Easing back into the 9-5 routine this week has been a total drain on my mental energy. I found myself crashing early, yet the urge to reach for my phone in the evenings was stronger than ever. Let’s be real: when you’re tired, that “brain-dead overstimulation” feels like exactly what you need – sign me up for that digital crack!
But because I know how that ends, I’ve been focusing on being mindful of what I feed my poor brain. My goal? To keep happy, crafty triggers within reach that are way more satisfying than a mindless Instagram scroll.
The best way I’ve found to resist the evening ‘brain-drain’ is to give my hands and my head something better to do. So, without further ado, here is this week’s duo that’s gonna help keep the doom-scrolling at bay.
Book Recommendation of the week
Robert Bennet Jackson has become a staple in our household. My partner and I are slowly devouring his entire bibliography, and fair warning: his name will likely appear in a few of my upcoming articles, because I’m almost certain everything he writes is an absolute masterpiece.
I first encountered him through The Tainted Cup. When I’m out of ideas for what to read next, I often check Goodreads’ monthly recommendations. A couple of years ago, this book appeared on one of those lists – and oh my, did I strike gold. After finishing it, I spent the next few months happily working through the rest of his series.
The Tainted Cup is the perfect mix of a classic murder mystery with what I can only describe as a bio-punk fantasy. Monsters, lush vegetation, impressive engineering feats – all wrapped together in a universe so immersive you forget you’re reading. And at the centre of it all: the tantalising puzzle of “HOW THE HELL DID THIS GUY DIE IN A LOCKED ROOM?!”
Overall book rating:
Keeping me off my phone:
What initially drew me in was the main character’s name: Din. Close enough to “Djinn” that I couldn’t help but picture my cat as the detective. But jokes aside, Bennet completely engulfed me in his world. By the time I finished, I was desperate for the next instalment. Back then, the second book was almost a year away – but now, if you start with The Tainted Cup, A Drop of Corruption is already available. The trilogy’s finale, however, is still set for release this summer.
On my highly scientific scale of rating books, which measures how often I put the book down to scroll through Reddit, this one scores a 5/5. I didn’t dare interrupt Ana Dolabra’s intense detective work for something as trivial as AITA posts.
Craft of the week – Cosy Headbands
I’m not sure how cold it is where you are, but here, it’s slowly dipping into the negatives. Celsius, that is, not the wrong way of measuring temperature. With the chill setting in, I found myself needing to marry two “omega needs”: keeping my ears warm and knocking out some quick, belated Christmas gifts.
Before the holidays, I made a Sophie Hood and became completely obsessed with the look of garter stitch paired with an i-cord. It knits up in a flash, it’s fluffy, super stretchy, and dare I say it looks rather high-end.
For this week’s project, those are the only skills you’ll need.
Time and Materials
- The Yarn: You can use any yarn you like, though I recommend a wool or acrylic blend for that extra warm and comfy feeling. For these, I used Drops Lima in Brick Red, Purple, and Sea Green. (I also made one in Goldenrod, which kept my ears nice and toasty while I was taking these photos!). I used about half a ball of Lima for one headband.
- The Needles: Any set of needles between 4mm and 6mm will work. I personally used 4mm needles for mine. Additionally, you will need a tapestry needle in order to sew your work at the end.
- The Tension: 21 stitches per 10cm. Don’t worry too much about the vertical dimensions for this pattern!
The time required to finish this project will depend on the type of yarn you use (the chunkier the yarn, the faster the knit!). Using the materials described above, it took me around 2.5 – 3 hours per piece.
Cast on
Cast on 21 stitches, or however many you need for your specific tension to reach a 10cm width. You can use whichever cast-on method you prefer, but I usually go for the Long Tail Cast On because it creates such a neat, professional edge.
If you’re new to this method, here is a fantastic short video that explains exactly how it works:
Knit, Knit, Knit
This is a simple 1-row repeat pattern:
- Knit all stitches on the needle until you are left with 3
- Bring the yarn in front of the working needle
- Slip the 3 stitches left purl-wise on the working needle
Those 3 stitches we skip at the end, and then knit when we get to the next round, are what are going to create the neat i-cord margins.
Repeat this sequence on every row until your work reaches 48-50cm.
Cast-off.
Now it’s time to do the twist
You can use the mattress stitch to connect the cast-on / off edges as they are, but keep in mind that if you choose to skip the twist in the front of the headband, you’ll probably need to cast off 2cm earlier.
- Lay your knitted strip flat on a table. As we knit this in garter stitch, there’s no real right or wrong side of the work – so YOLO.
- Bring the two short ends toward each other so they are almost touching. Think of each end as a C shape.
- Fold each end in half lengthwise. So now you have a big C shape, with each of its ends C-shaped themselves.
- Slide the ends together so they interlock. You want to tuck one half-folded end into the other, like you are stacking four layers of fabric.
- Check your layers: From top to bottom, you should have:
- Front half of the Left end
- Front half of the Right end
- Back half of the Left end
- Back half of the Right end
- Pro Tip: Make sure the edges are perfectly flush. If one layer is tucked too deep or sticking out, the twist will look lopsided.
- Thread your tapestry needle with the long yarn tail you left after binding off.
- Whipstitch or Backstitch across all four layers at once. Make sure your needle passes through every single layer on every stitch. If you miss a layer in the middle, you’ll have a hole in your twist.
- Secure the ends: Once you reach the end, go back across the seam one more time for extra strength, then weave in your ends and trim the yarn.
Now turn the headband “inside-out” for that nice puffy twist to show nicely.
Ta-daaaaa!
You have yourself a nice new headband.
Final thoughts
That was exciting, wasn’t it? I wish all my years’ starts would feel as productive as this one feels.
How about you? What did you start your year with on your reading stand? Any exciting projects you’re working on?
