I love this Versatile Summer Crochet Hat so much! So many ways to dress it up….. or down!
I made this hat for the first time in August of 2014 to donate to my Cancer Center. Unfortunately the photo we took of me wearing it is a little blurry, but I think you can still tell just what a cute hat it is! I suspect it was snatched up quickly after I dropped it off.
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FEATURED PATTERN: Alla Koval’s Garden Party Hat
Since it had been a while since I made this great Summer Crochet Hat pattern, I decided to break out the pattern again and give it a whirl! The pattern is available for free on designer Alla Koval’s blog at My Little Citygirl. The free pattern is for the hat only. She also sells her version of her ever popular Poppy Flower pattern for $3.50.
Alla also sells the patterns for all three of the cute flowers shown on the hat samples in her photos as a collection, (which also includes the hat pattern), in her Esty Shop or on Craftsy. I love the Dandelion and the Daisy on the hats when they are crocheted in the bright yarn colors like the yellow and green in her pictures! Such a fun Summer Crochet Hat pattern.
Let me share with you some of the things I discovered making this hat this time through.
–First of all…… Check your gauge! I had to tear out my stitches a couple of times because I didn’t end up doing that the first time. Ultimately, I ended up using a Size H/8 – 5mm Hook to get the right size and fairly tight stitches, which is a little harder to do with cotton thread. I used Bernet Handicrafter Cotton in White for the hat. (Also be aware that the hat pattern is the same for all sizes….. it’s the hook size and weight of the yarn that makes the hat bigger or smaller)
–The next advice I will give you is to make sure you count the ch 3 at the beginning of each row as a stitch. The pattern DOES tell you to do this… but sometimes I found myself forgetting, and then my stitch count would be messed up because I would add an extra stitch. Especially on the increase rows. I found myself with too many stitches to get the FPDC in the right place and would have to FROG the whole row because I didn’t notice it till I got to the next row! It’s worth it to make sure that first set is correct before you do the first FPDC stitch.
—Study the diagrams ….. Especially diagram 2 for the brim. Read the instructions under the diagram before beginning the cluster stitches. Again…. I had to frog my stitches because I didn’t read the print under the diagram and I was doing it wrong. It’s worth the time to study it and make sure you are clear on it. Ironically, the pattern has a Note right at the beginning of the Brim instructions. Guess what it says? Yep….. Look at Diagram 2 on page 5 first. Somehow I looked over that when I did it the first time. LOL
— And Lastly…..One of the things I personally felt was missing, or a little unclear on the pattern was an explanation of what the cluster stitch was. So…. because of that, I’ve written out the instructions for the cluster stitch below. (At least my interpretation of what they were saying in the diagram instructions!) I felt the written instructions were a little foggy. So here is the way I did it:
Cluster stitch: YO, insert hook into designated stitch, YO and pull up loop, YO pull through 2 st on hook. YO, insert hook into same stitch and pull up loop, YO and pull through 2 st. on hook. YO and pull through all 3 remaining loops left on hook (chain three, repeat above instructions in same stitch, ch 1) You’ve just created one set of clusters!
I hope all of that made sense! Hopefully understanding how that 2 DC Cluster is made will make it easier for you to follow.
Let’s Embellish!
And…. since this hat is SO versatile…. I wanted to show it with a few different embellishment ideas!
The Poppy Flower
Of course, I had to show the Poppy Flower on the hat since that’s how I did it the first time! I love this look!
This time, I used a different Poppy Flower pattern than the one in this picture. This one is from Bag O Day Crochet. I thought it turned out cute and it was super easy to make! It’s a free pattern and it’s very easy to follow along with her Youtube tutorial. (FYI……This Poppy flower pattern is NOT the Poppy pattern I used in the above photo of me from 2014….. I can’t for the life of me figure out what Poppy pattern I used! I’ve searched everywhere for it! LOL)
I used some Red and Black yarn from my stash for this flower. I’m pretty sure it was Red Heart Super Saver yarn. Love to have that stuff on hand. You never know when you’ll need it! Any worsted weight yarn will work. I used a Size H/8 — 5mm hook for this one. A larger hook would make a bigger Poppy! The fun black ribbon was picked up at Hobby Lobby for another project I did a while back, but came in handy for the hat!
