Every year, I make my boys a hat for Christmas. They’ve always been various character hats like TMNT, Lion Guard, etc., but at ages 6 and 8, we’ve transitioned out of the Disney Jr phase and into a more mature (ha!) one. Pikachu and Link have replaced Mickey Mouse and Kion, and the boys reach for their simple Walmart slouchies way more often than their Lion Guard hats. (How did they get so old?)

And then there’s little Henry, who doesn’t keep a hat on long enough to make a character hat worth the time or energy. Toddlers, right!?

And then there’s the husband, who has been asking me for a hat for I’m-embarrassed-to-say-how-long. Sorry, babe.

So this year, I went in a different direction and designed a pattern that would work for all of them. It has just the right amount of slouch, and uses a very guy-friendly yarn called Jeans (from Lion Brand). This yarn is soft, heathery, and just looks really good.

Then, I did a little searching online to find some patches for the boys’ hats. The older two are super into the Zelda video game, and I was so pumped to find these Hylian Shield patches online. (Listen to me, throwing around that video game lingo like I actually know what I’m talking about. I don’t.)

I then searched for something Mario-related for little Henry, and found this adorable mushroom patch that I knew he would recognize.

I left my husband’s hat patch-free, but of course, all four of them got Mom’s Yarn + Chai tag sewn on. Gotta represent! (I get my tags from All This Wood on Etsy.)

And for those of you that like to know name origins — I ended up naming this hat the Hyland Slouch because for a while, when my boys would refer to that Hylian Shield, I thought they were saying hy-land instead of hy-lee-an and it just stuck.

Of course, despite its name, this hat isn’t just for the guys. It would make a great girls’ hat, too! (But let’s be honest, girls get a lot more dedicated patterns than guys, right?)

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Hyland Men’s Hat

View on Ravelry

Difficulty: Easy

Finished Sizes (h x w): 8″ x 8″ (toddler), 9″ x 9″ (child), 10″ x 9.5″ (teen/adult small), 10.5″ x 10″ (adult large). Width is measured at the bottom of the ribbing when the hat is laid flat, but the widest part of the hat (near the middle) will be about .5-1″ more.

Hook: J (6.0 mm) or whichever hook is needed to obtain correct gauge

Yarn: Lion Brand Jeans Yarn or similar #4 worsted weight yarn. Approximate amounts as follows: 170 yards (toddler), 210 yards (child), 240 yards (teen/adult small), 280 yards (adult large).

Gauge: 5 increase rounds of 10 HDC = 4.25″ across.

Pattern For Gauge:
Round 1: 10HDC in magic circle; join (10)
Round 2: 2HDC in each ST around; join (20)
Round 3: (2HDC in next, HDC in next) around; join (30)
Round 4: (2HDC in next, HDC in next 2) around; join (40)
Round 5: (2HDC in next, HDC in next 3) around; join (50)

Terms and Abbreviations:
Magic Circle (view my tutorial here)
ST/STS (stitch/stitches)
SL ST (slip stitch)
SK (skip)
CH (chain)
SC (single crochet)
YUSC (yarn under single crochet – see Special Stitches)
YUHDC (yarn under half double crochet – see Special Stitches)

Special Stitches:

Yarn Under Single Crochet (YUSC) – this is the same as a regular SC, but with one simple variation. In a regular SC, you insert your hook, yarn over, draw yarn through (2 loops on hook), yarn over, draw through both loops. With a Yarn Under Single Crochet, you will insert your hook, yarn over, draw yarn through the stitch (2 loops on hook), yarn under, draw through both loops.

Yarn Under Half Double Crochet (YUHDC) – this is the same as a regular HDC, but with one simple variation. In a regular HDC, you yarn over, insert your hook, yarn over, draw yarn through (3 loops on hook), yarn over, draw through both loops. With a Yarn Under Half Double Crochet, you will yarn over, insert your hook, yarn over, draw yarn through the stitch (3 loops on hook), yarn under, draw through all three loops.

