It feels like a long time since I’ve sat down and made a crochet hat, so here we are, throwing it back to the days when I used to churn out multiple projects in a week. I don’t know how I used to do it!

• 1 skein of Lion Brand Lion’s Pride Woolspun – a bulky weight (5) yarn (colour: Aquamarine)
• Size J (6.00mm) hook

Pattern by Megan at Left in Knots
MODIFICATIONS by tick-tock hobbies

Maybe it’s just me and my wacky tension, but I had to make a few changes to this pattern to make it fit me. For starters, instead of 48 rows of ribbing, I did 56 rows. Even with the extra eight rows, it was still a pretty snug fit.

I also only did 13 rows of the grit stitch pattern rather than 17, as I wanted more of a snug fit. This also led to a change in the the shaping of the hat, because I didn’t want the slouch effect. For my row 15, I did fourteen repeats of *grit stitch, DC2Tog, grit stitch* to finish with 42 stitches. In row 16, I used seven repeats of *grit stitch, SC2Tog, DC2Tog, grit stitch* to finish with 28 stitches. In row 17, I used the *SC2Tog, DC2TOg* repeat to finish with 14 stitches. Finally, in row 18, I used two repeats of *grit stitch, DC2Tog, SC2Tog, DC2Tog* to finish with 8 stitches before casting off.

I’m going to be honest. I’ve never liked doing hats from the brim up because I always feel like I end up with a hole at the top of the hat. This happens even when I bind off securely. On the other hand, when I start from the top, I can be sure that it’s nice and sealed! I always picture all the heat leaking from a little hole in the top of my hat, and it always bums me out. I will keep tackling this fear thoug!

Until next time, happy crafting!