Summer is almost at the door and I had not made a summer hat for my older granddaughter. So I got started. The size depends on the material and crochet hook, as well as how tightly you crochet. I think I crocheted and unravelled it five times before I got the size right. I used 100% cotton yarn and a 1.5 mm crochet hook.
I crocheted according to the chart. I kept measuring and at first it looked as though it would be too small. Then I made the starting ring with 6 chain stitches and 20 stitches on the second row. No good: it started to ripple and became far too wide, about my own size. I unravelled it. I tried a couple fewer stitches. Still too big, so I unravelled again. Finally I decided to follow the chart exactly but crochet a little more loosely. After measuring several times, it became clear that yes, it really could still be larger, so I added one extra increase row. On my final increase row I have three chain stitches before the post stitch. That gave a hat circumference of 48 cm. From the third row onwards I worked the first stitch of each group into the last stitch of the previous row’s group and the rest as shown in the chart, to create that little hole 🙂
I puzzled over the post-stitch symbol for quite a while. In the end I asked in Facebook’s Heegeldajate Klubi crochet group and got confirmation that my thinking was on the right track. Look here
I crocheted until the hat was 17 cm deep and then started the brim. I used half trebles. I am not some wonderfully skilled crocheter, I do not invent patterns and charts myself, and the thought of making a wide brim left me wondering how on earth to increase it. In typical fashion, I crocheted and unravelled. Eventually I increased one half treble at every post of the hat pattern. I did that on every row, making four rows of half trebles in all. It did ripple, yes, but let it ripple. It looks prettier that way. I worked the fifth and final row in crab stitch, from left to right. It is a little awkward, but worth it because the edge becomes neat and firm.
For the tie I crocheted a chain of 150 stitches and worked back along it in ordinary double crochet.
The flowers gave me trouble too, but as always Google is my friend. The search led me to YouTube, where there is no shortage of this sort of thing. I eventually chose dahlias and decided those were what I would make.
I began with 60 chain stitches and worked back in half trebles. On the next row I crocheted 3 chains, skipped two stitches and joined with a double crochet into the third stitch, repeating to the end. That gives 20 arches. On the return row, into each arch I worked: double crochet, half treble, treble, double treble, triple treble, double treble, treble, half treble, double crochet. I worked all the arches this way. At the end I left a good length of yarn and threaded it into a darning needle. Then I rolled the arches up, sewing each turn firmly in place. Once the circle was formed, I stitched through it securely again and gave the flower its final shape.
I threaded the tie through the holes in the hat, attached the flowers and, using a little starch spray, pressed the brim and very lightly the hat itself.