UPDATE: I believe I may have found the original pattern I used for my hat in 2014. I’m pretty sure it’s this pattern from Flushed With Rosy Color website!
The Popcorn Stitch Flower
I fell in love with this flower when I found it on Pinterest!
This adorable Popcorn stitch pattern is from BHooked Crochet. She has written instructions as well as a video tutorial which I stitched along with. I love this pattern because you can make the flower as little or as big as you’d like! I stopped mine after 3 rows of Popcorn stitches because I felt that was the right size for an accent on this hat.
This flower was made with Lilly Sugar and Cream Cotton yarn using the Size H/8 — 5mm Hook. I decided to add a button to the center of it for fun. Love how it looks!! Look at these adorable Rhinestone Buttons! They would really look cute!
I love that someone commented on the bottom of BHooked Crochet’s post about how they used this pattern to make a pillow. Can you imagine how cute that would be? I might have to try that one! Her written instructions even include how to turn the flower into a granny square, which would be perfect for a pillow!
The Sunflower
I used this flower on a hat I donated a few years back, and loved it!
This great pattern is from Paper, Wool, Yarn. It’s a great little (or big….) Crochet Flower Pattern. The pattern on her post was not done in Sunflower colors, but they said they thought would make a great Sunflower. Boy, were they right! I loved how it turned out in Sunflower colors! I’ve included some tips at the bottom of this post to help you with Round 6 of the flower. Made a big difference when I figured it out! (UPDATE: Paper, Wool and Yarn no longer have a blog, but I have shared the pattern on my blog on my Stunning Jumbo Sunflower Appliqué post.)
The yarn I used for this flower is Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice in Mustard and Chocolate Brown and of course a Size H/8 — 5mm Hook. (Can you tell I like that size hook?)
Pull Out Your Scarfs!
Here’s an accessory that I don’t use often enough is scarfs!
I thought the hat would look really cute with a scarf wrapped around it! I just happened to have this fun bright floral scarf in my stash and love how it looks! I’m sure you have a scarf somewhere that would rock this hat! Long skinny scarfs are probably the best, but be creative! A great look for the beach!
Handmade Fabric Flower
This flower is the bomb! I love the Peacock feathers on this one!
I have an Über talented and crafty friend who makes these AMAZBALLS flowers! I must have about 20 of them in different colors and styles!! (Someday, I’ll have to get her to help me make a post on how to create them…..) She always puts a little clip on the back of the flowers so they can be used in many ways. I love to wear them as a brooch. They can be worn in the hair as a clip or on a hat! These are great fun!
How About Some Beads!
I grabbed a beaded necklace I had laying around and pinned it to the hat to see what it would look like!
I like it! It would be fun to create a beaded band that could be exchanged with other embellishments! Honestly, the necklace in the picture was not long enough to be double stranded and go all the way around the hat so it’s only pinned about halfway around, but it gave me a great idea! Fun look! If you’re into bead stringing…. this could be fun!
Don’t Forget Your Brooches!
I’m always looking for ways to wear my Brooches!
I have a TON of pins I inherited from my Mom. Finding ways to use them is a great plus for me! This pin on the hat is actually an AVON pin I bought a few years back when I sold AVON. The large brooch is such a statement piece! I love how it looks!
I’m sure there are many more ways we could embellish this hat! I’d love to have your ideas in the comments!
Well…. thanks for checking out this post on this awesome Versatile Summer Crochet Hat! I would love to see your creations using this pattern in the comments and show us all how you decided to embellished it!
And there you have it….. Another Pattern To Follow!
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Here are my tips for making Round 6 on the Crochet Sunflower Pattern. (FYI… I chose to do a 3 Ch stitch at the top of the petal instead of 2 Ch as the pattern called for. I wanted a taller point on the petal)
