A Quick Little Project

I wasn't sure whether to share this, as it is something that I'm considering to create for presents, but it was such a lovely project to complete, and so quick I thought I should.

Some crochet covered coat hangers.  Yarn bombing on a small scale!

I organised a little craft evening, where everyone was bringing a project to work on and shortly before my guests were going to arrive I had a sudden panic - I didn't have a project to work on!  Oops.

I grabbed some sweetie style colours (at least that is what the remind me of) and a coat hanger that had been hanging around (pun intended) for ages waiting a restyle.  I had read a couple of tutorials and they all seem to go about this in the same way - create a rectangle of fabric and then sew together once you've made one big enough to go round the hanger.

I dislike sewing lots of stripes together, I've done it before it takes me ages and ages and ages and ages.  You get the picture.  So after one row I decided this would be a project best worked in the round, and it didn't really matter if it didn't work because I was just experimenting.

Obviously this technique is much easier before you get to the hook part, you can work it up off the hanger.  Once I got to the hook I simply kept the cover on the hanger and crocheted around and around.  It did take significantly longer to do the second half (twice as long maybe), and the hook seemed to get in the way a lot for the first few rounds, but soon I got into the rhythm and then it was finished.  My daughter loved it straight away and my son requested one for him too.  

I bought these hangers pre-padded, but I'm trying to work out whether I could fancy up some less pretty ones.  A project for another day.

Anthropologie Inspired Hat

I have seen a number of patterns inspired by a beautiful hat sold by Anthropologie (not available any more, if the link I followed was correct), but none of them quite matched up to the parts I really loved about this hat. Here is a picture of the original hat:

It has taken a while, but I have come up with a couple of versions of this hat, including the parts of the hat I love best.  I'm writing this in US terms as I know a friend who prefers US terms wants to use it.

I particularly liked the cluster stitch that I think is included on the original hat and wanted to include that.  I personally think that making a cluster stitch is easier than actually explaining how to make it, but I'm going to try!  

There are probably a couple of more tricky stitches involved in the creation of this hat, I'll try and describe them below.  I know there are probably better explanations out there, and I'd imagine video tutorials if you get stuck, or feel free to write a comment and I'll try and explain it better!

Cluster Stitch Explanation:

Start with Yarn Over hook (YO)

Hook into space/stitch (in this pattern it will always be into a space)

YO hook

Pull your yarn through 2 loops

Repeat the above two more times

Then yarn through the remaining loops

Hopefully that makes sense!  I checked one of my books and it says: "A cluster is made exactly like a decrease except that the stitches are all worked in a single stitch or space before being gathered together at the top."  That probably makes more sense, although I tend to fudge my decreasing if I can't be bothered to check the actual method each time!

Front Post Double (FPDC)

With this stitch the only real difference is that instead of working into a stitch or a space you work around the "post" created by the stitch from the previous row.  

Start with YO hook on one side of the stitch;

Put your hook through the hole from the back to the front of the work ;

Then on the other side of the stitch push your hook back the other way from the front of your work to the back;

YO hook;

Pull your yarn through the first 2 loops on the hook

Then pull your yarn through the last 2 loops on the hook.

This should create a ridge effect on the hat.  To create the ribbed look you also need a Back Post Double stitch.  Which is created in the same way as the Front Post Double Stitch, but you need to do insert your hook around the "post" of the stitch from the previous row in the opposite way.

Back Post Double 

Start with YO hook on one side of the stitch;

Put your hook through the hole from the front to the back of the work ;

Then on the other side of the stitch push your hook back the other way from the back of your work to the front;

YO hook;

Pull your yarn through the first 2 loops on the hook

Then pull your yarn through the last 2 loops on the hook.

Crab Stitch

You create this by working the wrong way - so instead of going from right to left along the crochet row you move towards the right.  It feels weird to begin with, but once you get the hang of it, it is fine.  I like the way it finishes off a crochet piece.

This time the ridge is on the inside of the hat.  Thinking about it, maybe I do these the wrong way round!  I guess it doesn't matter so long as you are happy that you have the ridge in the place you want it for finishing the hat off.  I tend to crochet so that the I'm looking at the inside of the hat.

Couple of other things to mention.  I used a 5mm hook and just some normal DK yarn.  At the beginning of each Cluster Stitch Round you should slip stitch into the space, chain 2 and start the cluster stitch sequence.

Hat Pattern

Magic Circle and chain 2

Round 1: 1 cluster stitch (CL ST) + 1 chain(CH) - repeat  x 6 slip stitch (Sl ST) to finish 

Round 2: *1 CL ST + 1CH, 1 CL ST + 1CH* into each space between the previous rounds clusters SL ST

Round 3: *1 CL ST + 1CH, 1 CL ST + 1CH into next space, 1 CL ST +1CH into next space* repeat all around and SL ST 

Round 4: *1 CL ST + 1CH, 1 CL ST + 1CH into next space, 1 CL ST +1CH into next 2 space* repeat all around and SL ST 

Round 5: *1 CL ST + 1CH, 1 CL ST + 1CH into next space, 1 CL ST +1CH into next 3 space* repeat all around and SL ST 

Round 6: *1 CL ST + 1CH, 1 CL ST + 1CH into next space, 1 CL ST +1CH into next 4 space* repeat all around and SL ST 

Round 7 - Round 12: *1 CL ST +1CH* in each  space and SL ST at end of round

Round 13: 1 Half Double Crochet (HDC) in each stitch all around, SL ST at end of round

Round 14 - Round 17: Chain 2 FPDC all around and SL ST at end of round

Round 18: *3 HDC in one stitch, SL ST in next 2 stitches* all around.  If not quite a repeat I squeezed in 1 extra by only SL ST in one before the last 3HDC.

Alternative Finish to the hat - the ribbed look, you complete the hat as above until Row 14

Round 14 - Round 17: Chain 2,  *FPDC in next stitch, BPDC in next stitch*  SL ST at end of round

Round 18: Crab stitch around and then SL ST to finish.

I used a couple of flower patterns for these the first one is one I've already described here.  The second one is a fab pattern from here.  I love it and I once spent a week just making them as I was having so much fun!

I hope you enjoy making this pattern, if it doesn't make sense please let me know, although I know I can create a hat using this pattern I'm hoping other people will be able to as well!