How to Knit a Hooded Scarf | Easy Balaclava Knitting Pattern

The cold weather is fast approaching and I decided to create something a bit different this year; a combination of a scarf and a hat in the form of a sort-of-balaclava.

I wanted beginners to be able to give this a go, so I've made the construction as simple as possible, and it's knit flat rather than in-the-round. I knitted the balaclava in 2 pieces – 1 for each side of the head - so these pieces needed to be the mirror image of each other. The last step is to then sew these 2 halves together.

I hope you enjoy this project!

For this pattern, you'll need yarn and knitting needles, of course, but also scissors, a ruler, stitch markers and a yarn needle. If you will be blocking your knitting - which I recommend you do - then you'll need supplies for that too; a large bowl and a mat or towel as a minimum.

Yarn: I had some James C. Brett 'Marble' chunky yarn already, so I used that because I love the colours (code MC08). It's acrylic, cheap to buy, and comes in a 200g ball. At the end of the project I was left with 45g, so in total I used 155g of yarn.

The variegated yarn I used was not technically the best choice because the colour changes within the yarn mean that it'll never match up perfectly along the seam down the centre, however I think I just about get away with it because the colour changes are quite subtle and are all in the same dark blues & purples. The best yarn to use would be a plain or lightly speckled/heathered yarn because then there will be no obvious difference between each side of the balaclava, but it's up to you really :)

Needles: The yarn label recommends 6 mm needles, and that's what I used. Even though I'm going to be flat knitting, I used circular needles so I could fit all of the stitches on.

I just wanted to first briefly mention the designing of this balaclava, and show my notes and measurements. You'll see that I used measurements of my own head, then converted these measurements to stitches & rows which formed the basis of this pattern.

The fit is loose so it should be a one-size-fits-all item, however this is a very easy pattern to alter even if you don't have experience of doing that. In basic terms, you can cast on more stitches to make the pieces wider, and knit for more rows to make the pieces longer. You can also alter the curve at the back of the head.

Just make sure that whatever changes you make to one side, you do the same (but mirrored) to the other side too.

For reference, my balaclava (when laid flat on it's side) ended up the following size:

11” in width at the base (so the circumference around the neck is 22”)

12.5" in width (including garter stitch border) across each side of the hood.

The scarf section is 4” high.

The full height of the balaclava is 19”.

And the length of the garter stitch border on one side is 14.5”, so the border around the face will be approx. 29”

In order to begin knitting, cast on 44 stitches. I did this using the 'long tail cast on' but you can use your favourite method.

You then need to knit a stripe of garter stitch, a stripe of stockinette stitch, and then a stripe of garter stitch again, as follows:

1) Knit garter stitch for 4 full rows (i.e. 8 knit rows, which should make a stripe about 1.25” wide).

So Rows 1, 3, 5, & 7) (RS) = k

And Rows 2, 4, 6 & 8) (WS) = p1, k, p1

Note that on the wrong sides of the garter stitch I did purl stitches on the edges to create stockinette stitch edges that will be easier to seam later on.

2) Knit stockinette stitch for 4 full rows (i.e. one row knit stitches, 1 row purl stitches, repeated 4 times)

Rows 9, 11, 13 & 15) k

Rows 10, 12, 14 & 16) p

3) Garter stitch again, exactly the same as in step 1):

Rows 17, 19, 21, & 23) = k

And Rows 18, 20, 22 & 24) = p1, k, p1

4) One more full row of stockinette stitch:

Row 25) k

Row 26) p

The knitting so far, which is the ‘scarf’ part of the project, should be around 4” by this point.

Note that I also attached a stitch marker to the front/right side of the knitting so I could easily see which side was which.

k = knit, p = purl, RS = right side, WS = wrong side

Odd-numbered rows = the right side / even-numbered rows = the wrong side.

You then need to carry on in stockinette stitch for most of the remaining knitting, however you also need to add a border of garter stitch around the opening of the hood.

To do this, you'll need to add 4 stitches to the needle just before starting the next row (row 27). You need to do this using the cable cast on. That will give you 48 stitches in total.

Once that's done, you'll need to proceed in stockinette stitch.

From the start of row 27 until the end of row 90 – i.e. 64 rows, or 32 full rows – we’ll be doing stockinette stitch, but also carrying on the garter stitch border that we just started with the cable cast on.

So, throughout this section of the knitting: right sides rows = k and wrong side rows = p, k4

Row 27 is a right side row so...

Row 27) k

Row 28) p, k4

Row 29) k

Row 30) p, k4

...and so on, until the end of row 90.

The length of the garter stitch border should then be around 12".

When you reach row 91, you start curving what will be the back of the hood. Feel free to alter this curve to make it more curved or more square depending on your tastes.

