Whether you are Irish or not, it is always fun to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and wear a little green. I figured I would add a St. Patty’s touch to my Versatile Earflap Hat Pattern by attaching a great big shamrock.

The pattern I used for the shamrock can be found (free, of course) over at Crochet Spot. Rachel’s pattern was easy to follow, and I love how big the shamrock worked up in comparison to this itty, bitty 3-6 month size hat. The next time I make a hat like this I will test out some other ways to attach the shamrock besides sewing around all the edges. I think a little 3D effect could make this hat even cuter. If you give it a try, I would love to see what you do. You can email me at email hidden; JavaScript is required or find me on Facebook and share your creation there.

How do you like to wear your green – a hat, a shirt, jewelry, just a little or head-to-toe? Do you have any fun traditions for St. Patrick’s Day? I’m thinking we need to start some at our house.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great week!

Here is another fun and easy variation on my free Versatile Earflap Hat Pattern, a Monkey Hat. If you don’t already have the hat pattern, you can download it here.

This hat is just like the Bear Hat, only you will attach the ears to the sides of the hat. I made my hat and ears in Vanna’s Choice yarn in Cranberry (my favorite red, especially for my Firefighter Helmet Pattern), trimmed in Sapphire, with Cranberry, Sapphire and White braids. Make the ears with an H hook according to the directions below for whichever size you are making. When the ears are completed, squish them in half, position them on the hat and sew in place.

Ears (make 2)

0-3 Month and 3-6 Month Sizes

• Round 1: 6 Sc in a magic circle; do not join, use a stitch marker at the end of rounds if you need to. (6)
• Round 2: 2 Sc in ea st around; do not join. (12)
• Round 3: * 2 Sc in next st, sc in next 5 sts * repeat around; do not join. (14)
• Round 4: Sc in each st around; do not join. (14)
• Round 5: * Sc2tog, sc in next st, sc2tog, sc in next 2 sts * repeat around. (10) Sl st in next st and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing the ear to the hat.

6-12 Month and Toddler Sizes

• Round 1: 6 Sc in a magic circle; do not join, use a stitch marker at the end of rounds if you need to. (6)
• Round 2: 2 Sc in ea st around; do not join. (12)
• Round 3: Sc in next 2 sts, * 2 sc in next st, sc in next st * repeat around; do not join. (17)
• Round 4: Sc in each st around; do not join. (17)
• Round 5: Sc2tog, sc in next 7 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 6 sts around; do not join. (15)
• Round 6: * Sc2tog, sc in next 3 sts * repeat around. (12) Sl st in next st and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing the ear to the hat.

Child and Teen/Adult Sizes

• Round 1: 6 Sc in a magic circle; do not join, use a stitch marker at the end of rounds if you need to. (6)
• Round 2: 2 Sc in ea st around; do not join. (12)
• Round 3: * 2 Sc in next st, sc in next st * repeat around; do not join. (18)
• Round 4: * 2 Sc in next st, sc in next 8 sts * repeat around; do not join. (20)
• Round 5-6: Sc in each st around; do not join. (20)
• Round 7: * Sc2tog, sc in next 8 sts * repeat around; do not join. (18)
• Round 8: * Sc2tog, sc in next 4 sts * repeat around. (15) Sl st in next st and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing the ear to the hat.

We had a lot of fun with this hat and I hope you will too! I would love to see the creations you are making if you would like to share them on my Facebook page. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me at email hidden; JavaScript is required. Thanks for stopping by!

The kids and I haven’t been feeling our best this week, so we decided to make another animal hat to bring some smiles to our faces. I don’t think too many people could resist smiling when faced with an adorable kid in an adorable hat. Snuggling with this teddy bear sure made me feel better!

To make a bear hat of your own, follow the directions in my free Versatile Earflap Hat Pattern. I chose to make my entire hat including braids on the earflaps in one color, Vanna’s Choice yarn in Barley. Make the ears with an H hook according to the directions below for whichever size you are making. When the ears are completed, squish them in half, position them on the hat and sew in place.

Ears (make 2)

0-3 Month and 3-6 Month Sizes

• Round 1: 6 Sc in a magic circle; do not join, use a stitch marker at the end of rounds if you need to. (6)
• Round 2: 2 Sc in ea st around; do not join. (12)
• Round 3: * 2 Sc in next st, sc in next 5 sts * repeat around; do not join. (14)
• Round 4: Sc in each st around; do not join. (14)
• Round 5: * Sc2tog, sc in next st, sc2tog, sc in next 2 sts * repeat around. (10) Sl st in next st and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing the ear to the hat.

