I don’t need a new crochet hat, I have plenty of hats, but when is that ever an excuse? As a crocheter compelled to make stuff out of yarn, hats are pretty good palette cleansers in between more complex projects. They are also great stash busters and I am definitely a fan of a decent stashbuster.
The idea behind this crochet hat is to use my pretty leftovers of mohair yarn from all the fluffy adventures I’ve been on over the last couple of years.
Before you read on for the pattern and its details, I have also made a YouTube video tutorial, which you can find HERE. During the editing process, I noticed that I told everyone I used a 4.5mm hook to make the hat, I didn’t. I used a 5mm. Please ignore “Tutorial Zeens”, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Well, mostly she does, everything else is good information….
Notes on Making Your Crochet Hat
A Crochet Rib Stitch
I wanted to keep things simple but also use the best kind of crochet rib stitch. There are lots of hats crocheted in this kind of method but often I see a half treble (US half dc) worked in the back loop only. I love a htr back loop only, but not for a rib. There are better options that are tidier and more effective, like the one I’ve used in this pattern.
For this hat I opted for a yarn over slip stitch (YO sl st) worked in the back loop only (BLO). It worked just as I wanted it to. It’s a stitch that would look great in fishermen’s rib style jumpers (must make one of these).
Please watch the video tutorial for a stitch demo. It’s one of those stitches that’s a little bit fiddly when you’re just learning, but once it becomes a rhythm, it’s actually quite fun to do.
The stitch goes like this: Yarn over (YO), and insert hook into the stitch, yarn over and pull through all loops on hook.
The Yarn Leftovers
The main yarn I used was a DK merino held with a laceweight kid silk mohair. If you have never used mohair yarn before but fancy giving it go, check out my tips of using mohair yarn.
The blips of contrast colours were a selection of all fluffy yarns in my stash leftover from previous projects. Mine range from laceweight to DK weight to chunky.
You can get fluffy yarn across all budgets and I threw everything into this hat regardless of weight or brand. The Christmas before last I made mohair and brushed alpaca scrunchies for my nieces. The leftovers are in this hat. The summer of that year I made a colourful cardigan out of MYPZ chunky mohair. (oh lordy, I called it DK in the video – another mistake!). I also had fluff from other projects too. Let’s chuck it all at the hat!
The colour changes are pretty lazy. Working with two strands all the time, whenever I wanted to introduce a new shade, I popped the one I didn’t want out of the way and laid a new strand with the one still in use. Then I swapped back when the contrast colour ran out, or whenever it felt right. When not in use, I floated most of the main colour across the wrong side of the work. Sometimes, if they were overly long, I’d snip them and rejoin later.
Crocheting a Hat to Fit
I worked 70 rows of 40 stitches. The piece of fabric measures 23 (the hat’s depth) x 47cm (the hat’s length). My head measures 56cm, which is quite a few centimetres more than the length of the hat. This is because you need negative ease in a hat so it stretches to fit. Standard negative ease is about 5-6cm for a hat. Mine is a little more than that, as it will stretch out further upon wearing. Essentially, my own head is “blocking” it out as I wear it.
Blocking? Simply put, blocking means to wash or steam your woolly items and then (gently or aggressively) stretch out the item as it dries. It will then be fixed in its new state. I have no intention of properly blocking the hat. I have no intention of washing the hat at all (unless it falls into a muddy puddle or something) so I don’t think blocking is too urgent. It depends on your own personal preference for a project like this. Yes, a gentle steam block will even out stitches. And yes, it will create additional length and width by being stretched out. It depends on how particular you are as to whether you want to do it properly. This is a quick win crochet hat so I’ve just eyeballed it.
By all means, if you’re a hardcore perfectionist, make up a swatch, wash it and leave to dry. You can then measure how many rows and stitches there are over 10cm (4 inches). From these measurements, you can work out crochet Gauge.
Here’s my unblocked gauge: 18 sts and 15 rows per 10cm. It varies a little bit here and there when the different weights of yarn are applied.
Crochet Ribbed Mohair Hat Pattern
Things You Need To Crochet A Stashbuster Hat
- 100g of DK yarn, I used West Yorkshire Spinners “Bo Peep”, which comes in 50g balls.
- 25g kid silk mohair, laceweight. I used Drops.
- Lots of different contrasting colours of various mohair, brushed alpaca, or similar.
- You will need extra of everything for the pompom. If you’re shopping for the whole shebang, add 3x 50g dk and 2x 25g laceweight to your shopping basket for the main body of the hat.
- 5mm hook. This is me going up a hook size than I’d normally use. I found it too fiddly to get the hook into the Back Loop Only (BLO) with a smaller hook.
Stashbuster Hat Pattern
Chain 41
Row 1: In the second chain from hook YO sl st, YO sl st to end, turn. [40 sts]
Row 2 – Row 70 (or however many rows you need for a bigger/smaller noggin): 1ch, YO sl st BLO to end, turn. [40 sts]
This finished piece measures approx 23 x 47cm.
When changing colours, ensure ends are all on the “wrong side”. I didn’t worry about sewing them in. I am going to let their flyaway fibre structure do the work for me. Mohair never wants to let go so I’m pretty sure none of these contrast colours will work themselves loose. If in doubt, feel free to tie ends together before tidying up the ends with a pair of scissors.
When you fasten off, leave a long tail for sewing. Sew up the side using a whip stitch, do this wrong side out. I have demonstrated a way of doing this in the tutorial that ensures it’s pretty much invisible. Using the same length of yarn, run the needle along the top circumference of the hat, going in and out of the rows. Gently but firmly pull to close. Then, secure everything in place by working the needle around the gathers, back and forth, again and again to lock it all in place. Tie off, but don’t snip just yet.
Tiddly Om Pom Pom
I am not going to write a step-by-step process for pompom making. I am not good enough! But you will hear my delight in the video tutorial when I made the one for the hat. I have every confidence that you will be better than me at making a pompom. But at least I didn’t break the yarn this time. Be careful when tying off the pompom, as I have a tendency to break the yarn by pulling too hard!
When attaching your big fluffy sphere to the hat, be firm with the tying so the pompom won’t loosely flap about atop your head. Once secure, I also tied all loose ends together and then snipped to trim rather than sew them in. No one has time for that, especially you aren’t going to see them.
If you don’t want to make a fool of yourself like I did you can always buy a ready made one?
;p