Learning to crochet

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Learning to crochet

I mentioned here that I finally learned to crochet in the round and had made a whole bunch of hats, but none of them were from a pattern. I sat down one night afterwards and started browsing the free patterns on ravelry, searching for hat patterns good for possible future gifting (kids are easy – adult hats tend to need to be a little more stylish.)

I added this hat to my favorites, and then soon after got to work on it. I love how it looks knit. Right now I’m finding crochet way more fun and satisfying and versatile, but I usually like the look of knit wearables more than crochet wearables. I think that if I can keep going with the crochet-learning and then eventually discipline myself to do the same with knitting, the results will be pretty obviously divided: crocheted toys and blankets and ornaments and house things. Knitted wearables.

Anyway – I set to work on this hat and had to learn several new things to finish it. I’m pretty satisfied – the best kind of thing to learn, I think, is the thing that looks super complicated when you’re staring it in the face, but in retrospect was really pretty easy.

I definitely think this hat is giftable to a couple of my people, and I will be keeping the printed pattern for future reference!

It certainly served its purpose well on yesterday’s sledding outing, as did this floofy rainbow scarf I made for Hazel the same week (now I really don’t know if this was last week or the week before – January is going by in a blur.) In the craft store recently, Hazel grabbed this skein of super chunky, fuzzy rainbow yarn and asked me to make her a scarf. I tried and tried with a giant hook for about an hour, and just couldn’t get it to crochet up into something that looked right and would be warm, so I switched to chunky knitting needles and click-click-clicked out a knit scarf that night. Big yarn + big needles = fast projects. I felt like I was creating a muppet, but she loves it and it kept her warm outside for most of yesterday morning :)

Currently in the works are a made-up fox hat that still needs another eyeball (I’m bad at stalling projects at the last detail), and this cat. All of the parts are done, just need to embroider his / her face, stuff and assemble!