Now that you know how to make a flat circle, what can you do with it? There are many things you can do with a circle. Two circles in worsted cotton can be put them together to form a nice thick potholder. Add a chain loop for hanging. A small circle can be a coaster. You can use multiple strands or wide strips of cloth with a larger hook and make a circular rug. A single cotton circle can be a dishcloth. You can use thread and make doilies. How about a round pillow?

Remember that this is just a beginning, a basic formula. You can take this and run with it. Vary the type of stitches perhaps, or use different colors to make stripes.

What I personally enjoy making using this method is hats so I thought I'd give you a bit of info on making a basic hat. There are, of course, many different kinds of hats. This is just one very simple hat design, the basic circle and sides.

There are several things to consider in making a hat. The most important, of course, is the size of the head you're trying to fit. Also whether you want a more flat look on top with sides coming straight down, or if you want a more gradual decrease. Remember that in the tutorial our job was to keep the circle flat. If you are making a hat, at some point you will want your circle to "bow" to make the body of the hat.

To create the bow for the sides, you would simply stop increasing and work even until your hat fits the way you want it to. This will give you a flattish top with straightish sides. (That's technical enough, right?) It occurs to me that if you made the sides long enough and the top small enough, you could cover an extra toilet paper roll with one of these "hats". A toilet paper roll hat. Hee hee. I like it.

Here's a couple of hats I finished today. I worked the tutorial to round 5, then worked even (dc in each st) until I had the length I wanted (I think it was 12 rounds). For one hat I added some fpdc as in Janelle Schlossman's Easy Double Crochet Cap. For the other, I worked a few rows of single crochet, then a row of dc for the turning brim as in Jeanarie's Basic Cap except I don't repeat round 4. With an H hook, I got a 20-20 1/2" circumference. It fit me fine, but I have a small head (so I'm told). To make it larger, you could use a larger hook. When I make hats for my sister, I use this same basic design, but an I or J hook because my hats are too small for her.

If you prefer to have a more gradual slope, you have to decrease your increases. hee hee Instead of making 12 increases to make it lie flat, you would make 6 increases for a couple of rows for a gradual bow. (Thanks to Dave at Serendipity for that suggestion.) You have to pay attention, however, to which round you begin your 6 stitch increases or your hat will be way large and won't fit anybody's normal size head.

For example, I tried this with an H hook, following the tutorial to round 5, then increasing to 66 stitches on Round 6 and 72 on Round 7. The circumference of the finished hat was 23 3/4". From the sites I visited this seems to be an extra large size. To get it smaller, you could use a smaller hook or perhaps use sport yarn instead of worsted weight. OR you could start the 6-increase round sooner. That's what I did in the pattern below.

note: circumference is the distance around a circle (e.g. the outer rim of the hat). I measured this by placing a needle to mark my beginning point, and then using a flexible tape measure, I measured around the outer rim, being careful not to stretch the yarn. Another way to get the circumference is to measure the diameter and multiply it by pi (3.14). So if the diameter of this circul would be 5". Then the circumference would be 5 x 3.14 = 15.7 (just over 15 1/2" ) Practically, this is approximate. YOo can read more about circumference online here.

Here's some pics showing the beginnings of a hat, with the smaller increase coming sooner. I used a G hook, so the hat came out to be 18" circumference. That would probably be an XS, for a young child or infant. You can see the finished hat with the pattern below.

side view of the first few rows with gradual bow beginning at round 4

view from the top

turned it over so you could see the inside view; the strand you see if from the adjustable ring. I pulled it close so there wouldn't be a hole there. Later, I sewed it in and snipped it.

It may be hard to tell, but the slope is more gradual on this one. Since it was a smaller hat, I didn't make it quite as high as the others, which brings me to another point. How do you want to wear the hat? Right up to the back of the ear?  Covering the ears? If the person is you, it's easy enough to figure out how long to make it since you can just try it on and see how you like it. If it's for someone else, it's a bit harder. I measured everyone in my family's head to get an idea of size. FYI, my head was the smallest at 20.25". I'm not sure if that is significant, but I got funny looks from my family. My husband's head was the largest (22.5") and my two young 'uns -- if you can believe this -- had the exact same size heads! I kid you not.

Here's a basic hat pattern. Extra details/info in teal.

Basic Hat with or without a gradual slope
©2005 Sandra Petit, http://www.crochetcabana.com

Picture above shows the side view. Picture below shows the top view.

Materials: I hook, needle for sewing in ends, worsted weight yarn (with a skein of Patons Canadiana I can usually get at least 2 hats. I think the skeins are 3 or 3.5 ozs.

Size: See pics above

Use the adjustable ring or ch 5 and join with a slip stitch.

The first rounds will be your regular 12 stitch increase.

