Free Pattern: Crochet Women’s Swirly Brimmed Hat

Hello friends.  I’m ready to share a confession with you.  We’re in a safe place (the whole wide Internet), right…?  Sometimes (well, a lot of times) I peruse commercial clothing sites and reverse engineer my favorite hat styles.  I even have a list entitled “hat knockoffs”, with plenty of patterns-in-progress to share with all of you.

Today’s pattern is based off of this hat I found on REI.

  

When I saw this, my first thought was, this is easy.  This is just a slight modification to the world famous crocheted Divine Hat by Rheatheylia.  If you have ever looked up ‘free crochet hat pattern’ online, you have most likely seen this hat.  So please, know that I am NOT trying to publish my own pattern, or a “brand new pattern” here.  I am taking a perennial crochet favorite and updating it with chunky yarn and adding a brim.  The end.

Before we start, here is my version:

In retrospect I think my yarn is a weeeee bit chunkier than the one in the photo, but it gets the point across.  You’ll need to know how to do a front post double crochet (FPDC) – here’s a tutorial to get you going.

MATERIALS

I used Bernat Roving yarn in “Squashed”, I believe (it was in the $2 bin at A.C. Moore, I couldn’t pass it up) and a K hook.  Obviously you can add an additional contrasting color for the brim – nothing I had matched Squashed so here’s my monochromatic hat.

PATTERN

Row 1: Using K hook, ch4, sl st to form a loop.  11 dc into circle. Sl st to first ch2 (11 dc).

Row 2:  Ch2, *fpdc in first dc of previous row, dc into top of first dc from previous row*, repeat with remaining stitches around.  On last dc, fpdc into dc and sl st to first st.  The ch2 will act as ‘dc’ in the last st. (11 dc, 11 fpdc).

Row 3: Ch2, *fpdc in first fpdc of previous row, 2 dc into top of first dc from previous row*, repeat around. On last fpdc, 1 dc into top of first dc.  Sl st to first st.

Row 4: Ch2, *fpdc in first fpdc of previous row, 3 dc into top of first dc from previous row*, repeat around. On last fpdc, 2 dc into top of first dc.  Sl st to first st.

Row 5-11: Repeat row 4. (Your gauge might only need ten rows – I have a massive head so I used 11).

Row 12-13: Ch1, 1 sc in each st around. Sl st to first st.

Brim

Row 1: Ch1, 1 sc in the next 20 st.

Row 2: Ch1, turn. Sc dec across first 2 stitches (tutorial here). *1 sc in next 2 st, 2 sc in next st*.  Repeat * across, making sure to sc dec in the last two st of the row.

Row 3: Ch1, turn. Sc dec across first 2 stitches.  1 sc in each st across, making sure to sc dec in the last two st.  DO NOT TURN.

Row 4: At the end of row 3, sc down the side of the brim and continue ALL THE WAY around the hat, 1 sc in each st (you’ll be making another row of sc around the bottom of the hat).  Sc back up the right side of your brim, sc dec across the first 2 st, and 1 sc in each st across the brim.  Fasten off at the end of the brim on the left side.  Your brim should have four rows total.

Note: if you want the contrasting brim, switch colors for row 12-13 of the body of the hat. (I’d another row of sc).  Then for the brim, do NOT crochet row 4.  Instead, ch1, turn, and repeat row 3.  Fasten off and weave in ends.

Huzzah! Comfy cozy swirly brimmed hats and most likely you did not have to pay over $30 USD to get one.  =D  Thank you again, Rheatheylia for such a wonderful design.  It’s one of the first ones I ever made, it’s by far one of the most popular ever on Ravelry, your legend will live on forever!

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