Okay, so maybe putting this under the Project Media: Sunset category is kind of pushing it. I wanted to use purples and pinks to make an ombre color scheme, but while I was originally designing the hat, it was too big and used most of my pink and purple yarn! You'll see the pictures of it later when I describe my thought process. I ended up ditching that prototype, so it still has all my yarn for the moment! When I started my second prototype (the hat pictured here), I went for a more twilight-like color scheme, because I had a decent array of blue yarns. However, I ran out of navy blue and normal blue, so I ended up arranging the colors this way. It kind of looks like waves though, so that turned out pretty cool!
I'll start with the free pattern for our lovely visitors. If you're one of those visitors who don't know what Project Media is, I recommend checking out this post! Part of it includes making more free crochet patterns every month!
Materials:
At least two spools of worsted weight yarn. You can use any mix of colors you'd like, but I'd recommend softer yarns so that the hat isn't itchy. I also recommend colors that contrast your hair color so that the dragonfly pattern will stand out.
A G/4.25 mm crochet hook
A pair of scissors
(Optional) a stitch marker. Safety pins and paperclips work just as well as professional ones!
Terms (US):
Rnd - Round number #
MR - magic ring
ch - chain
st - stitch
sc - single crochet
dc - double crochet
inc - increase/2 sc in one st
slst - slip stitch
chsp - chain space/space formed by a chain
skip # st - skip a certain number of stitches
x # - repeat a certain number of times
(...) - total number of stitches in a round when it is complete
[...] - optional color instructions. You can rearrange your colors to your liking.
Notes:
Difficulty: Easy to intermediate (not because it's hard, but because I might not explain it so well)
This pattern is designed for teens and adults and may be too big for children.
This pattern uses a mix of working in a spiral and working in joined rounds.
Since this pattern reaches large numbers that may be hard to keep track of, I recommend counting in sets and referencing landmarks, particularly the curved line formed by increases and the parts of the dragonfly. I will go more in-depth about the dragonflies when we reach that part of the pattern.
I'm not completely certain about the total number of stitches in Rnds 19-22.
I apologize for the lack of pictures! I was so worked up counting the numbers of stitches that I forgot to take more in-progress pictures!
Working in a spiral:
[Start with your third color, or secondary color if you only have two]
Rnd 1: 6sc into MR (6)
Rnd 2: Inc x8 (12)
Rnd 3: *Sc, inc* x6 (18)
Rnd 4: *Sc, sc, inc* x6 (24)
Rnd 5: *Sc x3, inc* x6 (30)
Rnd 6: *Sc x4, inc* x6 (36)
Rnd 7: [Change to secondary color] *Sc x5, inc* x6 (42)
Rnd 8: *Sc x6, inc* x6 (48)
Rnd 9: *Sc x7, inc* x6 (54)
Rnd 10: *Sc 8, inc* x6 (60)
Rnd 11: *Sc 9, inc* x6 (66)
Rnd 12: *Sc 10, inc* x6 (72)
Rnd 13: *Sc 11, inc* x6 (78)
Rnd 14: *Sc 12, inc* x6 (84)
Working in joined rounds:
Tips:
This is where I would start counting in sets of 15 and referencing the curved line formed at the increases. The increases signal the end of a set before you repeat, so as long as you completed the previous round properly, this will work. It's a great way to check if you've done the round correctly.
The head and body segments are always on stitch number eight (8) of a set, so use that to correctly place it and also find the number you're on if you get lost.
Rnd 15: *Dc 13, dc twice into same st* x6 (90)
Rnd 16-17: [Change to primary color on Rnd 17] Ch 2, dc all the way around, slst into next st (90)
Rnd 18: Ch 2, dc 7, *ch 2, skip a st, dc 29* x2, ch 2, skip a st, dc 21, slst into next st (93)
Rnd 19: Ch 2, dc 3, *ch 7, skip 10 st, dc 21* x2, ch 2, skip 10 st, dc 17, slst into next st (84)
Rnd 20: Ch 2, dc 2, *dc 2 into same st, ch 3, sc into gap from Rnd 18, ch 3, skip 3 st, dc 2 into same st, dc 9, ch 2, skip a st, dc 9* x2, dc 2 into same st, ch 3, sc into gap from Rnd 18, ch 3, skip 3 st, dc 2 into same st, dc 9, ch 2, skip a st, dc 6, slst into next st (93)
Rnd 21: Ch 2, dc 4, *dc 3 into chsp, ch 1, dc 3 into next chsp, dc 7, ch 7, skip 10 st, dc 7* x 2, dc 3 into chsp, ch 1, dc 3 into next chsp, dc 7, ch 7, skip 10, dc 2, slst into next st (84)
Rnd 22: Ch 2, dc 7, *ch 1, skip a st, dc 9, dc 2 into same st, ch 3, sc into gap from Rnd 20, ch 3, skip 3 st, dc 2 into same st* x 2, dc 9, ch 1, skip a st, dc 9, dc 2 into same st, ch 3, sc into gap from Rnd 20, ch 3, skip 3 st, dc 2 into same st, dc 1, slst into next st (84)
Rnd 23: Ch 2, dc 7, ch 1, skip a st, *dc 11, dc 3 into chsp, ch 1, dc 3 into next chsp, dc 11, ch 1, skip a st* x 2, dc 11, dc 3 into chsp, ch 1, dc 3 into next chsp, dc 3, slst into next st (90)
Rnd 24: Ch 2, dc 22, *ch 1, skip a st, dc 29* x 2, ch 1, skip a st, dc 6, slst into next st (90)
Rnd 25: Ch 2, dc all the way around, slst into next st (90)
Rnd 26: Ch 1, *sc 14, sc 3 into next st* x 6 (102)
Working in spiral:
Rnd 27: [Change to secondary color] *Sc 14, inc, sc, inc* x 6 (114)
Rnd 28: *Sc 15, inc, sc, inc, sc* x 6 (126)
Rnd 29: *Sc 16, inc, sc, inc, sc 2* x 6 (138)
Rnd 30: *Sc 17, inc, sc, inc, sc 3* x 6 (150)
Rnd 31: *Sc 18, inc, sc, inc, sc 4* x 6 (162)
Rnd 32: *Sc 19, inc, sc, inc, sc 5* x 6 (174)
Rnd 33: [Change to primary color] *Sc 20, inc, sc, inc, sc 6* x 6 (186)
Rnd 34: *Sc 21, inc, sc, inc, sc 7* x 6 (198)
Slst into the next st and fasten off, then weave in the tail.
