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I have been busy crocheting more hats. In my last post I wrote about a new all front post brimmed hat I tried. I really liked how it came out and crocheted this one for my grandson.
The hat was worked seamless after row 2 which makes it nice looking without the normal joining showing on the hat. Photo below shows how it looks without joining except for FPDC rows.
I want to share a new twist on an old hat pattern of mine. My original ribbed hat pattern features a hat band that alternates between front post double crochet (FPDC) and back post double crochet (BPDC).
For this new hat band, basically you want to follow my original crochet pattern for the ribbed hat but stop at about 7 inches in length while working the half double crochet (HDC) rounds. Depending on the yarn, I find that I crochet about 18-19 rounds of HDC to reach 7 inches. Then it’s time to work all FPDC for 5 rounds. The final length of this crocheted FPDC beanie is about 8 inches.
Here is a closeup of the FPDC hat band. It does tighten up the hat and makes a nice finished brim.
One last comment about the brown hat. I tried a new idea so I didn’t have to do a Ch-2 and join with a slip stitch at the end of each round. You don’t have to use this method but it does help the hat look as it doesn’t have the noticeable joining seam on each round. Here is what I did.
At round 3, I worked a SC into the next HDC stitch to start the round. Then I just crocheted using HDC stitches to round 18 all without joining or the Ch-2 which leaves a seam. On round 18, I did a sc and slip stitch to join the last rounds together. Then Ch-2 and worked FPDC for 5 rounds for the hat brim with the typical joining.
Here is one other hat style idea to share.
These last few weeks, I have been busy crocheting more hats for the Warmth for Warriors annual hat drive. These hats were crocheted using the free Red Heart Ridged Hat Pattern. I first saw this hat on a Red Heart yarn wrapper and really liked the look of the crocheted cables on the hat.
I have crocheted this pattern using a I hook and also a J hook. Both times the hat is too short without having to add some additional rows to get the desired length I need for a men’s hat size.
I have found that if I add 3 extra rows in the middle I am at about 7.25” long in length. Then I crochet rows 14-17 (4 rows) for the trim rows. Length is about 8.5” long and fits nicely.
Here is one more hat I crocheted using the pattern and added some camo type yarn for stripes.
I tried two new hat patterns for Warmth for Warriors this last month. Both of these patterns are free from the author’s website. First one I did is the cable & stripes hat by Dianne Hunt. Her blog Cre8tion Crochet has the hat pattern available free. I love the results of this hat pattern!
This second one is called ribbed wonder hat. This pattern calls for the hat to be crocheted with bulky yarn but I crocheted it with worst weight yarn. The free ribbed wonder hat pattern is found at 365 Crochet Knit Too site.
This hat pattern is worked by crocheting in the back loops to create a knit-look ribbing. As I said, I used worst wool for my hat. I started with chaining 45 stitches using an I hook for 44 rows. The hat is a bit tight on my head so next time I think I will do 46 rows but I do crocheting tightly. So if you use worst weight yarn, check your fit before fastening off. My length was fine at 8 inches with the folded cuff as shown above.
The grand kids asked for crocheted hats with a pom pom for Christmas. I will be the first to admit that I am not very good at making pom poms. I remember I tried making some many years ago and failed miserably. But the girls wanted them so I thought I’d better try my hand at pom pom making again.
I did not have a store-brought pom pom maker so I used this on-line tutorial to make my pom poms. I looked at several different tutorials and found this one very useful with many step-by-step photos.
Here are my two crocheted hats complete with a homemade pom pom.
I used my ribbed hat pattern and just adjusted down the stitches to work even to get the correct sizes for the girls. As for the pom pom, after having an issue with the first one where the tying yarn broke, I finally got it fixed. My pom poms required lots of trimming and shaping but in the end, I think they turned out looking pretty good. I hope the hats fit nicely and the girls enjoy their hats for Christmas.
