So I’ve got a pattern to share….not the one I’ve been promising since the beginning of September….but a different one, more basic, but more applicable in my opinion!!
The basic crochet hat.
Right now crochet seems to be enjoying a bit of a resurgence so to speak…..it seems everyday someone new is popping up with their latest crochet creation….and oddly enough it seems to be the hats that are the most popular.
When I started crocheting hats I followed a pattern for some other hat and altered it (and by alter I mean lots of ripping out work and trying again) as I went because the only pattern I found wasn’t even close to what I wanted….but it was a start….
Now after well over a 100 hats made/attempted/frogged (haha) I have a sizing chart and a ruler and every hat I make is made to size…..unlike the first few I made that I just made them to fit the kid and repeatedly tried it on them!!
Just like there are many ways to do many things, the same goes for the “basic” hat….my way (….or the highway) is just my perferred method. I like to do all my increasing at the top and work even after until the hat is the right height. Many work their increases all the way through the hat but I find the hats fit sloppy and slip on babies and kids heads!
I’m going to go over the three different ways to increase, and then leave the sizing chart I use after the pattern!
Basic Hat pattern:
A basic hat can start one of three ways with either sc, hdc, or dc. Depends on what you want. Dc of course works up the fasted, and sc the slowest. Dc also tends to “hole-ly-er” then hdc and sc. I personally don’t sc very often I find it quite tedious and boring…..And for most character hats the dc isn’t a “tight” enough stitch to add appliques on to. I would say 85% or better of my hats are done in hdc. But I will go over each way to increase.
Single Crochet Hats:
Sc hats are increased in a round by 6 sts each round.
Round 1 – Start with a magic circle (youtube if in doubt) or ch 4 and sl st into first ch. Ch 1, pull ch 1 tight and sc 6 times in circle or chain ring and sl st to 1st sc. (6sc)
Round 2 – Ch 1, pull ch 1 tight, 2 sc in each sc. sl st to 1st sc in round. (12sc)
R3 – Ch 1, pull tight, *1 sc in nx st, 2sc in nx st, repeat from * until the end, sl st to first sc in round. (18 sc)
R4 – Ch 1, pull tight, *1 sc in ea of nx 2 sts, 2sc in nx st, repeat from * until end, sl st to first sc in the round. (24sc)
R5- Continue each row in the same manner adding one more sc in ea st before the nx 2sc in one st.
Eg: R5 – 1sc in ea of nx 3 sts, 2 sc in nx st. (30sc)
Then R6 – 1sc in ea of nx 4 sts, 2sc in nx st. (36sc)
Then R7 – 1sc in ea of nx 5 sts, 2sc in nx st. (42sc) etc…
You will start to see where you need to increase as you go along. Continue to increase by 6 sc each round until you’ve reached the diameter of the size you want. Then work even (no increasing) for the remainder of the hat until desired height is reached for the size.
Hdc Crochet Hats:
Hdc hats are increased in a round by 8 sts each round.
Round 1 – Start with a magic circle (youtube if in doubt) or ch 6 and sl st into first ch. Ch 1, pull ch 1 tight and hdc 8 times in circle or chain ring and sl st to 1st hdc. (8hdc)
Round 2 – Ch 1, pull ch 1 tight, 2 hdc in each hdc. sl st to 1st hdc in round. (16hdc)
R3 – Ch 1, pull tight, *1 hdc in nx st, 2hdc in nx st, repeat from * until the end, sl st to first hdc in round. (24hdc)
R4 – Ch 1, pull tight, *1 hdc in ea of nx 2 sts, 2hdc in nx st, repeat from * until end, sl st to first hdc in the round. (32hdc)
R5- Continue each row in the same manner adding one more hdc in ea st before the nx 2hdc in one st.
Eg: R5 – 1hdc in ea of nx 3 sts, 2 hdc in nx st. (40 hdc)
Then R6 – 1hdc in ea of nx 4 sts, 2 hdc in nx st. (48 hdc)
Then R7 – 1hdc in ea of nx 5 sts, 2hdc in nx st. (56 hdc) etc…
You will start to see where you need to increase as you go along. Continue to increase by 8 hdc each round until you’ve reached the diameter of the size you want. Then work even (no increasing) for the remainder of the hat until desired height is reached for the size.
Double Crochet Hat:
Dc hats are increased in a round by 12 sts each round. And by now if you’ve read all three you should see that the increases are done the same for all! You just start with a different number of sts at the beginning!
Round 1 – Start with a magic circle (youtube if in doubt) or ch 8 and sl st into first ch. Ch 3 (counts as one dc throughout pattern) and dc 11 times in circle or chain ring and sl st to top ch of 1st ch3. (12 dc)
Round 2 – Ch 3, 2 dc in each st, sl st into top of ch3. (24dc)
R3 – Ch 3, *1 dc in nx st, 2dc in nx st, repeat from * until the end, 1dc in same st as ch 3, sl st to top of ch 3. (36dc)
R4 – Ch 3, *1 dc in nx 2 st, 2dc in nx st, repeat from * until the end, 1dc in same st as ch 3, sl st to top of ch 3. (48dc)
R5- Continue each row in the same manner adding one more dc in ea st before the nx 2dc in one st.