6-12 Month and Toddler Sizes

• Round 1: 6 Sc in a magic circle; do not join, use a stitch marker at the end of rounds if you need to. (6)
• Round 2: 2 Sc in ea st around; do not join. (12)
• Round 3: Sc in next 2 sts, * 2 sc in next st, sc in next st * repeat around; do not join. (17)
• Round 4: Sc in each st around; do not join. (17)
• Round 5: Sc2tog, sc in next 7 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 6 sts around; do not join. (15)
• Round 6: * Sc2tog, sc in next 3 sts * repeat around. (12) Sl st in next st and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing the ear to the hat.

Child and Teen/Adult Sizes

• Round 1: 6 Sc in a magic circle; do not join, use a stitch marker at the end of rounds if you need to. (6)
• Round 2: 2 Sc in ea st around; do not join. (12)
• Round 3: * 2 Sc in next st, sc in next st * repeat around; do not join. (18)
• Round 4: * 2 Sc in next st, sc in next 8 sts * repeat around; do not join. (20)
• Round 5-6: Sc in each st around; do not join. (20)
• Round 7: * Sc2tog, sc in next 8 sts * repeat around; do not join. (18)
• Round 8: * Sc2tog, sc in next 4 sts * repeat around. (15) Sl st in next st and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing the ear to the hat.

Bonus – you can make some pretty cute Valentines with this hat too! Hope you love it and if you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

As everyone well knows, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. I wanted to make a couple different Valentine’s hats with my free Versatile Earflap Hat Pattern, but I have also been wanting to make some fun animal hats. I guess the animal won for now, but this bird still has a cute heart-shaped beak for a little Valentine’s touch (I couldn’t help myself).

To make this hat you should follow the directions in my Versatile Earflap Hat Pattern available for download here. Make the entire hat and both edgings in the same color. Add tassels in the same color to the earflaps (or braids or whatever you like), and I knotted some strands of yarn to the top of the hat for a little tuft of hair.

Follow the directions below to crochet the eyes and beak using worsted weight yarn and a G hook, and then sew them to the hat. I prefer to use 1/2″ buttons for the pupils, but if you are looking for an alternative to using buttons, you can always cut small circles from felt and sew them on, or you could make six single crochet in a magic circle, join with a slip stitch and then sew that on.

Eyes (make 2)

0-3 Month, 3-6 Month and 6-12 Month Sizes

• Round 1: Ch 3, 2 sc in the 2nd ch from hook, 3 sc in next ch, working on the other side of the chain sc in next ch; do not join, use a stitch marker if you need to. (6)
• Round 2: 2 Sc in ea st around; do not join. (12)
• Round 3: 2 Sc in next 3 sts, sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next 3 sts, sc in next 3 sts; ch 1, skip next st and sl st in next st. (18) Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing the eye to the hat.

Toddler, Child and Teen/Adult Sizes

• Round 1: Ch 3, 2 sc in the 2nd ch from hook, 3 sc in next ch, working on the other side of the chain sc in next ch; do not join, use a stitch marker if you need to. (6)
• Round 2: 2 Sc in ea st around; do not join. (12)
• Round 3: 2 Sc in next 3 sts, sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next 3 sts, sc in next 3 sts; do not join. (18)
• Round 4: Sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st, sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, sc in next 6 sts, 2 sc in next st, sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, sc in next 4 sts; ch 1, skip next st and sl st in next st. (22) Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing the eye to the hat.

Heart Beak

All Sizes

• Row 1: Ch 2, sc in 2nd ch from hook; ch 1 and turn. (1)
• Row 2: 3 sc in next st; ch 1 and turn. (3)
• Row 3: (Hdc, dc) in next st, ch 1, sl st in next st, ch 1, (dc, hdc) in next st, ch 1, sl st in same st. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing the beak to the hat.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me an email at email hidden; JavaScript is required. Now go have fun crocheting hats for all the “tweethearts” in your life!

We are still in football mode here at our house, so we decided to make more football hats this week, this time with more team spirit. Now we are ready to cheer for either team in the Super Bowl (although these little guys will be snug in their beds by then).

To make these hats, I followed the color changes suggested in the Striped Band Hat version of my free Versatile Earflap Hat Pattern. I added tassels to the earflaps and sewed on a crocheted football applique. This cute applique is available for free from the Speckled Frog Crochet blog. It is really quick and easy to make, and it adds an extra special touch to the hat.

I hope you found this useful, and if you have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment or you can email me at email hidden; JavaScript is required. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

With only two weeks until Super Bowl 2012, I figured it would be a great time to use my free Versatile Earflap Hat Pattern to make a football hat. Please excuse the chin drool – someone is getting his 2-year molars. This may be why he wasn’t too cooperative of a model today LOL!

