Kaelyn’s Raspberry Beret – Free Crochet Pattern

Last week was Red Ribbon Week at school.  Along with it came Hat Day.  The kids were supposed to wear their favorite hats.

In our household, this immediately sparked crochet discussion.  What kind of hat shall we make?  I was listing off different hats, and Kaelyn quickly decided that she wanted a beret.  Not just any old beret, mind you.  My husband is a huge Prince fan, and you know what they say about the apple not falling very far from the tree.  Clearly we needed a raspberry beret, just like the song!

Time was short and I had nothing in raspberry, so we headed out to our awesome local yarn store, Yada Yada Yarn, to find the raspberriest yarn possible.  In a matter of minutes, my crew had wrangled every skein of yarn in the store that could possibly be called anything close to raspberry.  There were a lot of lovely options, but all of us were thinking that we wanted color that pops.  So we picked out the most vibrant raspberry we could find.  That happened to be a beautiful yarn from Noro called A la Mode in #12.  It’s 65% wool, 25% mohair, and 10% polyamide.

This yarn felt absolutely perfect for the beret as I crocheted it up.  With varying thicknesses from fingering weight to near chunky but an overall feel of a worsted weight yarn, it made a beautifully textured hat.  And the color was to die for.  It’s so vibrant that it practically glows.  Indoors, it looks quite red, but in natural sunlight the pinker tones come out, making it perfectly raspberry.  And while I brought home three 50g skeins, thinking I would need most of it, I ended up using only two (with a bit of that left over).  Matching gloves, anyone?  That’s on my to-do list.

I suppose I’ve been on a Tunisian in the round kick, lately.  This pattern is written in Tunisian crochet in the round.  I had just made the Snow Dream hat and I really liked the way the brim came out, so I began with the same brim styling.  The rest of the pattern is mostly Tunisian knit stitch, to keep it simple and chic.  It works up quite quickly.  Kaelyn likes to wear the beret in the traditional way of turning the brim under, but you can wear it however it suits you!

The pattern:

Materials:

2 skeins Noro A la Mode yarn in #12 (50g/100 meters per skein)

6 mm double-ended tunisian crochet hook

4 or 5 mm hook – makes it easier to work the stem

Abbreviations:

ch – chain

sl – slip stitch

tss – Tunisian simple stitch

tps – Tunisian purl stitch

tks – Tunisian knit stitch

2tog- two together (reduce stitch by placing hook through both loops to pull up one loop)

Skill Level:

beginner to adventurous beginner

Notes:

This pattern is worked in Tunisian crochet in the round.  You will work with two strands of yarn and a double-ended hook.  You work the forward stitches with one end of the hook and the return pass simultaneously with the other end of the hook and the second strand of yarn.  The pattern is worked in one piece from the brim to the stem in a continuous circle.

Gauge:

8 tks = 2″

8 rows= 2″

 

 

Kaelyn’s Raspberry Beret in Tunisian Crochet

Working with two skeins of yarn, tie ends of both skeins of together.   Treating both strands as one, ch 60.  Without twisting the chain, join together the ends with a slip stitch to create a circle.

Foundation row:  Pick up 60 loops.  (Use one strand to work forward while working the other strand for the “return”.  The return will be one, then two loops at a time, as with a normal return pass, all the way through to the stem.)

Row 1:  *tss, tps; repeat from * around (60).

Row 2: *tps, tss; repeat from * around (60).

Row 3: *tks 5, increase by pulling up a loop between stitches; repeat from * around (72).

Row 4:  *tks 6, increase by pulling up a loop between stitches; repeat from * around (84).

Row 5:  *tks 7, increase by pulling up a loop between stitches; repeat from * around (96).

Row 6:  *tks 8, increase by pulling up a loop between stitches; repeat from * around (108).

Row 7:  tks around (108).

Row 8-15: Repeat row 7.

Row 16: *tks 7, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (96).

Row 17: *tks 6, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (84).

Row 18: *tks 5, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (72).

Row 19: *tks 4, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (60).

Row 20: *tks 3, tks 2tog; repeat from * around (48).

Row 21-29: Repeat row 19.  You should end up with 10 stitches left.

Row 30: tks 2tog around (5).

Row 31:  Pinch sides flat.  Going through both sides, tks 2 (3 on hook).  Return (continue with reverse even though you are no longer working in a circle) by going through 2 loops, 2 loops.

Row 32:  tks 2., return by going through 2 loops, 2 loops.

Row 33:  tks 1, return through both loops.

Ch 1.  Leaving a few inches of yarn, cut both strands, pull end through slip stitch, and pull tight.  Use a needle to take both strands through the center of the stem and down into the hat.  Finish off.

Voila!

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