Pattern Hacks | Crochetology.net

This morning, I took some photos of the finished hairband. It is an example of the simplest modification of a hat pattern. The hat pattern is drawn from the Japanese-language magazine Ondori issue number 2342.

The hairband is made by simply working half-way through the hat pattern which starts at the base. You finish when you reach the desired width of the hairband. My hairband is worked in worsted weight yarn and a 2.5mm crochet hook. The resulting width of the hairband is 3 inches with 10 rounds.

The finished hairband is worked in the round.

Here is a closer look at the hairband stitches.

The finished hairband.

The finished hairband here shows 5 pattern repetitions, with the last 2 reps in decrease stitch to taper the hairband. The upper edge of the hairband is crocheted with simple picots.

Pattern

Foundation chain starts at the base of the hat/hairband. Chain a multiple of 6 stitches +1.

(The average circumference of hats is 22 inches. You may wish to make a half inch or so smaller for a hairband)

Interlocking shell pattern:

Sc in 2nd ch fr hook.

Rnd 1: Skip 2 ch, 5 dc in next ch, skip 2 ch, sc in next ch, rep fr ending last rep with sl st in first sc to join.

Rnd 2: Ch 3, sc in middle dc of 5-dc shell, in next sc make (dc, ch 3, dc), rep fr ending last rep with ch 3 and sl st in first sc to join.

Rnd 3: Ch 3, 2 dc in same sc, sc in 3-ch sp, 5 dc in next sc, rep fr ending last rep with sc in last 3-ch sp, 2 dc in first sc, sl st in top of ch-3 to join.

Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc in top of same ch-3, in next sc make (dc, ch 3, dc), sc in middle dc of 5-dc shell, in next sc make (dc, ch 3, dc), rep fr ending last rep with sl st in first sc to join. (This completes 2 rounds of the basic interlocking shell stitch pattern).

Rnds 5-6: Rep rnds 3-4.

To make the first shell pattern decrease, you make a 4-dc shell instead of 5 (in the first round), and a 2-ch sp instead of 3 (in the next round). Thus:

Rnd 7: Ch 3, 1 dc in same sc, sc in 3-ch sp, 4 dc in next sc, rep fr ending last rep with sc in last 3-ch sp, 2 dc in first sc, sl st in top of ch-3 to join.

Rnd 8: Ch 1, sc in top of same ch-3, in next sc make (dc, ch 2, dc), sc in 3rd dc of 4-dc shell, in next sc make (dc, ch 2, dc), rep fr ending last rep with sl st in first sc to join.

Rep rnds 7-8 to complete the hairband. End the round with a simple picot edging, for example 3 sc, picot, 3 sc …

To make the second shell pattern decrease, you make a 3-dc shell (in the first round) and a 1-ch sp (in the next round). This will radically decrease the circumference of the piece to form a hat.

To end the hat, a closing round of sc in each ch-1 sp is made. In the original Japanese design, the hat has a small opening on the top where a tuft of hair extenders is attached, as shown below, the hat in navy blue colour. The other hat is a knit version.

These two hats have small holes at the top where you can stick your hair out or - as in this case - embellish with hair extenders.

Now maybe we can try other hat mods or try embellishing the hairbands.

Last night, I decided to make myself a kind of hat. I have a Japanese magazine Ondori 2342 bought from the National Book Store many years ago for only PhP85.00 (that’s about 1,5 euros).

Ondori magazine no 2342

The pattern I chose is fairly simple and easy. The basic stitch is a kind of interlocking shell stitch. The interesting thing about this stitch is that it can be decreased within each stitch consisting of 2 rounds: the first round is the dc shell and the second row is a ch loop between two dc’s.

The pattern starts with a 5-dc shell and a 3-ch loop. The first decrease is a 4-dc shell and a 2-ch loop. The second decrease is a 3-dc shell and a 1-ch loop.

The basic stitch pattern (Interlocking Shell Stitch).

Halfway Through

Halfway through the pattern, I tried on the hat and thought that might actually look better as a hairband.

A small lacy edging can be done on both edges of the hairband. A flower or other decoration can also be sewn onto the hairband.

The resulting hairband is actually quite nice because it doesn’t need a tie or elastic and tapers a bit so it fits around the head really well. The only important thing when making it to determine the right size – not too tight and not too loose – as well as the type of yarn for the purpose (good stretch for good fit).

Finishing

I finished the hat anyhow and here it is.

Finished hat. I ripped this this evening and turned it into a hairband.

But tonight I decided to rip it and turn it into a hairband. It is summertime now and a crochet hat could be too hat. What I really need is a wide hairband to keep my thick short hair from poofing!

Looking at more crochet hats

Apparently, many hat patterns can be modified to make a hairband, particularly patterns that start work at the rim/base of the hat although those that start from the top can also be easily modified. So I had a look at some hat patterns and imagined how they might look as hairbands, some with added embellishments, others just simple. Here are some free crochet hat patterns that I found on the GarnStudio website: