My awesomely fantastic husband got a job transfer, which means that my family is going to be packing up and moving away. The next few weeks will be crazy busy for us as we pack up our current home, find a new place and deal with all the details in between. This means, I will be taking a few weeks off from pattern designing to put my attention toward my family. I'm very grateful for all of you and your understanding! I will still be trying to do my best to answer emails and help you all out, and I will be back with some super fun ideas!
Last week I posted a hat to match the scarf I had made a few months ago. The scarf had gone to my 4 year old daughter (she absolutely loves it and wears it everywhere we go) and it got my 5 year old son hinting that maybe he needed a scarf, too. He loves the color green, so that is the color we went with. I took him to the store with me and we picked out just the color he wanted. After playing around with some stitching options, we found something he liked and went with it.
Boys Textured Scarf
Materials:
*H Hook
*Caron Simply Soft in Dark Sage
To change the width of the scarf: Begin with a multiple of 3+2
To make a scarf for a toddler/young child:
Ch 20.
R1: Beginning in 2nd ch from hook, SC in each ch across.
R2: Ch 2. {1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC} in first stitch. *Skip next 2 stitches. {1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC} in next stitch* Repeat to end, 1 SC in last stitch. Turn.
R3-R140: Repeat Row 2.
R141: Ch 1. SC in each stitch across. Tie off and hide ends.
Obviously, you can just add more (or less) rows to your liking.
I apologize up front for not having a video for the Anthro hat. Please understand that I am a homeschooling mother of 5 kids, with a full time working/student husband and sometimes it takes up to a week for me to get through a single Etsy order. So, extra time just doesn't come easily to me! I also don't have a working digital camera anymore, so I am struggling with figuring out how to get someone to sit still long enough with me to record it with something else. I tell ya, it's been an eventful few weeks!
Anyway, let's get on to the fun stuff!
Remember the Fall Lace Scarf I posted back in September? It was a big hit! It works up quickly and easily and is made with a beautiful yarn! I sold a few in the Etsy Shop and have received a special request order for a hat to go with the scarf. Of course, I obliged, and here is what I've come up with!
I know it's winter now (the snow we had this weekend proves it!), but I kept the names similar so that you easily find the matching set.
As you can see, the stitch pattern is the same, but now we're working in rounds to create a beanie style hat. I tried to get a couple of different angles so you can see how the lace looks with the hat on. Have you ever taken a picture of the top of your head? Awkward! :)
My pattern testers (an awesome group of ladies who devoted some time to this pattern last week!) have all come back saying that the hat turned out a little small for them. It seems like some people said the hat fit for an adult, some said it fit their teens/preteens and one person even said it barely fit her 5 year old! My apologies for not measuring the gauge as I made the hat. I'm new to writing patterns for the public and have never paid much attention to gauge before. I just created what came to mind. So, I will have to look into that and implement it in the future! Also, I think that I may stitch a bit looser than some others. So, for my petite adult head, this pattern worked just fine, but you may want to adjust depending on how tightly you stitch. I'd recommend adding additional rounds to enlarge the hat. I will point out where to do that in the pattern. With that said, here's the pattern.
Fall Lace Hat
Materials:
* H Hook
* Caron Simply Soft yarn in Garnet or Autumn Red (both are beautiful reds, and I've seen that most stores either carry one or the other but rarely both.)
Please Note:
Where the joins occur changes in this pattern! In some rounds it is in the middle of a chain 3 and in some rounds it is at the top of a stitch. Pay close attention to the join instructions because this makes up the lace pattern!
Begin with Magic Circle or Ch 4 and join with sl st.
R1: Ch 3. 8 DC in circle. Join with sl st in top of first DC.
R2: Ch 4 (counts as DC, ch1). 1 DC in same space. *1 DC, ch 1, 1 DC* in each space around. Join with sl st in 3rd chain of chain 4.
R3: Sl st and ch 4 (counts as DC, ch 1). 1 DC in same space. *1 DC, ch1, 1 DC* in each space around. Join with sl st in 3rd chain of ch 4.
R4: Ch 3 (counts as DC). 1 DC in same space. 2 DC in each ch 1 space around. Join with sl st in top of ch 3. If you need to increase the size of the hat, you'll need to repeat rounds 3 and 4 to the appropriate size for the person you are creating the hat for.
R5: Sl st in next stitch. Sl st in space between the posts of the next 2 DC's of previous round. Ch 4 (counts as DC, ch 1). 1 DC in same space. *Skip 1 space. 1 DC, ch 1, 1 DC in next space.* Repeat around. Join with sl st in 3rd chain of ch 4.
R6: Sl st in ch 1 space. Ch 3 (counts as DC). 2 DC in same space. Ch 1. *3 DC, ch 1* in each ch 1 space around. Join with sl st in top of ch 3.
R7: Sl st to the first ch 1 sp. Ch 4 (counts as DC, ch 1). DC in same space. Ch 1. *Skip 3 st, DC ch1, DC in same stitch. Ch 1* Repeat around. Join with sl st in 3rd chain of ch 4.
R8: Sl st in 1st ch1 space. Ch 3 (counts as DC). 2 DC in same space. *Skip 1 ch space. 3 DC in ch 1.* Repeat around. Join with sl st in top of ch 3.
R9: Skip first 2 stitches. Sl st in next stitch (middle DC of 3 DC cluster of previous row). Ch 4 (counts as DC, ch 1). 1 DC in same stitch. Skip 2 stitches. *1 DC, ch 1, 1 DC in next stitch (middle DC of next 3 DC cluster)*. Repeat to end. Join with sl st in 3rd chain of ch 4.
R10-R17: Repeat rounds 8 & 9. Tie off to finish and hide ends.
Were the holidays as busy and crazy for you as they were for me? Wow! What an end to the year! 2011 was great, and I am looking forward to a fun and adventurous new year in 2012!
I'm excited to start off the new year with a new pattern! Sometimes I want an easy hat, but I don't want to do the same old single or double crochet. I like to mix texture in, and keep things interesting without getting too complicated. Crochet is supposed to be fun and relaxing, right? The seed stitch technique lets you have the fun of textured stitches, without being too complicated or making you crazy when you lose your place or forget which stitch you're on! This hat looks more complicated than it really is! I'd rate this hat as Easy-Peasy! ;)
White, Teal & Red Pom Pom Hat
This hat has beautiful colors and is fun to wear!
The combination of stitches makes this fast and easy hat look sophisticated.
Who doesn't love a good pom pom? ;)
Toddler Sized Pom Pom Hat
Materials:
- H Hook
- Caron Simply Soft Yarn in White, Blue Mint & Autumn Red
- Pom Pom Maker (or cardboard to create one-can come from a simple cereal box)
Special Stitch used:
Seed Stitch: *1 SC, 1 DC* repeated to end of round. On next round of seed stitch, reverse the order (*1 DC, 1 SC*) so that the DC is made in SC of previous row, and SC is made in DC of previous row.
Begin with White
Chain an even number of stitches. I did 36, but in hindsight, that was a bit too much for my daughter. I'd recommend making a chain that extends about 1/2 inch beyond the corners of the head if you were measuring up from the ears. The foundation chain is the top of the hat.
R1: SC in 2nd ch from hook, and each chain across. 3 SC in last stitch, turning around as you go. SC in each chain across on the other side (making this into a round). 3 SC in last stitch. Sl st in first SC made.
R2-R10: Ch 1. Seed Stitch (will be known as SS throughout the rest of the pattern) around. Sl st in first stitch made.
R11-R12: Change color to Blue Mint. Ch 1. SS around. Sl st in first stitch made.
R13: Change color to White. Ch 1. SS around. Sl st in first stitch made.
R14: Change color to Autumn Red. Ch 1. SS around. Sl st in first stitch made.
R15:Change color to White. Ch 1. SS around. Sl st in first stitch made.
R16-17:Change color to Blue Mint. Ch 1. SS around. Sl st in first stitch made.
R18-R20: Change color to White. Ch 1. SS around. Sl st in first stitch made. Tie off end at the end of last round.
The size of this hat can easily be adjusted as you see fit. To make larger or smaller, adjust the amount of chains you'll make at the beginning of the pattern (keeping it an even number to allow for the pattern of the seed stitch), and making more o less rows depending on the length desired.
POM POM'S:
For my pom poms, I used a pom pom maker that I picked up at my local craft store for about $5. I've seen them in JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby and Walmart, and I'm sure you can find them in just about any craft section that is selling yarn and hooks. They are cheap and easy to use. Just follow the directions on you pom pom maker (as models vary) and sew them on in the top corners of the hat.
If you don't have a pom pom maker, you can make one using cardboard. Some people find this easy, so you may want to give it a shot before you run out looking for a pom pom maker!
Take cardboard and cut out 2 donut shapes. I'd recommend keeping the diameter around 5-6 inches, but the donuts need to be the same size.
You will then hold the two donut shapes together and wrap a length of yarn around the shapes, from the outside of the donut to the center of the donut. You will end up with what looks like a donut wrapped in yarn. The amount of yarn you use the wrap it is up to you. I used 3 strands of yarn, and used a length of yarn that was about 3 feet long. You don't need to use that much, but keep in mind that the fullness of your pom pom depends on how much yarn you use. Don't go crazy, but don't skimp out either.
Now you will take a pair of scissors and cut the yarn between the two donuts. When you have cut all the strands DO NOT PULL THE DONUTS APART! Leave them close together, take another strand of yarn that is about 10 inches long and wrap it around the center of the strands, between the donut shapes. Tie it up, then gently pull the shapes apart. Roll your pompom gently between your hands to fluff it up, then attach to your hat. :)
In case you'd like to see the technique, here is a video I found on YouTube:
