Super soft textured poof ball hat

Time to start digging out those hats, scarves, and mittens. I have had the itch to make a new hat for myself with some SUPER soft yarn. I’m talking so soft you don’t want to take it off once you are inside.

I wanted to make a hat that was interesting and had a simple, beautiful, elegant design. Along with that, I wanted a nice neutral color that would go with any coat or color of mittens.

I found the perfect pattern on Pinterest (surprise, surprise!) and set about getting the perfect yarn to go with it. Here is the free pattern link.

At first, I went with what the pattern suggested (Bernat Softee Chunky) but when I got to JoAnn fabrics and found that particular yarn, I had to strongly disagree with the name of it. It was chunky, I’ll give them that, but it was hardly soft. Like I said, I wanted super soft.

After searching the store for a yarn similar in size/texture, I found a wonderfully soft, chunky substitute. It was Deborah Norville premier yarns: Serenity Chunky weight. I picked out a neutral creamy color and grabbed two skeins.

Lucky for me, I was on my way to a conference for work and a friend was driving, so I got to crochet on the way there and back while chatting with good friends. Can life get any better than that? I submit that it cannot!!! (For those of you who are Brian Regan fans, you got that last joke, if not, you seriously need to listen to him - greatest comedian EVER!) Check out the funny joke here.

The rim of the hat took a while since there were lots of slip stitches, meaning progress was slow. I liked the ribbed look of it, though, so the patience it required was definitely worth it.

I stopped a little shy of the 21” it recommends because I was trying it on my head and felt it was the right size around 20 inches instead. I’m glad I went with that length because it fits perfectly!

In the middle of completing a back post double crochet

Now, here is where the pattern gets a little tricky. You REALLY have to pay attention to the different rounds as you go if you want the pattern to turn out right. I LOVE the simple twisting pattern this hat has, but you have to concentrate and keep track of what row you are on for it to work. To make it easier for me, I wrote out the pattern with “f” meaning front post double crochet and “b” meaning back post double crochet and then just wrote the rows out like this: 

2^nd round: f,f,f,b,b

3^rd round: b,f,f,f,b

4^th round: b,b,f,f,f

5^th round: f,b,b,f,f

6^th round: f,f,b,b,f

Super squishy yarn + a fun twisting pattern = super cute hat!

Then, I just kept doing those rounds over and over until I liked the overall height of the hat. I ended up with 3 total completions of rounds 2-6.

Finish with a simple poof ball on top and wa-la, it’s complete! In case you haven't done a poof ball before, check out my previous blog post for a how-to on making a poof ball.

Isn’t it adorable? Oh, and did I mention it is ridiculously soft? I might just have to live in it.

Happy crocheting!

UPDATE: Cluster stitch hat adorableness ahead

So, remember when I did a newborn hat giveaway back at the beginning of the year? In case you missed that post, here it is: newborn cluster stitch hat

My super awesome friend, Lindzee, won which was fortunate because she had her baby girl, Evelyn, in June of the same year. I did another blog post about the chevron gradient blanket I made for sweet Evelyn. In case you missed that one (seriously, are you even reading any of these posts!?) :)  you can find the gradient blanket pattern here.

Now that it is starting to get a little chilly and Evelyn has grown a bit, her hat fits! I made Lindzee a matching hat so they could be adorable together. Aren't they too cute for words?

Triangular scarf with fringes

I love trying out new scarf and cowl patterns – they are so fun to wear in the fall and winter!

I have been wanting to crochet a triangular shaped scarf for a while now and found a super cute pattern that only used one skein of yarn. Gotta love that! If you’re anything like me, you have SO many skeins of yarn laying around just asking to be picked up and turned into something beautiful!

I particularly liked the look of this pattern because it was so airy – lots of holes! It is so light that it doesn’t add a ton of warmth or weight, so it is perfect for a nice cool fall day.

I found the pattern on Pinterest and Ravelry. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/triangle-scarf-or-shawl Although it was a little confusing to get going, once you get it figured out, it works up quickly. 

I really liked the added pictures in the pattern that helped show the beginning couple of rows – that helped me a lot!

The entire pattern is worked in triple crochet stitches. That’s what makes the nice tall stitches. The chains in-between give the spaces between the stitches, creating a nice light and airy scarf.

I used an 8mm hook and the Red Heart soft yarn in a creamy color (no dye lot or color name).

Once I was done crocheting the scarf, I had to decide if I wanted tassels on the 3 corners or fringes all the way around. 

First, I tried the tassel look but I wasn’t really in love with it. I took them off and decided to go with a fringe look instead.

To make the fringes, cut an 8 inch strip of yarn for each of your holes all the way around.

Fold the yarn in half and take the looped end and put it under the edge of one of your holes. Then, pull the two ends up and through that loop. The pictures below show the two-step process.

Center the fringe so it’s in the middle of that section of yarn and then pull tight to secure. Make sure you stay consistent with which side is facing up as you are doing the fringes – they look slightly different from side to side. 

Ta-da! Super excited for my newest scarf! It can even be used as a shawl. So, dig a skein out of your yarn stash and get going on this fun pattern - it won't take long! :)

If you liked this pattern, follow my Pinterest crochet board for more awesome patterns! https://www.pinterest.com/erinkit/crochet-ideas/