Tunisian Crochet Ear Warmer – Tunisian Twist

Keep the cold out with this Tunisian crochet ear warmer! It’s big on style, but still easy to make. Just two basic Tunisian stitches and two colors combine to create the unique texture.

Tunisian Twist - Tunisian Crochet Ear Warmer pattern on Stitches n Scraps

New to Tunisian or just need some help? Check out the video tutorial! In the Recommended Resources Section below, you’ll also find in depth tutorials for each of the stitches used in the pattern.

Knit Picks Brava Yarn

We Crochet / Knit Picks gave me some Brava Worsted yarn to use for my Simply Sweet Baby Sweater pattern.

Simply Sweet Raglan Knit Baby Sweater

I had lots left over, and used some of it for this Tunisian crochet ear warmer. The darker green is Dublin (#28429), and the lighter green is Fig (#28432).

Knit Picks Brava Worsted Yarn

Tunisian Crochet Hook

Tunisian crochet hooks look like knitting needles with hooks on the end. They need the extra length in order to hold all your stitches at once.

Tunisian Crochet Hooks

If you don’t like the long, straight hooks, you can also get them with flexible cords. They even come as interchangeable sets like this one from Knit Picks. These are great for larger projects with lots of stitches.

However, this pattern only has at most 17 stitches on a row, so you may not even need an actual Tunisian hook. Any hook with a straight shaft that can hold the number of stitches for the size you are making will work! It can’t have a thumb grip or any change in shape or size within the space needed to hold the stitches.

My go-to hook for small Tunisian pieces is this beautiful hook from Brittany Needles. They had sent it to me some time ago to try out and review, and it’s absolutely perfect for this kind of project. Read my full review here.

Brittany needles and hook review on StitchesnScraps

You may notice this is a 4.5 mm hook, and the pattern calls for a 5.5 mm hook. My gauge tends to be quite loose, and the lovely crocheter who tested this pattern needed a larger hook to meet the same gauge. Over the years, I’ve found that more people have success matching my gauge if they use a slightly larger hook than I did. So now I almost always recommend a hook slightly larger than the one I am actually using.

Want More Tunisian?

Check out Modern Tunisian – a new book from Mary Beth Temple!

Modern Tunisian Crochet by Mary Beth Temple

Tunisian Twist Ear Warmer

4-medium
Project Level Easy

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Materials

Project Level

Easy: Repeating pattern with 2 basic Tunisian crochet stitches.

Sizes

Newborn [Baby, Toddler, Child, S, M, L]

Instructions are shown for newborn size, with other sizes listed in [ ]

SizeTo fit head circumference:
Newborn12-14 inches
Baby14-16 inches
Toddler16-18 inches
Child18-20 inches
S20-21 inches
M21-22 inches
L22-23 inches

Gauge

17 sts x 18 rows = 4 inches in pattern.

Use pattern as gauge swatch – after row 18 your work should measure 2 [2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4, 4] inches wide x 4 inches long. Size is adjustable, so exact gauge is not critical.

Abbreviations used

(Pattern is written in US terms)
ch = chain
fp = forward pass (see Special Stitches)
rp = return pass (see Special Stitches)
tss = Tunisian simple stitch (see Special Stitches)
tks = Tunisian knit stitch (see Special Stitches)
st(s) = stitch(es)
RS = right side

Special Stitches

Forward Passes (fp)

Tunisian Simple Stitch (tss): See tss tutorial.

Skip first stitch. Insert hook under front vertical bar of next stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop.

Placement of hook for Tunisian Simple Stitch - Tunisian Twist - Tunisian Crochet Ear Warmer pattern on Stitches n Scraps

Repeat for all stitches across.

Finished Tunisian Simple Stitch forward pass

For a cleaner side edge, on the last stitch only, insert your hook under the vertical bar as normal, and then also under the extra loop of the other color on the side. This is the loop that was created when bringing up that color for the return pass on the previous row. On the very first tss row, you won’t have this extra thread.

Work under both strands on side

Tunisian Knit Stitch (tks): See tks tutorial.

Skip first stitch. Insert hook between front and back vertical bars of next stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop.

Placement of hook for Tunisian Knit Stitch

Repeat for all stitches across.

For a cleaner side edge, on the last stitch only, insert your hook into the stitch as normal, and then also under the extra loop of the other color on the side. This is the loop that was created when bringing up that color for the return pass on the previous row.

Insert hook under extra strand at edge

Return Pass (rp)

This is the same for all rows, regardless of which forward pass is used.

Yarn over and pull through only the first loop on your hook (i.e. chain 1).

Chain 1 for return pass

[Yarn over and pull through 2 loops on your hook] until only 1 loop remains.

Yarn over and pull through 2 for return pass

Instructions

A video tutorial for this pattern is available here.

Each row will have a forward pass in one color, and a return pass in the other color. You will always be making the color changes between the forward and return passes.

To adjust width, start with more or fewer chains.

With A, ch 9 [11, 13, 15, 17, 17, 17]

Row 1: (Foundation Row)

Fp: Insert hook into 2nd ch, yarn over and pull up a loop. Repeat in each ch across. 9 [11, 13, 15, 17, 17, 17] loops on hook.

Rp: With B, work return pass.

finished foundation row

Row 2: (tss)

Fp: With B, work tss forward pass.

Rp: With A, work return pass.

Finished TSS row

Row 3: (tks)

Fp: With A, work tks forward pass.

Rp: With B, work return pass.

Finished tks row

Repeat rows 2-3 until work measures 13 [15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22] inches, or fits comfortably around your head without stretching.

You will lose a bit of length when seaming, so make sure it’s not overly tight.

Bind off: With B, sk first st, sl st in front vertical bar of next st and each st across.

Bound off edge - Tunisian Twist - Tunisian Crochet Ear Warmer pattern on Stitches n Scraps

Fasten off both colors, leaving one 16 inch tail of either color for seaming.

Seaming:

Lay work flat with RS up. On each short edge, pinch the ends together so that it folds in the middle.

fold ends in half

Bring the two folded ends together.

Bring folded ends together

Insert them into each other so that the layers alternate as shown. Make sure the edges are lined up evenly.

Layers sandwiched together

Sew across edge, through all 4 layers

Sew through all 4 layers - Tunisian Twist - Tunisian Crochet Ear Warmer pattern on Stitches n Scraps

Weave in all ends.

Tunisian Twist - Tunisian Crochet Ear Warmer pattern on Stitches n Scraps

Rate this Tunisian Crochet Ear Warmer Pattern!


I hope you enjoyed this Tunisian crochet ear warmer pattern. Thanks to Adrienne McCarthy for testing it!

A downloadable pdf of this pattern is available on Ravelry for a small fee. The fee for the pdf format is to offset the advertising revenue lost when you print or download the pattern rather than viewing it online.

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