitch to make a garter stitch scrunchy. In my gauge with the Bernat Velvet and US 8 (5mm) knitting needles, I cast on 47 sts and knit for 20 rows.
Then simply seam the cast on edge to the bind off edge while you bury your hair tie inside!
It doesn’t get much easier than that! No, seriously, the next one is a little trickier…
2. In The Round
Fiddly is this method’s middle name but it can still be tackled by a beginner! You’ll knit a narrow tube around and around and as long as you sneak your hair tie in there before you join in the round, it will get buried inside the scrunchy!
Cast on the number of stitches you’d need to get 4in. With Bernat Velvet and 6mm needles this will be about 9 sts.
Divide the sts evenly on your needles and just be sure to insert the hair elastic before you join in the round.
Then knit in the round as you normally would, shimmying the hair tie around and out of the way as not to get it trapped under a row. It should always be dangling loose!
The best part of this method is you can control the scrunch. Just knit until your scrunchie is exactly as scrunchy as you want. Then seam the cast on and bind off edges together.
To make it totally seamless, and a little more advanced, try a provisional cast on so you can Kitchener stitch the first row and final row together!
3. My Way
I feel pretty confident that I’m the first person to think of this… because it came from a discovery I made after messing while trying to do the linen stitch!
The pattern is as follows:
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Cast on an odd number of sts (51 in Bernat Velvet and 6mm needles)
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Row 1: *K1, sl 1 pw wiyf* rep to end of row
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Row 2: *P1, sl 1 pw wyib* rep to end of row
If you repeat those rows for a total of 7 rows, you’ll find you’ve knit a little tube. It seems kinda like magic but I go more into how this works in the video tutorial.
The best part? You can add the hair tie to your tube as you knit row 8!
Row 8: Simply *p1, place hair tie on left needle, s1 pw wyib, slip hair tie off your left needle* rep to the end of the row and you’ll bury your whole hair tie inside the little tube. Then all you have to do is bind off and seam up the sides using this seamless stockinette seaming method!
You can do a basic bind off in pattern or, if you’ve got some time on your hands, do the tubular bind off for the most smooth, seamless finish!
There you have it! 3 ways you can actually knit a scrunchie using regular old hair ties and little to no sewing experience. Let me know which way is your favorite! And if you try one of these methods, tag me on Instagram. I’d love to see it!