You can download the free pattern here, then reference below for where to add your white stripes. Finish the hat by lining up the earflaps to find the center, stitch a long, white line down the center front (I stitched a second line over the first), and then stitch several short marks across the long line. If you want a football hat with more team spirit, add braids, tassels or pom poms in your favorite team’s colors to the center of each earflap.

I used Loops and Threads Impeccable for this hat in a dark brown and white, but any similar weight (Aran/Worsted) yarn should work fine. I would probably try a lighter shade of brown and a creamier white the next time I make this hat, but for now I am trying to use yarn I have before buying more. Here is what I did to make this hat:

Child

• Work rounds 1 through 7 in brown
• Switch to white for rounds 8 & 9
• Switch back to brown for rounds 10 through 15
• Switch to white for rounds 16 & 17
• Switch back to brown for round 18 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in brown

Other Sizes

These are my suggestions on where to change colors to get this same look on other size hats:

0-3 Months

• Work rounds 1 through 4 in brown
• Switch to white for round 5
• Switch back to brown for rounds 6 through 9
• Switch to white for round 10
• Switch back to brown for round 11 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in brown

3-6 Months

• Work rounds 1 through 4 in brown
• Switch to white for round 5
• Switch back to brown for rounds 6 through 10
• Switch to white for round 11
• Switch back to brown for round 12 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in brown

6-12 Months

• Work rounds 1 through 5 in brown
• Switch to white for round 6
• Switch back to brown for rounds 7 through 11
• Switch to white for round 12
• Switch back to brown for round 13 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in brown

Toddler

• Work rounds 1 through 5 in brown
• Switch to white for rounds 6 & 7
• Switch back to brown for rounds 8 through 12
• Switch to white for rounds 13 & 14
• Switch back to brown for round 15 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in brown

Teen/Adult

• Work rounds 1 through 8 in brown
• Switch to white for rounds 9 & 10
• Switch back to brown for rounds 11 through 17
• Switch to white for rounds 18 & 19
• Switch back to brown for round 20 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in brown

I hope you found this useful, and if you have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment or you can email me at email hidden; JavaScript is required. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

My oldest son, J., loves to model my hats, especially when it involves a trip to the playground, candy or another fun treat. He loves to be a goofball and gives me lots of funny faces.

Despite his love to model my hats, when it is time to go out in the cold, J. still chooses to wear the $5 hat his grandma bought him a few years ago. Silly boy.

This post is about his gray hat though, so I will now share the details on how to make one just like it. You can download the basic pattern here, and then keep reading on for the details.

I specifically chose these colors to go with J.’s favorite hoodie – Vanna’s Choice in Silver Grey (Color A) for the main hat, and stripes of Red Heart Super Saver in Teal (Color B) and Vanna’s Choice in Mustard (Color C). I will just refer to color A, color B and color C from here on out so that you can substitute whatever colors you like. Here is what I did:

Child

• Work rounds 1 through 13 in color A
• Switch to color B for round 14, switch to color C for round 15, switch to color B for round 16, switch to color C for round 17
• Switch back to color A for round 18 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in color A
• Add a tassel of colors B & C to the center of each earflap

Other Sizes

These are my suggestions on where to change colors to get this same look on other size hats:

0-3 Months

• Work rounds 1 through 6 in color A
• Switch to color B for round 7, switch to color C for round 8, switch to color B for round 9, switch to color C for round 10
• Switch back to color A for round 11 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in color A
• Add a tassel of colors B & C to the center of each earflap

3-6 Months

• Work rounds 1 through 7 in color A
• Switch to color B for round 8, switch to color C for round 9, switch to color B for round 10, switch to color C for round 11
• Switch back to color A for round 12 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in color A
• Add a tassel of colors B & C to the center of each earflap

6-12 Months

• Work rounds 1 through 8 in color A
• Switch to color B for round 9, switch to color C for round 10, switch to color B for round 11, switch to color C for round 12
• Switch back to color A for round 13 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in color A
• Add a tassel of colors B & C to the center of each earflap

Toddler

• Work rounds 1 through 10 in color A
• Switch to color B for round 11, switch to color C for round 12, switch to color B for round 13, switch to color C for round 14
• Switch back to color A for round 15 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in color A
• Add a tassel of colors B & C to the center of each earflap

Teen/Adult

• Work rounds 1 through 15 in color A
• Switch to color B for round 16, switch to color C for round 17, switch to color B for round 18, switch to color C for round 19
• Switch back to color A for round 20 and both earflaps
• Work first and second edgings in color A
• Add a tassel of colors B & C to the center of each earflap

I hope you found this useful, and if you have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment or you can email me at email hidden; JavaScript is required. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!