I first designed these crocheted scrunchies a couple years ago. They are so easy to make and give your simple hair scrunchie a little something extra. You can even play around with colorblocking or stripes. They work up really quickly, require just a little simple sewing, and make great gifts!

I wear mine a lot, and they hold up well against my crazy thick, heavy hair.

Supplies:

fingering weight yarn (I used Woolike, which is an acrylic/nylon blend, since I have quite a bit in my stash that I’m trying to use up, but I don’t know if I’d necessarily recommend it, as it tangles and knots on itself a lot within the skein which is a huge pain. But it has a good bit of stretch, which works well for a scrunchie. I think this pattern would be a good way to use up cotton yarn scraps as well.)
F/5-3.75mm hook
regular hair elastic
small darning needle
scissors

Stitches Used (US terms):

Foundation Single Crochet (FSC): see tutorial here
Stacked Single Crochet (STSC): see tutorial here
single crochet (sc)
double crochet (dc)

Note: Please credit Tales of Butterflies and myself, Mindy Waters, for any finished scrunchies. Please do not reproduce, copy, or sell this written pattern, just link back here. Thank you!

Directions:

FSC: 20 stitches, turn
Rows 1 – 48: begin each row with a STSC which counts as first dc, 1 dc in each stitch, turn

Join short ends by working row of sc into last row and FSC row together. Fasten off, leaving yarn tail about 25 inches.

It should look something like this.

Fold in half as shown above, with sc hem on the inside.

Place hair elastic inside fold.

Gently work crocheted fabric around hair elastic so that the hair elastic is in the center of the fold and flatten top of fold over bottom so that the outer edges meet up.

Thread long yarn tail through small darning needle and begin sewing edges closed. Seam using a modified mattress stitch by working first from on side to the next, as shown.

Then work needle back through the second side and into the first side again.

Work carefully around, taking care to line up row ends – this is especially important if you’ve made stripes. To keep seam tension from getting to tight, gentle stretch edge every few stitches to even out the tension. Work completely around, then tie off. Weave in any unhidden ends. (some ends can be woven in before seaming, or simple hidden inside scrunchie.

I hope you enjoy this pattern, and I’d love to see any finished ones! You can tag @talesofbutterflies on Instagram or share on Ravelry. If you have any questions, just ask.

(PS. Check out more free patterns and tutorials from tales of butterflies here!)