copyright © 09/15/09 Jackie Fiedler
One is the mother of a dear friend who had a double mastectomy and needs chemo to stop the fast and aggressive cancer. Sarah told me her mother's favorite color is blue, like a purplishish blue. I had acrylic soft yarn in my stash so I used a berry blue. I emailed Sarah is she likes the flower added on. If not, i just bobby pinned it in so we don't need it. I also wanted to make the brim around the hat so it almost looks like short hair is underneath and not the result of chemo (no one can notice from the front and back of the head.) I can only assume people treat you differently if it looks like you went thru chemo and I wanted to make a sense of normalcy with the hat.
The other hat is for my mom's best friend who has a very rare disease. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyloidosis She is at Mayo as I write this going through a stem cell bone marrow transplant (right now she's actually getting ready for the marrow to be extruded) then harvested and put back in. This is after chemo and radiation to destroy her immune system to allow this to happen. I won't send the hat until she is able to handle anything foreign.
It's a basic cloche but with the frilly at the end.
Start of Pattern:
I am using Caron Simply Soft Medium Weight with G hook (recommended H hook but I wanted a tighter weave.) This is the blue hat above. The pink hat was another yarn and had to adjust the pattern to reflect a different yarn.
Rnd 1
CH 5 and connect with sl st in first CH.
Rnd 2
CH 2 (counts as first SC) 6 SC in ring and sl st in 2nd CH from 1st SC (7)
Rnd 3
(Now I begin to work in rounds without connecting to each end of each row. My personal tip is to use a bobby pin to mark your stitches so you know when the next rnd begins.)
2 SC into first st (the one you just sl st into.) *2 SC in next st *repeat this in each SC until the end. (14)
Rnd 4
*2 SC in first st, 1 SC in next st *repeat this until end of round (21)
Rnd 5
*2 SC in first st, 1 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st *repeat this until end of round (28)
Rnd 6
*2 SC in first st, 1 SC in next 3 sts *repeat this until end of round (35)
Rnd 7
*2 SC in first st, 1 SC in next 4 sts *repeat this until end of round (42)
Rnd 8
*2 SC in first st, 1 SC in next 5 sts *repeat this until end of round (49)
Rnd 9
*2 SC in first st, 1 SC in next 6 sts *repeat this until end of round (56)
Rnd 10
*2 SC in first st, 1 SC in next 7 sts *repeat this until end of round (63)
Rnd 11
*2 SC in first st, 1 SC in next 8 sts *repeat this until end of round (70)
Rnd 12
*2 SC in first st, 1 SC in next 9 sts *repeat this until end of round (77)
Rnd 13+
Leaving bobby pin in place at last Rnd, 1 SC in first st and each st around, working in rounds until hat measures 7 1/4-7 1/2" from top of hat to bottom. Fasten off with sl st in next st around the same spot of bobby pin last sat. Do not fasten off.
Brim:
Rnd 1
*2 SC in first st, 1 SC in next st *repeat all around and 2 SC in last st
Rnd 2
*1 SC in first st, 2 SC in next st, 1 SC in next two sts * repeat around to end of first SC in this rnd (keep bobby pin in this st to mark next rnds)
Rnd 3-8
SC in next sts in rounds and fasten off with sl st by the spot where bobby pin was left
Adorning:
To make the stripe around the brim like the photo, I tied in a different color yarn from Simply Soft about two rounds above the start of brim. I tied between the stitches and CH 1 and SC by hook in hole and exit the next hole, YO, pull hook back, YO and SC. Continue all the way to the first CH1 and sl st in that to connect.
Flowers:
I actually use a lot of wonderful flower patterns from Nicky Epstein's "Crocheted Flowers" book. You can also find some on this link:
This was my first attempt at writing a pattern. If there are any mistakes, problems or concerns, please let me know and I will fix! I appreciate the help and hope many people feel inspired to make a hat for someone who's going through a tough time with hair loss, no matter what causes it.
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