Once again distracted, I decided to try a crochet puff stitch to add some texture to a hat. And again, my circle expanded flat instead of nice curve, so I finished it as a beret rather than a beanie.

A puff stitch uses techniques from both increase and decrease stitches. Essentially you increase six double crochets in one previous stitch and finish by decreasing them all together so the stitch count doesn’t change. The width of the row does, however, which is why my circle just kept expanding.

Next on the hat docket: stripes! But with a twist, or rather, a wave. I started the beanie with rows of double crochet in white yarn, then used a combination of single, half-double, double and treble crochet stitches.

Technical details:

In a magic circle 12 double crochets (dc)

Row 1: 2 dc in each stitch (24 stitches)

Row 2: 2 dc, 1 dc around (36 stitches)

Row 3: 2 dc, 1 dc, 1dc around (48 stitches)

Row 4: 2 dc, 1 dc, 1 dc, 1dc around (48 stitches)

Row 5: 2 dc, 1 dc, 1 dc, 1dc, 1 dc around (60 stitches)

Row 6: chain (ch) 1, *half double crochet (hdc) in next stitch, dc, treble crochet (tc), dc, hdc, sc. repeat from * around. Before completing last hdc, join in new color. Slip stitch to the beginning of the round. Don’t cut old color, don’t carry the old color around.

Row 7: ch 3 (counts as tc), make all stitches in the back loop: *dc, hdc, sc, hdc, dc, tc. Repeat from * around. On last stitch join in first color.

Row 8: ch 1, *hdc, dc, tc, dc, hdc, sc. Repeat from * around.

Repeat rows 7 and 8 until desired hat length is reached.

Tips: when lining up the rows, the tallest stitch pairs with the previous shortest, so the tc will always go in a sc, and vice versa. Putting the stitches in the back loop gives a nice line to the wave.

I’ve drifted off firmly into the realm of experimentation in this round of crocheted hats. Because I had red, green, and white in the stash of acrylic yarn, I wanted to experiment combining the colors with a spike stitch. A spike stitch drops one loop of yarn down a row, making a long V shaped yarn embellishment. I stuck with my standard double crochet hat pattern, making spike stitches every three double crochets and switching colors every row. I did not think that one loop of yarn would change the width of the row, but it did. Instead of getting a nicely rounded beanie, I had a flat circle. Hm.

Time to make it a beret instead. I switched to using just the white yarn with no spike stitches, and the fabric immediately made the turn without decreases. I didn’t have to make decreases until round three. Then I switched to a single crochet parallel rib for the last band. The ribbing is very stretchy and although it looks in the picture like a small opening, it expands to fit a head, and lays flat for storage (happy accident).