It’s that time of year. Cozy hats, fluffy scarves, and pretty mittens. I made this slouch hat for my oldest daughter, but she’s shy and I can never get her to model for me. Kaelyn happily accepted the challenge, so here she is in her sister’s new hat. This hat was made to fit a small adult head, but as you can see it also fits well on a nine-year-old. It can easily be expanded to be a bit larger.
The yarn:
100% acrylic Herrshners Sport Yarn in White and Herrshners Baby Yarn in Baby Blue. I used one skein of each and had some left over.
Method: Tunisian in the round
I worked this hat in Tunisian crochet in the round. To do so you’ll need a double-ended 6mm hook. If you’ve never worked Tunisian crochet in the round before, it can be a little tricky, but it doesn’t take long to get the hang of it. Basically, instead of working a return pass, you just work continuously, using a second strand of yarn to work what would be the return pass (in the opposite direction) as you go. So you work some stitches, turn your project over, work the “return” of those stitches, turn over, repeat. The tricky part is in keeping your tension even on those ends when you’re turning your project over, being careful not to let any loops slip off your hook, and being careful not to tangle your two strands of yarn. All of these can quickly be overcome with a little practice.
Here is a quick tutorial on working Tunisian in the round on Interweave.
A new stitch?
I may have invented a new Tunisian stitch for this project (correct me if I’m wrong). I’ve not seen this one anywhere and couldn’t find it in any kind of search. I wanted to get those pretty raised ridges reminiscent of a beehive. To do this, I turned down the previous row and stitched into the back bar. This holds down what was previously the top of the stitch, creating the raised ridge. It’s easy and fast. So, unless I’m wrong and this is already a stitch (and in which case I would love to know what it’s called), I’ll name it the Tunisian bedtime stitch (tbt)… because you have to turn down the covers. 🙂
Here’s how you do it:
I started out with several rows of Tunisian knit stitch, but you can do this after any stitch that leaves a ridge on the back of the fabric.
The fabric has a natural curl to it. We’re going to use that top row that you can see curled down and stitch into the back bar that you can see peeking up behind it. In the second picture, the top row is folded down. You stitch into the space between the posts.
Here I’ve stretched out the fabric so you can see better. Basically, you go into each little square.
When you get to the end of your round, you will have to cross back over to the top where your new stitches are. This creates a spot where the ridge blends into the fabric, leaving a little gap between ends. Just know that you need to start the next row by stitching into the spaces above the ridge, not into the ridge itself.
Here I’m working a couple of stitches with the fabric unfolded again, so you can see what it will look like.
In this picture, you can see the spot where the ridge blends in. I’ve marked out the spaces that delineate the next row. Work them according to whatever stitch you are doing next.
The pattern:
Materials:
- double-ended Tunisian crochet hook 6 mm
- 2 skeins sport/baby weight yarn (used here is Herrschners Sport – White and Herrschners Baby – Baby Blue)
Abbreviations:
ch- chain
sl- slip stitch
tss- Tunisian simple stitch
tps – Tunisian purl stitch
tks- Tunisian knit stitch
tbt- Tunisian bedtime stitch (see above explanation)
2tog- two together (reduce stitch by placing hook through both loops to pull up one loop)
Skill level:
Adventurous beginner- intermediate Tunisian crocheter
Notes:
This pattern is worked in Tunisian crochet in the round from the brim up, then gathered to finish. You will work the return stitches as you go. This pattern was written for a small-headed adult. When you are beginning the hat, you can measure the chain around the part of your head where the brim of the hat will sit (from forehead around to nape of neck). It should create a snug circle when stretched, but if it feels too tight, you can size it up by using the second set of numbers. Starting at Row 41, both sizes are the same.
Gauge:
8 TKS = 2″
8 rows = 2″
Snow Dream Slouch Hat in Tunisian Crochet
Tie ends of both skeins of yarn together. Treating both strands as one, ch 78 (84). Without twisting the chain, join together the ends with a slip stitch to create a circle.
Foundation row: (Use white yarn to work forward while working the blue yarn for the “return” one, then two loops at a time, as with a normal return pass.) Pick up 78 (84) loops.
Row 1: *tss, tps; repeat from * around (78, 84).
Row 2: Tks around (78, 84).
Row 3-6: Repeat row 2.
Row 7: Tss around (78, 84).
Row 8: Repeat row 7.
Row 9: Tks around. (78, 84)
Row 10: Tbt around (78, 84). To work this stitch, fold the last row forward and work from top to bottom into the back bar.
Row 11: Tks around (78, 84).
Row 12: Repeat row ll (78, 84).
Row 13: Tbt around (78, 84).
Row 14: Tks around (78, 84).
Row 15-16: Repeat row 14.
Row 17: Tbt around (78, 84).
Row 18: Tks around (78, 84).
Row 19-24: Repeat row 18.
Row 25: Tbt around (78, 84).
Row 26: Tks around (78, 84).
Row 27-34: Repeat row 26.
Row 35: Tbt around (78, 84).
Row 36: Tks around (78, 84).
Row 37-39: Switch lead color to blue and return with white. Repeat row 36.
Row 40: If you are making the larger sized hat, simply tks around without increasing. If you’re making the original sized hat, then: *Tks 13. Increase one stitch by pulling up a loop between stitches; repeat from * around (84).
Row 41: Tks around (84).
Row 42: *Tks 14. Increase one stitch by pulling up a loop between stitches; repeat from * around (90).
Row 43: Tks around (90).
Row 44-48: Repeat row 43.
Row 49: Tbt around (90).
Row 50: Tks around (90).
Row 51-57: Repeat row 50.
Row 58: *Tks 8, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (81).
Row 59: *Tks 7, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (72).
Row 60: *Tks 6, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (63).
Row 61: *Tks 5, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (54).
Row 62: *Tks 4, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (45).
Row 63: *Tks 3, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (36).
Row 64: Tbt around (36).
Row 65: *Tks 2, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (27).
Row 66: *Tks 1, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (18).
Row 67: *Tks 1, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (12).
Row 68: *Tks 1, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (8).
Slip stitch. Leaving some yarn to work with, cut both strands and pull through the slip stitch. Weave ends in and out through the remaining stitches of the circle. Tuck to inside of hat and pull tight to gather/. Tie off and weave in ends.
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