hat horror

[ariesqt0323]

i can not for the life of me make a hat. :no every pattern that i have ever seen for a hat does not have a dec st in it so i'm having trouble understanding how the hat fits on a persons head. :think i have been crocheting for a little over a year now and i have no hats. i am starting to get discouraged over this issue. every time i start to make a hat it looks fine until i pass the crown then it starts to look retarded like a pot holder gone wrong. :( i just don’t understand it i can crochet pretty well and a hat is supposed to be one of the really easy things to do but i just can’t get it right. i’m trying to make a simple skull cap for my dad it is not supposed to look like an old lady’s sun bonnet! :eek please help me end my hat horror

[JCB]

Most hat patterns I have seen begin at the top and are circular, increasing gradually as they go around, until they pass the crown, at which point you just keep crocheting around. Are you starting at the top? Are you using a pattern? Try Crochetpatterncentral.com for a large variety of free hat patterns.

Joan

[ariesqt0323]

I am using patterns and I know how to do all the stitches and I can read them but it still looks special I’m starting from the top going in a circle with a magic ring start here’s a link to the pattern I was trying to do it’s at crochet me http://www.crochetme.com/secret-method it looks easy I was going to do it with out a pom pom cause it’s for my daddy but it cups funny at the top like a cover for an egg or something then it spreads out then cups again and it’s just wrong

[trin]

could the problem be that your tension may vary between sittings?
Hats sometimes DO look a little funny till they're finished and "blocked" but maybe that's just the way my hats are? (I tend to do things like skullies and cloche's hatwise... )

KNIT hats/Stocking caps knit up pretty quickly... If you're desperate for a finished hat maybe knit is the way to go?

[ariesqt0323]

i can't knit and what is "blocked"?

[trin]

i can't knit and what is "blocked"?

When the item is finished and dampened to be shaped... probably more important with wool items, or knit? I don't always do it, but my hats always seem to look better after a quick handwash and dry flat... :D

[Mermaiden]

Blocking - more important with natural fibers in general. Doesn't do much for acrylic.
http://www.geocities.com/snowymts.geo/blocking.html
You can sometimes just wet it and hang it up somewhere or lay it out (depending on the item) after you give it a good shape by pulling and tugging! :D

[Nahvrianna]

Can I just say...A-M-E-N!

[Nahvrianna]

Can I just say A-M-E-N! Atleast now I know I"m not the ONLY one who can't do a stinkin hat! I have tried my go round atleast 3 times on 3 different size hats. I'll be the first to tell you, it's not the tension. I am very consistant in my tension on my stitches and that is clearly not the issue. THe only thing I've found is that after flattening out a hat that was about 3/4 of the way done and then just finished off because I thought it looked of crap, it came out to look like a hat. However, that was a baby hat...so it might be a different story for a childs or adults hat. I just wanted to say, I share your pain. I do believe that both of us can triumph though!:cheer If I get it, I'll let you know and you do the say, yeah?
:manyheart

[Granny Square]

Items done in the round, like doilies or hats, will (often) curl or misbehave for many rounds before they begin to look right. Doilies always look dorky until they are blocked. You can block wool, but blocking does not have much affect on acrylic yarn.

It sounds like your problem is probably gauge or stitch count or perhaps both.

Are you using DK weight yarn? Have you done a swatch, and are you achieving the gauge required by the pattern? You may need a different hook than the pattern calls for. Gauge is important for a wearable, and may be why it looks like a sunbonnet.

Here is a quick test to see if the hat will fit, and is another way to do a sanity check on the gauge. In this pattern there are 100 stitches around the straight part of the "normal noggin" size. Chain 100, join, and work a couple of rows of SC around this loop. Does it fit around your head? It should be snug.

Assuming your gauge is correct, do you have the correct stitch count in each row? It is very easy to mess up when doing rounds. I have been crocheting for, uh, many years :lol and I always count my stitches.

Good luck, and keep trying!!

[Aggie May]

:cheer The best fitting hats start at the top with a circle of increases then work straight or shape in, depending on theri style.

A Beanie style needs to increase to the head size then go straight until the length you want.
http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b208/Aggie2may/th_100_0207.jpg


A beret style needs to start the same as a Beanie but carry on past the size of the head, until it looks more like a plate, then it needs only about 3 rows of decreasing to get it back to the head size.
http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b208/Aggie2may/th_300470cc.jpg

All of the hats pictured started in exactly the same way, with a circle of DCs, it is just what you do later which changes the style.

Hope this helps.
Have fun.
Colleen:hug

[mellowe67]

The easiest hat pattern I have used is the Boy Beanie pattern from the Happy Hooker book. I have made many, many of these. Good luck!

[Julia from NorCal]

Aggie May has a good point. :yes
I tend to avoid SC in hats since it tightens up the tension and sometimes I make hats with TRC since it keeps them nice and loose!
This is how I do it in regular language:
I start out with a good middle, typically 12 DC then I join. Then I chain 3. Then I DC twice in each loop. Then I alternate 1 DC in a loop then 2 DC in the next loop then 1 DC and so on through the round. Join. Chain 3. Then I do 1 DC in a loop 1 DC in the next loop then 2DC in the next loop and so on through the end of the round. The 2 DC are separated by the single DC and you keep adding more in between so that it gets to be a bigger circle. Check out some of the hat patterns in here. I looked at your pattern and after making ooodles of hats it even confused me! :shrug Hope this helps. :blush If not read another post! :D

[texasredhead]

Can I just say A-M-E-N! Atleast now I know I"m not the ONLY one who can't do a stinkin hat! I have tried my go round atleast 3 times on 3 different size hats. I'll be the first to tell you, it's not the tension. I am very consistant in my tension on my stitches and that is clearly not the issue. THe only thing I've found is that after flattening out a hat that was about 3/4 of the way done and then just finished off because I thought it looked of crap, it came out to look like a hat. However, that was a baby hat...so it might be a different story for a childs or adults hat. I just wanted to say, I share your pain. I do believe that both of us can triumph though!:cheer If I get it, I'll let you know and you do the say, yeah?
:manyheart

You could try this trick. Start you hat at the crown and keep adding on with your rows so that you have a basic flat round doily looking piece and put it on your dad's head and keep fitting it unitil it is time to start going down. Then go in the round even rows the amount that you want it to go down and then the last inch or so do sc joining 2 together about 4 of these evenly spaced to allow the cap to come in a bit and stretch around his face part.

[CroJulee]

You could try this pattern. It's pretty basic. You just make the circle about 5 inches across using hdc and starting with 11 sts, and then when your circle is big enough, stop in increasing and just keep going around till it fits.

Here's my pattern:
http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38728

Hope it works for you!!!


Don't despair!! Hat's are great fun once you get started!!

Julee