For the following part of the pattern, I'm abbreviating some rows to right side (RS) and wrong side (WS) rows because these are the rows you've been doing for the past 64 rows.

i.e. RS = k, and WS = p, k4

Row 91) RS

Row 92) WS

Row 93) RS

Row 94) p1, p2tog, p, k4

Row 95) RS

Row 96) WS

Row 97) k, k2tog, k1

Row 98) WS

Row 99) k, k2tog, k1

Row 100) p1, p2tog, p, k4

Row 101) RS

Row 102) p1, p2tog, p, k4

Row 103) k, k2tog, k1

Row 104) p1, p2tog, p, k4

Row 105) k, k3tog, k1

Row 106) p1, p3tog, p, k4

Or in other (abbreviated) words:

Rows 91, 93, 95 & 101) = RS

Rows 92, 96 & 98) = WS

Rows 94, 100, 102 & 104) = p1, p2tog, p, k4

Rows 97, 99 & 103) = k, k2tog, k1

Row 105) k, k3tog, k1

Row 106) p1, p3tog, p, k4

Then you will need to bind off the remaining stitches using the regular knit bind off method.

Note: On one of the knitted sides, you will need to leave a yarn tail long enough to sew the seam down the back of the balaclava. I would make this tail at least 3 times the length of the side you will be seaming.

Once you've made one side, you'll then need to knit the mirror image for the other side of the balaclava.

The scarf section is the same as previously, but then the pattern becomes a bit different.

Here is the entire pattern:

• First, cast on 44 stitches

Garter stitch stripe:

Rows 1, 3, 5, & 7) (RS) = k

Rows 2, 4, 6 & 8) (WS) = p1, k, p1

Stockinette stitch stripe:

Rows 9, 11, 13 & 15) k

Rows 10, 12, 14 & 16) p

Garter Stitch Stripe:

Rows 17, 19, 21, & 23) = k

And Rows 18, 20, 22 & 24) = p1, k, p1

Then a row of stockinette stitch:

Row 25) k

Row 26) p

Row 27) k

You then need to add 4 new stitches to the needle (using the cable cast on) straight after completing row 27.

Row 28) p

Then from row 29 to the end of row 90 will be stockinette stitch, but with garter stitch on one side for the hood border.

So from row 29 to row 90: right sides (RS) rows = k and wrong side (WS) rows = k4, p

Row 29) k

Row 30) k4, p

Row 31) k

Row 32) k4, p

...and so on, until the end of row 90.

At this point, I recommend measuring the size of this piece so far to make sure it's is the same length as the side you've already knitted was at this stage. This is because you need both sides to be the same size, so it's best to check now before it's too late to change it!

When you reach row 91, you start curving what will be the back of the hood:

91), 93), 95), 101) = RS

92), 96) & 98) = WS

94), 100), 102), 104) = k4, p, p2tog, p1

97), 99), 103) = k1, k2tog, k

105) k1, k3tog, k

106) k4, p, p3tog, p1

Then you just bind off the remaining stitches, as in the previous piece.

If you didn't leave a long yarn tail on the previous piece, you'll need to leave it on this one instead. Otherwise, a yarn tail of 8" or so will suffice.

You can choose whether to weave in your yarn tails before or after blocking, but I wove them in beforehand. You don't weave the long yarn tail in though; we're going to need that in the next step.

Blocking is simply the process of soaking the knitted pieces in water, gently squeezing out the excess water, and then laying the knitting out on a mat (or towel) to dry.

When you lay it out to dry, you can pin around the edges like I have, or not, but the knitting must be laid flat in the shape you want the knitting to be 'set' into.

Blocking just makes the knitting neater, and since this balaclava is made using stockinette stitch, it also helps the curled edges to lie flat - and this will make it easier to seam in the next step.

Once blocked, place the 2 sides wrong-sides-together, as shown, and use stitch markers around the edges to keep them lined up.

Feed the long yarn tail into a yarn needle and start seaming...

We'll be using the mattress stitch method to join the edges along the back and under the chin, which will create a little ridge inside the balalcava. Feel free to use a different joining method if you wish.

The basic concept is to pick up a couple of strands of yarn on one side and then the other, over and over until you reach the end.

You begin by taking the yarn tail up through the corner of the knitting on the opposite side to where the yarn tail is already attached. Then come up through the original corner again. This joins the 2 corners together.

Then go into and out of the opposite side (always working from the outside/right side), 1 stitch away from the edge, and pick up 2 strands of yarn. Note that you need to orientate the yarn needle parallel to the seam when seaming.

Then go to the other side and do the same, always going into the knitting in the same spot as where the yarn tail previously emerged from there.

Keep the yarn fairly loose as you do this, and then every inch or two you need to pull on the yarn tail (so you're pulling parallel to the edge) in order to tighten up the yarn and bring the sides snugly together at the seam.

It's the same concept all of the way down the back of the balaclava.

When you've reached the base of the balaclava, you need to go through each corner of the knitting to bring those corners together, make sure the mattress stitch has been tightened up, and then take the yarn through to the back/inside.

Then simply weave in the end of this yarn tail to secure it, and cut off the excess.

You then do the same - but using a separate piece of yarn - to seam the sides together from the chin downwards.

To join the yarn to the start of the edge, you leave at least 8" of yarn tail on the inside of the balaclava, feed the yarn up through one corner, then the opposite corner, and then the original corner again, and pull the yarn to bring the corners together snugly. Then just seam as you did previously.

Note: Obviously, make sure you don't seam up across the base or along the garter stitch border :)

Once all of the yarn tails have been woven in, the balaclava is complete!

I really hope you enjoyed this project :)