A one-skein entrelac turban inspired by Little Edie Beale of Grey Gardens… With a twist!

The first time we watched Grey Gardens, we stayed right on that sofa and watched it clear through a second time. Those accents, those outfits, those aristocratic manners amidst all that chaos and decay! Say what you will about Little Edie, no one can deny that she had a make-do attitude and an instinctive style of her own. In our book, being a “staunch character” is the highest of compliments.

While we may not be inclined to wear our skirts upside down and safety-pinned shut, Edie’s love of a good turban made an impression on us. We wanted to design one that would be an homage to Little Edie, without being too literal (read: without the baubles and broaches). Entrelac is our absolute favorite stitch pattern - it’s like little diamonds of knitted wonder - and in a hand-dyed and handspun singles yarn, entrelac is unpredictable and stunning. Like our muse, of course!

Materials: Spincycle Yarns 100% bluefaced leicester wool; 120 yd per 80 gram skein; shown in: Idle Nights, 1 skein; or The Perfect Crime, 1 skein

In entrelac, you’ll be completing each block before moving on to the next, rather than working across all sts at once, as you normally do when knitting. If this is your first entrelac project, now is a good time to take a deep breath, and stop trying to understand the pattern by reading it all first. Relax, and just follow the directions step-by-step.

On Resizing:
To make your turban a little longer, work one extra set of Right- and Left-slanting Tiers before dividing for the twist. By working an extra set, your seam will be slightly off-center -- but as long as you seam neatly, it won’t matter.