Richard's hat

This was a Christmas present for our friend Richard.

Richard's hat.

Richard likes hats. Indeed I read Hamilton's Hats by Martine Oborne to him and he spent some time pointing out the hats he shares in common with Hamilton from the book's flysheet. Eventually though, Richard was forced to concede that Hamilton has more hats than he does. I suspect it is only a matter of time before poor Hamilton is outstripped as Richard's hat collection grows.

I have made hats for Richard in the past, including a Victorian gentleman's sleeping cap on teeny, tiny needles. He is a big chap, with a large head (as far making hats are concerned) and with time being short before Christmas, I decided to think big. Big yarn plus big hook or needles, meant a fast project which was important if Richard was to receive this hat for this Christmas rather than next!

With time being short, I decided I had to work from my stash with hook or needles I already owned. I didn't have time to trawl through my many pattern books or Ravelry, trying to match up my available yarns with potential hats, so I decided to wing it. I had an image in my head, did a little swatching to see if it worked and get an idea of gauge. I did a bit of maths and I was off.

Richard's hat is a pointy, cone shaped hat following a medieval styling but worked in crochet rather than knit. It is worked from the crown down to the brim. front post stitches run down the increase lines forming vertical lines and stopping at the brim. A turn up brim has been added complete with a contrast stripe with spike stitches in the stitch that would have held the front post.

Richard's hat being modelled by Richard.

Ravelry Link - http://www.ravelry.com/projects/jules101uk/richards-hat

• Worked on a 6mm hook for a 60cm head.
• Hat length, from point to brim = 26cm.
• Brim turn up = 8.5cm.
• Gauge 10cm = 10.5 stitches x 7 rows.

I used Palette Collection 073 (Hobbycraft) from my stash. This is a listed as a bulky weight yarn, but it is not particularly fluffy or lofty and consists of three fairly tight plies, so I found it worked up nicely on a 6mm hook. I used a denim colour, but added burgundy for a contrast stripe.

Pattern:-

Round 1: using magic ring to start, ch 3 then work 5 tr into loop. ss into 3rd ch to close loop (6st).

Round 2: ch 3, 1 FPtr into same stitch. Work 1 tr, 1 FPtr into  each tr from previous round and join with ss. (12 st).

Round 3; ch 3, *work 1 tr , 1 FPtr into next the st. Work 1 tr.* Repeat between *’s around. 1 FPtr into the last stitch, then join with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch (18 st).

Round 4: ch 3, *work 1 tr, then 1 tr + 1 FPtr into the next st. Work 1 tr.* Repeat between *’s around. 1 FPtr into last the stitch, then join with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch (24 st).

Round 5: ch 3, *work 2 tr, then 1 tr + 1 FPtr into the next st. Work 1 tr.* Repeat between *’s around. 1 FPtr into last the stitch, then join with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch (30 st).

Round 6: ch 3, *work 3 tr, then 1 tr + 1 FPtr into the next st. Work 1 tr.* Repeat between *’s around. 1 FPtr into last the stitch, then join with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch (36 st).

Round 7: ch 3, *work 4 tr, then 1 tr + 1 FPtr into the next st. Work 1 tr.* Repeat between *’s around. 1 FPtr into last the stitch, then join with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch (42 st).

Round 8: ch 3, *work 5 tr, then 1 tr + 1 FPtr into the next st. Work 1 tr.* Repeat between *’s around. 1 FPtr into last the stitch, then join with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch (48 st).

Round 9: ch 3, *work 6 tr, then 1 tr + 1 FPtr into the next st. Work 1 tr.* Repeat between *’s around. 1 FPtr into last the stitch, then join with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch (54 st).

Round 10: ch 3, *work 7 tr, 1 FPtr, 1 tr.* Repeat between  *’s around. At last FPtr do not follow it with a tr, just join with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch (54 st).

Round 11 - 21: Repeat R10.

A brim can add a lot of variance in sizing, making it a useful feature in a gift where you don’t have a head to measure.

Work brim as follows.

Round 22 and 23: ch 3, work 1 tr in each stitch, joining with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch. (54 st).

Round 24: In contrast yarn, ch 3 then *work 7 tr, 1 spike tr, 1 tr.* Repeat between *’s around. After last spike, do not follow with a tr, but join with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch (54 st).

Round 25: Still working in contrast yarn, ch 3 then work 1 tr in each stitch, joining with ss into 3rd ch of starting ch. (54 st).

Round 26: In original working yarn, ch 2 then work 1 dc in each stitch, joining with ss into 2nd chain of starting ch. (54 st).

Cut yarn and weave in all ends.

Magic ring - this is a loop of yarn which is crocheted over and pulled tight to close the hole that would otherwise be left at the crown of the hat. Start by laying the working yarn over your left index finger and looping the yarn around your finger twice. Pinch the yarn together to hold the loops in place, then poke the hook through the double loops. YO, pull back through the loops, YO again (giving 2 loops on the hook) and slip the first YO over the second to form the first chain. Work the remaining stitches in the starting chain, then work the first proper stitch (in this case a treble) into the double loop.Work remaining stitches for the first round into the double loop of yarn, then pull gently on the yarn end to close the loop. Work the join to close the first round, then crochet as normal.

FPtr - Front post treble stitch - YO, insert hook from front to back between the posts of the current and next stitch from the previous row. Push the hook from back to front, between the posts of the next stitch and one after, so the post for the next stitch from the previous row is lying across the hook. YO, pull yarn back through the post giving 3 loops on the hook. Work the rest of the treble stitch as normal.

Spike treble - Work a treble stitch into the top of the stitch two rounds below the current working round, creating an elongated or spike stitch.

Richard's hat - from the back.

The pattern as listed will give a very big hat to fit a large head (60 - 62 cm) complete with a wide contrast stripe. Fit is not exact and increasing the turn up at the brim allows the hat to be worn on a smaller head, including my 56 cm head but I found it very bulky. If making this hat for a smaller head, the following modifications work well:-

• Stop the increases at round 8, giving you a working stitch count of 48 which at this gauge should fit a 54 to 58 cm head.
• Alternatively for 58cm head, use 7 as your repeat count and stop increasing when you have 49 stitches at the brim, be warned though, this will give a slightly more rounded hat.
• Work 11 rows from last increase to start of brim.
• On the brim, only work a single row (including spike stitches) in contrast yarn.

I was very pleased with how the hat turned out and I think it went down well with Richard. Dave liked it too and asked if I could make one for him, hence stopping to work out how to make a smaller version. I'll have to update with pictures of Dave once I've had a chance to block the smaller hat.

Copyright 2014 Julie Spriddle. All rights reserved.