Eg: R5 – 1dc in ea of nx 3 sts, 2 dc in nx st. (60dc)
Then R6 – 1dc in ea of nx 4 sts, 2dc in nx st. (72dc)
Then R7 – 1dc in ea of nx 5 sts, 2dc in nx st. (84dc) etc…
You will start to see where you need to increase as you go along. Continue to increase by 12 dc each round until you’ve reached the diameter of the size you want. Then work even (no increasing) for the remainder of the hat until desired height is reached for the size.
And just before I get into the sizes here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way….
1. Work your ends in as you go….I promise you will thank me later!
2. I find it useful to crochet the last round of the hat using a hook one size smaller than the one used for the rest of the hat to give the hat a more secure fit! (Do not do this if adding ear flaps!!!!!!!!!!!!! It makes the hat bulge funny….trust me not a good look, lol)
3. Ear flaps, each ear flap should be approx 1/6 of the total number of sts in the round and should be attached to sit a couple sts back from center of the sides of the hat to cover the ears properly! Example: If the hat is 60 sts around, then each ear flap should be about 10 sts wide (adjust to your taste). And starting at the center back where you finished of the main hat. {(divide the total number of sts in half which would be 30 in this case or half the hat (front and back that is) now divide that in half again because you’re starting in the middle of the back, which would be 15 and round down a couple sts to an even number like 12. 12 is the number of sts to start the ear flaps from the center of the back of the hat!) } Now count over 12 sts to the left starting with your slst then begin the ear flap by crocheting 10 sts! The other ear flap you need to count over 12 to the right from the center back then count out another 10 sts (for the ear flap itself) and start crocheting in the 10th st!! (Hope that makes sense, please ask if it doesn’t!!!!)
4. Try to use the same brand, fibre content, and weight of yarn for the whole hat. It looks way cleaner and polished. Exceptions: when adding very tiny details and you need to use a smaller weight of yarn, just keep the fibre content the same. Also when adding a furry detail like a lion’s mane, inner bunny ears etc changing the yarn completely usually adds a cuter touch!
(I am VERY bad at ignoring tip 4…..I like to use up my yarn extras for adding details!!!)
5. Cheat….use google….google crochet “type of” hat you want….eg. google “crochet lion hat”, look at images and see all of the inspiration that other people have come up with!!! Let’s not reinvent the wheel here….making things by hand is enough work as it is!
(I am VERY good at adhereing to tip 5)
6. Crochet your appliques first! Again you will thank me later! Sew all the ends in too. Many times by doing this I’m actually able to crochet the appliques on as I go….especailly ears….and by doing so they are better secured in the hat and will NEVER come undone unless the hat gets totally destroyed!!
7. READ THE LABELS!! When buying the yarn for your hat, keep in mind who will wear it! Sure natural fibres are beautiful and amazing and, and, and, but lets face it when walking down the street pushing your 2 yo in the stroller, they will (AND I WHOLE HEARTEDLY PROMISE) keep their hat on until you’re right beside a huge mud puddle and then chuck it into that oh-so-not-clean puddle….or they may have discovered the skill of dropping the hat just so, you happen to not be looking, and you roll over it with the dirty tires, and discover that they’ve dropped it when you then step on the hat…. so ya most of the hats I make for kids and babies are Acrylic yarns for the basic simple fact anything NOT washable will probably never get worn or ruined get on it’s first wear…and who has time to delicately hand wash their child’s hat after EVERY outing….
(And most people LOVE anything machine washable!!!)
8. Crochet stretches!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yarn stretches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Unless you crochet wickedly tight, and I mean so tight you can barely force the hook through each st) So make your hats to fit the small size of a size range. Eg: if you’re making a 12-24mth size, make it to fit a 12mth old, not the 24mth old. I promise the hat will stretch, and then stretch some more….hats really like to relax!! (Keep in mind my sizing chart already takes in account for this, so my 12-24mth size is based on the average-ish 12mth old’s head circumference!!!! I even looked up the WHO growth charts for children!!!)
Size Chart is here on it’s own post: Click Here
Btw did I mention hubby is away….got some rearranging plans for the house!! Do you wait until your significant other is away to do major projects around the house????? I sure do! My loving, wonderful husband lacks…well…let’s call it “the vision”! hahahaha
Thanks for keeping me company, and as always I love to hear from you all! Let me know if you see any errors, or what you would like to see, or just say hi!
~AB
PS: I think this is the 1st time I’ve made it through a whole post without mentioning iced coffee…..opps….scratch that! lol
Auntie Bee Crochet 