A Note About Changing Colors:
To keep the written pattern simple, I have written it without including color changes (since it would be different for every size). The hat can be made all one color, with 2 or 3 colors (as in my samples), or really with any number of color changes you wish. To change colors, keep the following tips in mind:

1. To decide where to put your color changes, first decide how many colors you want, then take the finished height of the size you are making and divide it by the number of colors you want to use. So for instance, if I want to make a children’s hat (9″ tall) with 3 colors, I’ll divide 9 by 3 (9/3=3). I know that each color block will be about 3″, so I’ll keep a ruler handy as I work the pattern and I’ll change colors every 3″.
2. I feel that the cleanest color change happens between two rounds of YUSC (as opposed to YUHDC), so I always placed my color changes at that part of the pattern, wherever it fell closest to the measurements I was going for.

Additional Notes:
(1) This pattern is written in American Standard Terms.
(2) Pattern is worked top-down, in a spiral. Do not join or chain unless instructed.
(3) Pattern is written for toddler size with additional sizes in brackets [child, teen/adult small, adult large]. So, for example, if it says “12 [13, 14, 15]”, the first number is for the toddler size, and the numbers in brackets are child, teen/adult small, and adult large instructions, respectively. If there is only one number, it applies regardless of which size you are making. If you are working from printed instructions, it helps to circle or highlight the numbers you are following before you begin.

INSTRUCTIONS

Note: The first few rounds will produce a VERY wavy circle. As you work further down the hat, the waves will smooth out. This is how we get that cinched look at the top.

To begin: Make a magic circle; CH1.

Round 1: 12 [13,14,15] SC in magic circle. (12 [13, 14, 15])

Round 2: 2YUSC in each ST around. (24 [26, 28, 30])

Round 3: 3YUSC in each ST around. (72 [78, 84, 90])

Rounds 4-5: YUSC in each ST around. (72 [78, 84, 90])

Rounds 6-8: YUHDC in each ST around. (72 [78, 84, 90])

Rounds 9-13: YUSC in each ST around. (72 [78, 84, 90])

Rounds 14 – ?: Repeat Rounds 6-13, in order (3 rounds YUHDC, 5 rounds YUSC), until hat measures 6.5 [7.5, 8.5, 9]” tall, then continue to “Base Round” (the beginning of the ribbing section). It does not matter which repeat round you end on.

Base Round: YUSC in each ST around. Join with a SL ST to the first ST of the round. (72 [78, 84, 90])

– – – – – –

Next we’re going to make the band of the hat, and we will be working in vertical rows, attaching it to the Base Round with SL STS as we go. If you need a little extra help, click here for a video tutorial on how to add ribbing at the end of a project.

– – – – – –

CH7.
Row 1: SC in 2^nd chain from hook and in each of the remaining 6 chains. SL ST into the first SC from Base Round, the stitch on which your CH7 was built. SL ST into the next SC from Base Round. (6, plus the two slip stitches along Base Round)

The section we just created, built on the CH7, will hereafter be referred to as the “ribbing.”

Row 2: CH1, turn. Skipping over the 2 SL STS you put in Base Round, SC in BLO of each of the first 5 STS of the ribbing. SC in both loops of the last ST. (6)

Row 3: CH1, turn. SC in 1^st ST. SC in BLO of each of the remaining 5 STS of the ribbing. SL ST in each of the next 2 STS of Base Round. (6, plus the 2 SL STS along Base Round)

Row 4: CH1, turn. Skipping over the 2 SL STS you put in Base Round, SC in BLO of each of the first 5 STS of the ribbing. SC in both loops of the last ST. (6)

Rows 5-72 [78, 84, 90]: Repeat Rows 3-4 all the way along Base Round.

Fasten off and use your tail to sew together the gap between the first and last rows of the ribbing, then weave in your ends.

 

Done! If you’re sharing your finished hat on social media, be sure to hashtag #hylandmenshat and tag me @yarnandchai.design. Stay warm out there!