And now you're done! Congratulations on making yourself a snazzy dragonfly bucket hat!
I think this hat is really great for sunny summer days! The double crochet stitches and dragonfly stitches help to ventilate the hat, meaning it won't get too warm. The rim will keep the sun out of your eyes. The colors are completely customizable to your liking. Most of all, this hat will give your summer some pizazz!
I want to give credit to the owner of ellej.org, the website I got the dragonfly pattern and tutorial from. They really did an amazing job at describing the dragonfly pattern in a way that was easy to understand, and the pattern itself is quite elegant! I highly recommend checking out their website when you get the chance!
As I mentioned earlier, I love that the rim curls up into a sort of wavy formation that I've never seen on other hats before (granted, I barely look into hats). I think the waves add a touch of personality to the hat that adds to its style. It would be great for the beach!
Depending on the color scheme you chose for your hat, I think it would look lovely with a casual dress of similar or contrasting colors. A matching t-shirt would look just as nice as well! I personally went with a casual blue dress with watermelons on it.
Onto the thought process for my lovely Project Media followers!
I started this project without looking at other bucket hat crochet patterns. The reason I did this was to a) see if I could figure out how to make a hat using only my crochet/sewing knowledge and knowing the general structure of a hat and b) avoid potentially copying another pattern. It was more interesting to learn from scratch and come up with something completely new!
My base concept was this: I would make a circle, then stop increasing so that it would build upward like a tube, then start increasing again to form the rim. The result was not as simple as this, and I made a lot of mistakes.
With my first test, I used 8 sts on the MR instead of 6. I thought that it would make the hat rounder, but it seemed to just take up more yarn. It also made the top of the hat more bubbly, although I suspect that it's partially because of the thick yarn I used. The thick yarn and choice of 8 sts resulted in a hat that was very bumpy and far too big! In fact, it fit my giant teddy bear!
Another issue I had was when I swapped to dc sts and stopped increasing on the same row. The hat still continued to get wider for some reason, contributing to that large hat problem.
The third issue was with the dragonfly motif. I used dc sts to make the pattern more noticeable and taller, and the height of dc sts made the side of the hat easier to make. However, the stiff yarn made the hat bubble a lot.
When I started the second hat, I used thinner, softer yarns (partially because that was all I had available). I started with 6 sts in the MR. I figured, "there must be a reason that basically every pattern I've ever followed used 6 sts specifically." It's been tried and true, and thankfully, it worked much better! I also continued increasing for two rounds after I swapped to dc sts, and I believe this led to a smoother transition when I stopped increasing. It also added a nice rim on the top.
I proceeded similarly to the first hat with a modified number of stitches, making the dragonflies slightly smaller. The softer yarn made the dragonflies less bubbly, and since the hat actually fit this time, the bubbles weren't noticeable when worn. One of my only regrets is that the lower row of dragonflies is shorter, since adding another row would've made the hat too long for my head. I also wish I added more dragonflies.
I never finished the rim on the first hat, but I joined the rounds there. On the second hat, I worked the rim in a spiral, and I believe that's what caused the rim to form "waves." I think that was one of the pleasant surprises that came out of this project.
Here's a comparison panorama of my two hats. Do you notice the difference in size?
This was my first time designing a crochet pattern from scratch, and I was really satisfied! My takeaways from this were:
Count stitches when you finish the row so you don't have to calculate or manually count the stitches later. This is especially important because even though I wrote the pattern down, I forgot some of the things I did.
Don't be afraid to restart or try again. One of the cool things about crochet is that you can go back and fix mistakes when you notice them!
Adding a motif to a project can require a lot of math.
Experimentation is great! We can't innovate without stepping into the unknown.
This concludes Project Media's theme of sunsets for the month of August! I had a blast working through the first month of this project, and I'm excited to continue it in September! Keep an eye out for the theme announcement for next month, and I'll see you around! Thanks for reading!
- Jonalie <3
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