Rnd 1: ch 3 (counts as your first dc here and throughout) (note: as always, you can use ch-2 if this brings you to the proper height), work 11 more dc in ring (12 dc), join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3, If you used the adjustable strand, pull on your loose strand to close the center hole

Rnd 2: ch 3, dc in same stitch, 2 dc in ea stitch around (24 dc) That's your 12 st increase to keep your circle flat, join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3

Rnd 3: ch 3, 2 dc in next st, (dc in next st, 2 dc in next st) around, (36 dc) (24 + 12 = 36. You're putting your increase in every other stitch), join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3

Rnd 4: ch 3, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, (dc in ea of next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st) around (11 times), (48 dc) (36 + 12 = 48. Increase in every third st), join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3

Extra note: If you want a larger top, follow instructions here.

Extra note: If you want a straight side without the gradual slope, follow instructions here.

Here we start the gradual slope...

Rnd 5: ch 3, dc in ea of next 6 sts, 2 dc in next st, (dc in ea of next 7 sts, 2 dc in next st) around (5 times ) (note that your 7th stitch will be worked into the first dc of the previous increase and your new increase will be worked into the second dc of the previous increase. (54 sts) (48 + 6 = 54), join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3. Your circle will bow in just slightly. That's okay. That's what it is supposed to do.

Explanation: Previous round (round 4) had 48 sts. You want 6 increases, so 48 / 6 = 8. You need an increase every 8 sts. Your beg ch-3 counts as one, you dc in 6 and then work your increase in the 8th st. Then you can work your pattern, dc in 7 and 2 dc in the 8th.

Rnd 6: ch 3, dc in ea of next 7 sts, 2 dc in next st, (dc in ea of next 8 sts, 2 dc in next st) around (note that your 8th stitch will be worked into the first dc of the previous increase and your new increase will be worked into the second dc of the previous increase(60 sts) (54 + 6 = 60), join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3

Explanation: Previous round (round 5) had 54 sts. You want 6 increases, so 54 / 6 = 9. You need an increase every 9 sts. Your beg ch-3 counts as one, you dc in 7 and then work your increase in the 9th st. Then you can work your pattern, dc in 8 and 2 dc in the 9th.

Now you've got the same number of stitches you had at the end of round 5 in the tutorial )60), but you've made the slope a little more gradual. By using this one method, you can adjust your size by changing hooks, and not have to worry about figuring out where to do your increases.

Rnd 7-11: ch 3, dc in ea st around, join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3

Using an I hook, the diameter of my circle to round 6 (when pushed flat) is about 6 1/2". I didn't measure the one I did with a G hook at that point. The hat (using the I hook) fit my head, just barely covering my ears. On a larger head it would probably come just above the ears. Circumference was 21.5"

If you need a longer hat, just add another row of dc. You can add a fancy edging or other stitches such as the fpdc as desired. If you want a rolled up brim, you can use single crochets for a few rounds. Four or five rows of sc will give you a nice snug brim.

For a larger top:

Rnd 5: ch 3, dc in each of next 2 stitches, 2 dc in next st, (dc in each of next 3 stitches, 2 dc in next st) around (60) (48 + 12 = 60), join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3

Rnd 6: ch 3, dc in ea of next 8 sts, 2 dc in next st, (dc in ea of next 9 sts, 2 dc in next st) around (66 sts) (60 + 6 = 66), join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3

Explanation: Previous round (round 6) had 60 sts. You want 6 increases, so 60 / 6 = 10. You need an increase every 10 sts. Your beg ch-3 counts as one, you dc in 8 and then work your increase in the 10th st. Then you can work your pattern, dc in 9 and 2 dc in the 10th.

Rnd 7: ch 3, dc in ea of next 9 sts, 2 dc in next st, (dc in ea of next 10 sts, 2 dc in next st) around (72 sts) (66 + 6 = 72., 66/6 = 11 so you increase in the 11th st), join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3

Rnd 8-12: ch 3, dc in ea st around, join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3

If you need a longer hat, just add another row of dc. You can add a fancy edging or other stitches such as the fpdc as desired. If you want a rolled up brim, you can use single crochets for a few rounds. Four or five rows of sc will give you a nice snug brim.

No gradual slope:

Rnd 5: ch 3, dc in each of next 2 stitches, 2 dc in next st, (dc in each of next 3 stitches, 2 dc in next st) around (60) (48 + 12 = 60), join with a sl st to top of beg ch-3

Rnd 6-12: ch 3, dc in ea st around (60)

If you need a longer hat, just add another row of dc. You can add a fancy edging or other stitches such as the fpdc as desired. If you want a rolled up brim, you can use single crochets for a few rounds. Four or five rows of sc will give you a nice snug brim.

You could also add earflaps as Dave did here. I think these are the cutest hats - Dave calls them helmets.

Hope you enjoyed both the tutorial on working in the round and this information on making hats. As I said, there are tons of styles of hats out there. Go surf and find some! Have fun!

2008-08-25

The buttons above were my first at the Cabana. I keep them for sentimental reasons. :-)

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