Wide-brimmed crochet sun hat

Every single year, a couple of days before I go on holiday, I end up feverishly running around every single shop in town looking for that perfect sun hat.  And every single year, I end up buying a sun hat that I hate and throw it away once it's done its job.  Now that I have well and truly got this crochet thing figured out, I decided to design my own hat.  I love the look of straw hats but hate the way they always blow off (has anyone else have loads of holiday photos in which they are holding their hat to their head to stop it from flying off?) and the way they can't be simply folded up and shoved into a suitcase.

Here's my solution: a hat that, I believe provides my head and eyes protection from the sun yet is trendy enough to wear in the evening, or to continue wearing through Autumn.  The great thing too, is that it has a snug fit that doesn't seem achieveable with straw hats so won't blow off quite so easily.

I won't kid you that it is the most straight forward of patterns - it uses quite a few stitches including bpdc (back post double crochet), to 'push' the top chain forward to create the characteristic ridges.  I used Wendy Supreme cotton DK, which, in my opinion is a great value 100% mercerised cotton.  I used just under 200g of navy and less than 25g of driftwood.  I chose cotton for its breatheability and washability.  I also wanted a yarn that would have enough rigidity for a brim that would not be reinforced with wire.  I used a 3.50mm hook, but I must warn you: I seem to work to quite a tight tension so you may find you will have to go down quite a few hook sizes in order to achieve the correct tension.  You really can't afford to skip the step of working a tension square with hats and clothes because it will really make a difference to the fit of the end product!

I have worked hard creating my original patterns and am happy for them to be used for free.  Please do not sell the patterns.  If you do sell the end products please state clearly that they were made using my design, and that the pattern came from www.craftymamasanchez.blogspot.com.  Thanks, and enjoy! 

What you'll need:

• Yarn(s) of choice plus the crochet hook required to work to a tension of 22 dc to 10 cm
• Yarn needle
• Small safety pins or stitch markers

Techniques used (UK terminology):

• ch: chain
• slst: slip stitch 
• dc: double crochet (US single crochet)
• htc: half treble crochet
• tc: treble crochet
• dtc: double treble crochet
• bpdc: back post double crochet
• working rounds by joining
• working in continuous rounds
• magic circle  

Working bpdc (back post double crochet): 

Back-post double crochet is a special stitch that is worked around the posts of the stitches of the previous round in order to push the characteristic 'chain' at the top of the work to the front of the work.  It can be a little fiddly to master at first, but please do not try to omit the bpdc rounds from the pattern - double crochets work up a lot tighter than trebles and double trebles and the hat and the bpdc round will tighten the previous round slightly.

1. A yellow and a pink arrow have been placed to show where the hook will be inserted from the back and from the front respectively in working the first bpdc after the slst
2. Insert the hook at the back of the work in the next stitch such that it emerges at the front
3. Reinsert the hook from front to back in the next stitch.  The hook will now be lying on top of a post
4. Yarn over and draw a loop through, yarn over and draw hook through both loops on hook 
5. At the end of the round, slst to the first bpdc of the round to join
6. There will now be a circle of chains that has been pushed forward to form a ridge, and a new circle of chains at the top into which the next round will be worked

Hat:

This project is worked without turning.

From round 3 and every odd round thereafter, work bpdc for the entire round, slst to first bpdc to join round:

Round 1:  With main colour make a magic circle, ch2 (counts as first tc), work 13 tc into the circle, slst to the top of 2ch to join round [14]
Round 2:  Ch 2, tc into slst, work 2 tc into each of the next 13 st, slst to top of 2ch to join round [28]
Round 4:  Ch 3, dtc into slst, work 2 dtc into each of the next 27 st, slst to top of 3ch to join round [56]
Round 6:  Ch 3, 2 dtc into next st, (dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 27, slst to top of 3ch to join round [84]
Round 8:  Ch 3, dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (2 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 27, slst to top of 3ch to join round [112]
Round 10:  Ch 3, dtc into each stitch round, slst to top of 3ch to join round [112]
Round 12:  Ch 3, 6 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (7 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [126]
Round 14:  Ch 3, 7 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (8 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [140]
Round 16:  Ch 3, dtc into each stitch round, slst to top of 3ch to join round [140]
Round 18:  Ch 2, 23tc, 6htc, 80dc, 6htc, 24tc, slst to top of 2ch to join round [140]
Round 20:  Ch 2, 25tc, 6htc, 74dc, 6htc, 28tc, slst to top of 2ch to join round [140]
Round 22:  Ch 2, 27tc, 6htc, 68dc, 6htc, 32tc, slst to top of 2ch to join round [140]
Round 24:  Ch 2, 5tc, 2 tc into next st, (9tc, 2 tc into next st) x 2, 3tc, 6htc, (2 dc into next st, 9dc) x6, 2 dc into next st, dc, 6htc, 2tc, (2 tc into next st, 9tc)x3, 2 tc into next st, 3tc, slst to top of 2ch to join round [154]
Round 26:  Ch 2, 9 tc, 2 tc into next st, (10 tc, 2 tc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 2ch to join round [168]
Round 28:  Ch 3, 10 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (11 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [182]
Round 30:  Ch 3, 11 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (12 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [196]
Round 32:  Ch 3, 12 dtc, 2 dtc into next st, (13 dtc, 2 dtc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 3ch to join round [210]

If you try the hat on now, you will find it is rather floppy.  If you would like a floppy-brimmed hat, continue working in dtc, if you prefer a more structured brim, work the remaining even rounds in tc, htc and dc as follows:
Round 34:  Ch 2, 13 tc, 2 tc into next st, (14 tc, 2 tc into next st) x 13, slst to top of 2ch to join round [224]
Round 36:  Ch 1, htc in each stitch round, slst to the 1ch to join round [224]
Round 38:  Ch 1, dc in each stitch round, slst to the 1ch to join round [224]
Round 39:  Slip stitch round with contrast yarn

Weave in loose ends.


Flowers:

My original intention was to make two flowers in the main yarn with constrast edging, but found I only had enough to make the small flower.  I made the larger flower in the contrast yarn as an after-thought, but I'm pretty pleased I did because it's turned out quite nicely!

Each flower is made by working a circle in continous rounds of dc.  In the fourth round, 5 loops are evenly spaced around the circle, then the fifth round fleshes out the loops into petals by working into the loops.

Small flower:

Round 1:  In main colour, ch 2 and work 5 dc into 2nd chain from hook (or work 5 dc into a magic circle)
Round 2:  2 dc into each st round [10]
Round 3:  (1 dc, inc) x 5 [15]
Round 4:  {dc, (slst into next st, ch 10, slst into the same stitch), dc} x 5
Round 5:  {slst into next dc, (work 2 htc, 14 tc, 2 htc into loop), slst into next dc} x 5
Round 6:  Slip stitch round with contrast yarn


Large flower:

Rounds 1-3:  In contrast colour, work first three rounds of small flower [15]
Round 4:  {dc, (slst into next st, ch 14, slst into the same stitch), dc} x 5
Round 5:  {slst into next dc, (work 3 htc, 22 tc, 3 htc into loop), slst into next dc} x 5
Round 6:  Slip stitch round with main yarn


Weave in loose ends and sew flowers in place.