How to Crochet Your Own Hair Snoods?

Hear the word "snood" and you might think of an addicting computer game with furry little monster faces. But it's actually an old-school hair accessory that resembles a lacy net or bag. In olden times, ladies sometimes wore a snood attached to a headband or a hat. If you want to re-create the Renaissance in your life, learn how to crochet your own hair snoods. Once you get the hang of the basic pattern, embellish it with beads, pearls or new and different yarns to bring this piece of hair history into the modern age.

1. Start with a few chain stitches; make four of them and join them together with a slip stitch to form a circle. This will be the base of your snood. When you crochet it like this, you will be able to try it on as you go, which will come in handy later.

2. Chain three, which counts as a double crochet stitch. Make 11 double crochet stitches into the center of the circle you made in Step 1, then join to the top of your initial chain-three stitch. This will make the base of your snood.

3. For round two, increase the circumference of your snood. To do this, chain three again to act as your first double crochet. Chain one more and then double crochet into the next stitch; chain one, double crochet into the following stitch. Repeat this pattern around so you have a total of 12 double crochets and 12 chain-one stitches.

4. Work the next round evenly; to do this, chain four, which counts as your first double crochet and chain one. Skip the next stitch, which is a chain stitch, and make a double crochet into the following stitch, which is a double crochet. Chain one and make a double crochet in the next double crochet stitch, again skipping the chain one. Repeat this pattern around.

5. Increase the width again on the next round. To do this, chain four, then double crochet into the next stitch from the previous round. Chain one and double crochet into the next stitch in the previous round. Chain one again and double crochet into the next stitch from the previous round. Continue this pattern around; you are basically repeating the process of Step 4, but you aren't skipping any stitches this time. This will double the total number of stitches in your snood.

6. Crochet evenly around for all remaining rounds. To do this, repeat the process you used in Step 4. This will give your snood height. Try it on as you go by placing your hair into the bag shape the snood is forming. When the snood is long enough to hold all of your hair at shoulder length or just above it and the open top of the snood reaches your forehead, crochet one more even round of double crochets and chain stitches.

7. Finish the snood by making one final round. This time, chain one and make one single crochet stitch into every double crochet and chain stitch from the previous round. Join with a slip stitch and fasten off, then use a large-eye blunt needle to weave in your loose ends. Thread a length of 1/2-inch wide ribbon through the last double crochet round of the snood, weaving the ribbon over and under each subsequent double crochet stitch. Tie the ribbon in a bow. You can use this to hold the snood onto your head when you wear it, so leave plenty of extra ribbon length for it to stretch around your head like a headband.