Basic Earflap Hat "Recipe"

This is a VERY popular blog post over on my personal blog, but now that I have a blog devoted to crafting, I decided to move it over here.

I was contacted over Ravelry from someone requesting my pattern for this hat. Staring blankly at the screen, I think, "...how did I make that?" Ha! So, I sat down, strained my brain a bit, and wrote out a vague pattern. Enjoy. Share. Gift. But the pattern's mine. Even though it's really basic. But it hurt to think about. So, I'm claiming credit. So there.

Basic Earflap Hat

This hat his completely customizable, including yarn, size, and creativity. Don't let the vague instructions scare you. Now's your chance to make it your own!

All SCs are done using BOTH loops for added thickness and for appearance.

Materials:

Any worsted, chunky, or bulky yarn

Hook size according to yarn packaging

Row marker (optional)

Terms (US):

SC: single crochet

SL ST: slip stitch

CH: chain

ST: stitch

DEC: decrease or SC2TOG

Crown:

This will save you many tears of failure later, after you've made that sad discovery that that wonderful hat you've toiled over is way too small/too big. Voice of experience, here.

To figure how big of hat you'll need, measure your head (or the recipient's head) around. Take this number and divide it by 3.14. This will tell you how wide (in inches) the crown of your hat should be. For example, my head is about 21" around, so I divide 21 by 3.14 and get 6.7. So, I figure my crown width needs to be atleast 6.5", but most of the time, you want your hat to fit snugly (figuring it will eventually stretch out after use), so I will usually subtract one round for the perfect fit.

So, now that you've figured out how wide the crown of your hat should be, now it's time to start the increasing rows. You'll increase until you've reached your "perfect fit" number. For example (depending on the thickness of the yarn or the hook I'm using), my "perfect fit" is usually around 6 or 7 rounds of increases. Yours will differ, unless you have a huge head like me.

Basic crown:

CH 5, SL ST in first chain to form ring. (You could also use a Magic Ring here, if you prefer. It just depends on your preference or the weight of yarn used.)

Round 1: CH 1 (counts as first SC until otherwise noted), 5 SC in ring, SL ST to join to first SC. (6 SC)

Round 2: CH 1. 2 SC in each SC around. Join. (12 SC)

Round 3: CH 1. SC in same ST as join. SC in next ST. *2 SC in next ST, 1 SC in next ST*. Repeat from * to * around. Join. (18 SC)

Round 4: CH 1. SC in same ST. SC in next 2 STs. *2 SC in next ST, SC in next 2 STs*. Repeat from * to *. Join. (24 SC)

Round 5: CH 1. SC in same ST. SC in next 3 STs. *2 SC in next ST, SC in next 3 STs*. Repeat from * to *. Join. (30 SC)

Round 6: CH 1. SC in same ST. SC in next 4 STs. *2 SC in next ST, SC in next 4 STs*. Repeat from * to *. Join. (36 SC)

Round 7:  CH 1. SC in same ST. SC in next 5 STs. *2 SC in next ST, SC in next 5 STs*. Repeat from * to *. Join. (42 SC)

End of basic crown. Stop or keep going as needed, following the pattern of the increases.

Length:

Don't put that measuring tape away just yet! Now that you've made your crown, here comes the easy part - the length, or body of the hat. To find the perfect length for your hat, measure from the crown of your head (your actual head; not the hat you're working on) to somewhere above your eyebrows (or the recipient's eye brows; make them worry about you). This is how long your hat should be from its crown to its brim. This does not include the earflaps. We'll talk about that later. Note: you may want to subtract a round or two so it's not super long, causing your earflaps to hang way beyond the ears, thus making them pointless. Your average length will be about 7" from crown to brim.

Basic body:

CH 1. SC in each ST around. Join. Repeat until desired length. Fasten off.

Earflaps:

This is where it gets a little sketchy. Just tinker with it until you're satisfied, gals.

To figure out the placement of your first earflap, count how many stitches you have going around your hat. Hint: it's what you ended up with at the end of your crown increases. So, we'll take our basic crown for example. We ended up with 42 stitches in the end. Divide that by 4. That's 10.5, but we'll just say 10 to make it easier. With the hat upside down, fasten off point facing you, count 10 stitches (or whatever number you ended up with) left of your fasten off point. This will put you right in the middle of where your first earflap will be. Now, you'll have to do some eye-balling. I like about 10 SC-wide for an adult-sized hat, but if you want it wider - go for it. Branching out from your middle point, figure out where your 10 stitches will be. Count how many stitches there are between your fasten off point and the first stitch of your imaginary earflap. Join your yarn in that first stitch, CH 1 (no longer considered a SC from here on), and SC in each stitch until you've reached your desired earflap width. Now it's time to start decreasing. Here's an earflap pattern based off of a width of 10 stitches:

Row 1: Join. SC in the next 10 STs. CH 1. Turn. (10 SC) – We just did this part above!

Row 2: DEC over next 2 STs. SC in next 6 STs. DEC. CH 1. Turn. (8 SC)

Row 3. DEC. SC in next 4 STs. DEC. CH 1. Turn. (6 SC)

Row 4: SC in each ST across. CH 1. Turn. (6 SC)

Row 5: DEC. SC in next 2 STs. DEC. CH 1. Turn. (4 SC)

Row 6: SC in each ST across. CH 1. Turn. (4 SC)

Row 7: DEC. SC in next 2 STs. CH 1. Turn. (3 SC)

Row 8: SC in each ST across. CH 1. Turn. (3 SC)

Row 9: DEC. SC in next ST. CH 1. Turn. (2 SC)

Row 10: DEC. Fasten off. (1 SC)

Decrease until desired length, but basically you want to end up with one ST for your tassel to go through.

For the second earflap, count out your number of stitches you came up with that was between your fasten off point and the first ST of your imaginary earflap, just like we did before. In fact, everything will be exactly as before, except you’ll want to add 10 (the width of your earflap) more stitches to your earflap starting point, since most of us crochet from right to left. Join your yarn and repeat the pattern for the second earflap hat (same as above).

Finishing:

Congratulations! You’ve finished the majority of your hat. Now it’s time to finish it!

To make the edges nice and smooth and uniform, edge the whole outside (earflaps included) with 1 SC in each ST around. This isn’t an exact science; just get it as even as possible. If you’d like to add tassels, decide how long you’d like them and how thick you want them. If it’s just regular, old worsted weight, like Red Heart Super Savers, I like to use 2 or 3 strands. This is totally up to you. Double over your strands, string them through your very last ST at the tip of your earflaps, and braid to the desired length. Simple as that! From here, you can customize your hat with whatever you want – a flower, a tassel on top, or even a mohawk.

I know these instructions aren’t the greatest, but really I’ve made so many of these things, I’ve kind of come up with my own method, which varies from person to person. Once you have the basic hat part down, the rest is pretty easy. If you need help or I've made a mistake somewhere, shoot me a message via Ravelry – shutterbugette. Good luck and happy flappin’!