Wednesday 23 May 2012

Of course mini-me wants a mini-Mummy sun hat!

Before I even finished making my wide-brimmed crochet sun hat I knew that my daughter would want one for herself so I asked her to pick out the yarn for it.  She chose Wendy Supreme cotton DK in 'seashell, 1946', a soft shade of pink (of course), of which I used approximately 110 g.  And here it is, a matching mini-me hat with slightly different shaping.  I have yet to make a flower (believe me, she won't let me forget that I haven't yet), but am going to sew it rather than crochet it.


She's a small three-and-a-half year old with a head circumference (measured diagonally from the back of her neck and round her forehead) of 47 cm.  I think it will fit quite a range of ages as the mother of a 9 month old just couldn't resist trying it on her little girl today, and there is still plenty of give in it for my daughter.  The cotton gives it a slight weight that is lacking in sewn cotton hats and it doesn't blow off, and the bpdc detail gives the hat a slight firmness that can handle the brim being left down or rolled.

As I emphasised with the pattern of my adult sized hat, this is not the simplest of patterns as bpdc takes a little while to master but you really must not omit it because it tightens the trebles and the size would be completely wrong without the bpdc rounds.  I write all my patterns in UK terminology so make sure to check out my post on terminology.

I have worked hard creating my original patterns and am happy for them to be used for free.  Please do not sell the patterns.  If you do sell the end products please state clearly that they were made using my design, and that the pattern came from www.craftymamasanchez.blogspot.com.  Thanks, and enjoy! 

What you'll need:
  • Yarn(s) of choice plus the crochet hook required to work to a tension of 22 dc to 10 cm
  • Yarn needle
  • Small safety pins or stitch markers

Techniques used (UK terminology):
  • ch: chain
  • slst: slip stitch 
  • dc: double crochet (US single crochet)
  • htc: half treble crochet
  • tc: treble crochet
  • dtc: double treble crochet
  • bpdc: back post double crochet
  • working rounds by joining
  • working in continuous rounds
  • magic circle  

Working bpdc (back post double crochet): 

Back-post double crochet is a special stitch that is worked around the posts of the stitches of the previous round in order to push the characteristic 'chain' at the top of the work to the front of the work.  It can be a little fiddly to master at first, but please do not try to omit the bpdc rounds from the pattern - double crochets work up a lot tighter than trebles and double trebles and the hat and the bpdc round will tighten the previous round slightly.


  1. A yellow and a pink arrow have been placed to show where the hook will be inserted from the back and from the front respectively in working the first bpdc after the slst
  2. Insert the hook at the back of the work in the next stitch such that it emerges at the front
  3. Reinsert the hook from front to back in the next stitch.  The hook will now be lying on top of a post
  4. Yarn over and draw a loop through, yarn over and draw hook through both loops on hook 
  5. At the end of the round, slst to the first bpdc of the round to join
  6. There will now be a circle of chains that has been pushed forward to form a ridge, and a new circle of chains at the top into which the next round will be worked

Hat:

This project is worked without turning.

From round 3 and every odd round thereafter, work bpdc for the entire round, slst to first bpdc to join round:

Round 1:  With main colour make a magic circle, ch2 (counts as first tc), work 13 tc into the circle, slst to the top of 2ch to join round [14]
Round 2:  Ch 2, tc into slst, work 2 tc into each of the next 13 st, slst to top of 2ch to join round [28]
Round 4:  Ch 3, dtc into slst, work 2 dtc into each of the next 27 st, slst to top of 3ch to join round [56]
Round 6:  Ch 3, 2 dtc into next st, (dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 27, slst to top of 3ch to join round [84]
Round 8:  Ch 3, 4 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (5 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [98]
Round 10:  Ch 3, 5 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (6 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [112]
Round 12:  Ch 3, 6 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (7 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [126]
Round 14:  Ch 2, 20tc, 6htc, 72dc, 6htc, 21tc, slst to top of 2ch to join round [126]
Round 16:  Ch 2, 22tc, 6htc, 66dc, 6htc, 25tc, slst to top of 2ch to join round [126]
Round 18:  Ch 2, 24tc, 6htc, 60dc, 6htc, 29tc, slst to top of 2ch to join round [126]
Round 20:  Ch 2, 26tc, 6htc, 54dc, 6htc, 33tc, slst to top of 2ch to join round [126]
Round 22:  Ch 3, 7 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (8 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [140]
Round 24:  Ch 3, 8 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (9 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [154]
Round 26:  Ch 3, 9 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (10 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [168]
Round 28:  Ch 2, 10 tc, 2 tc into next st, (11 tc, 2 tc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 2ch to join round [182]
Round 30:  Ch 1, 11 htc, 2 htc into next st, (12 htc, 2 htc into next st) x 13, slst to 1ch to join round [196]
Round 32:  Ch 1, dc in each stitch round, slst to the 1ch to join round [196]
Round 34:  Slip stitch round

Weave in loose ends.






4 comments:

  1. These are sooo cute. I'm going to make matching ones for my two year old and myself to wear to our city's annual fair. Thank you so much!

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome! Madam loves hers and won't leave the house without it. Enjoy =)

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  2. Hi there! Can I ask about this pattern? When beginning the odd numbered BPDC rows, should there be a Chain 3 or so beginning the row? I find that when joining at the end, the end or the row is taller or higher than the beginning and the ridge formed by the BPDC makes this really obvious. Please advise! Thanks!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hiya, are you using American terminology? I'm British so write all my patterns in UK terminology - our double is what Americans call a single. I know it's tedious, but check out my terminology summaries..... Let me know if that helps =)

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