Patterns for Your Knitting Adventures
The body is mostly half double crochet, with a few rounds through just one of the loops instead of both to form ridges. A little bit of leftover bright pink yarn from another project provides interest in stripes. The hem of the hat is all worked just through one of the back legs to form bridges all the way around to differentiate it from the body of the hat. I make most of my hats in half double crochet – it’s faster than single crochet, but more dense than double crochet.
I took a break from my usual knitting to crochet a couple of hats. Crochet hats are a great way to use up my leftovers, since crocheting is a great way to eat up lots of yarn quickly and I can crochet a hat in just a couple of hours. I don’t crochet as much anymore, since it has a tendency to hurt my wrists, but I made an exception in this case since this color combination was just calling out for the structure that crochet can give to a hat. These are alpaca yarns, both the same brand and both found at the thrift store. A varied between working rounds of single crochet, double crochet, and half double crochet to keep the hat interesting to make. For the bottom to help it draw in and keep from stretching out I worked just rounds of single crochet, then added a slight picot to the hem.
I made this hat to use up two small skeins of leftover yarn from other projects. Both yarns were worsted weight and fairly muted, so they seemed like a good combination. I knit about an inch and a half of ribbing before starting the body. The top of that hat decreases quickly in just a few rounds as is my usual style of hat decrease.
I added a final bit of bright color at the top to provide a bit of a pop. the only thing I would do differently next time is to be a bit more careful about knitting in at the ends of my yarn. You can sort of see where I switched colors, not a big deal, but annoying all the same.
Another hat from yarn found at the thrift store. This yarn was a nice find – alpaca (a blend I think, but the label is long gone), fuzzy and warm. I used a longtail cast on and knit one by one ribbing for about 3 inches. I knit two rounds to give enough space before the yarn over round, then worked yarn over, knit two together around for one round. The rest of the body and top of the hat is all stockinette stitch. The top is decreased quickly over several rounds. The ribbing helps keep the alpaca yarn stretching out is much as it would if the hat was just in stockinette stitch.
I didn’t set out to make this happen look like an Easter egg, it just kind of happened! I was trying to use up all of the pastels in one go, and it ended up looking better than expected. The pop of bright purple right above the ribbing really makes this hat for me, making it look really fun and cute. I knit this hat in wool tapestry yarn I found out the thrift store. The yarn is worsted weight yarn more suitable for outerwear than next to the skin, but that will make the hat quite sturdy and warm, perfect for someone who is outside a lot. The ribbing would’ve looked better if I switch to smaller needles to work the ribbing, or increased a few stitches before working the body of the hat.
I knit this hat in a hand painted wool and alpaca blend yarn. I worked one by one ribbing through the entire body of the hat. To prevent flaring at the cast on edge, I worked two rounds of slip stitch edging. To add interest and break up the ribbing, I worked two garter stitch ridges about 3 ½ inches up the body of the hat. The top is decreased while maintaining the ribbing so that it remains stretchy like the rest of the hat. The gray colors of the hat are nice, but the guard hairs show up quite a bit in this yarn, making it itchier than some people might like for a hat that sits against the skin.
