© Photography by Kindred Photo & Design
Thank you to Lion Brand for providing the yarn for this pattern sample!
I’ve always had a picture in my head of a slouch hat that I wanted to create, that had a very slooooooooow, graaaaaadual color change. I looked into the possibility of dip-dying the finished hat, but it looked like more effort than it was worth. (Plus, I’m lazy.) Then, just recently, I found out about Lion Brand’s new yarn – Scarfie! As soon as I saw it, I knew it was The One. The perfect yarn for the hat I wanted to create.
Click the photo to view Lion Brand Scarfie yarn on Craftsy!
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About the Yarn
Each skein of Scarfie has very gradual color changes between two colors. I immediately gravitated to the Cream/Taupe, because, well, I’m a sucker for a good taupe color. Each skein has 312 yards of bulky weight yarn, so you’ve got plenty to make a beautiful, somewhat-ombre-style scarf.
But we’re not making a scarf today.
Nope, today we’re going to use that beautiful Scarfie yarn to make a hat! Sometimes, you just gotta do the unexpected. 🙂
This pattern is a very simple slouch pattern. But paired with the gorgeous gradual color changes of Scarfie, it becomes completely unique! It just goes to show you how yarn choice can make all the difference.
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About the Name
I named this pattern the “Macchiato Slouch” because the combination of the yarn color and the gradual fade made me think back to my days as a barista. One of my favorite drinks was an iced caramel macchiato — vanilla syrup, milk, and a couple shots of espresso and caramel drizzle to mark the top (macchiato means marked in Italian). So instead of the espresso instantly mixing with milk, as it would in a latte, the espresso sits on top of it until it sloooooowly blends in from the top-down. Now, the next time you to go your local coffee shop, you can wow them with your knowledge… and with your new hat!
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MACCHIATO SLOUCH HAT
Level: Easy
Size:
One Size Fist Most (Preteen – Adult Woman).
Hat measures 9.5” across at band, and is 9” tall.
Materials:
- N hook (9.00mm) and I hook (5.50mm)
- Yarn needle
- Lion Brand Scarfie Yarn (I used Cream/Taupe), about 140 yards, which is less than half a skein – so you can make two! (Scarfie is a bulky weight yarn.)
- Stitch marker (a bobby pin works great)
- Button (1-1.5″) and tools to attach it
Gauge:
With N hook, 7HDC = 3″
Stitches Used:
MC (magic circle) – view my tutorial here
CH (chain)
SS (slip stitch)
SC (single crochet)
HDC (half double crochet)
Notes:
(1) This hat is worked in a continuous spiral until the band. Do not join, chain or turn until instructed. Use a stitch marker to mark the first stitch of each round.
(2) This pattern is written in American Standard terms.
(3) The button and button flap on this hat are just decorative (they don’t actually function). There is no buttonhole, and at the end, we’ll just sew everything neatly in place.
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To begin:
Using N Hook, make a magic circle.
Round 1: 10 HDC in MC (10)
Round 2: 2 HDC in each ST around (20)
Round 3: 2 HDC in each ST around (40)
Note: At this point, it’s going to start looking wavy. You’re doing it right! The back of the hat has a faux-cinched look to it, and this is how we achieve it. Once you get to the body of the hat, it will start to straighten itself out naturally.
Round 4: (2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in next) around (60)
Rounds 5-15: HDC around (60)
Switch to I hook.
Round 16: SC around (60). CH7.
From this point on, we will be working in turned rounds. We still won’t be joining.
Round 17: Turn your work. Working down the back side of the CH7, SC in 2nd CH from hook and in each remaining CH, then continue to SC around the hat (you’re now crocheting in the opposite direction as the previous round) until you reach the beginning again. (66)
Rounds 18-22: CH1, turn. SC around. (66)
Edging: CH1. SC around the entire band of the hat, including the button flap, putting (SC,CH1,SC) in each corner.
Fasten off, leaving a 12″ tail. Use the tail to gently sew the button flap in place, then weave in all ends securely. Attach decorative button in place with yarn or a needle and thread.
Loved learning about this yarn! Thanks so much!
Love this hat, I’m new to crochet and really want to try this.
So cute! Thanks for sharing your pattern for free!
Love this hat! Works up so quickly, I am working on my third one! Plan on making one in each of the scarfie color ways! Thanks for a great pattern!
My favorite!
Love that hat ! Love the colors too ! What to make one for my niece. Thanks for sharing.
I have now made 5 of the Macchiato hats and I am going to start the 6th tonight. I’ve made 4 for granddaughters and the one tonight is for a daughter-in-law. Guess I should make one for myself. Love this pattern.
Make that 5 for granddaughters. The have been a hit.
This looks nice. Too bad I don’t have time to make it now but maybe later. I was in the process of making the yenni slouch hat but it came out waaay to big since i didn’t use the thinner yarn. Do you have any suggestions to help me alter/finish it?
Always check gauge, and assume if you use a larger yarn weight than suggested, it will turn out larger. 🙂 You can try re-doing the band with a smaller hook to get the hat to stay on, but beyond that, I’m not sure what to tell you. 🙂
I have some lighter worsted weight gradual change yarn that will be perfect. The largest hook I have on hand right now is a K. What diameter should I have at the end of the N hook rounds? I’ll adjust and then switch to an I hook. Thanks!
I didn’t measure that, sorry 🙂 With the faux-cinched look, it’s not your basic flat-circle diameter measurements.
I just made two of these hats. They are awesome. Thanks for such a great pattern! Now to make a cowl to match.
Keep up the good work!
Tamara
Hi! I love this pattern! I am trying to make one for a friend of mine and it is WAY too long and wide. I used a “K” hook instead of an “N” since I crochet loosely. I don’t know what I did wrong. I ripped it out 4 times, then I thought I had it right, but it doesn’t look right. Can you please help me? Is there a tutorial on this that could help me? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Did you change to a smaller hook when working the band? The hat is slouchy, so it will be longer than a regular hat, and the smaller hook at the end, tightens everything up. I don’t crochet tightly, but used a larger hook on the band on my second hat so that it would fit an adult and not just a teen. Hope this helps.
I guess it depends on HOW long and wide it is. As Mary said, it should be longer than a normal hat, and it will start wider as well because the band brings everything tighter.
I had the same problem as Cheryl above. The hat was HUGE! As I said, I even used a “K” hook. I didn’t even start the band because I was so unhappy with the hugeness of the slouchy part of the hat. I am using the Scarfie yarn. Maybe I added too many rows when increasing. I ripped it out and I will try it again. Thanks!
I’m new to knitting & enjoy it very much, I will try this pattern,
Thanks for sharing
Pam
In round 4 do you keep with the 2hdc and 1hdc all around? Or just do 2hdc and 1 hdc around?
I’m not sure I understand your question, because both options you mentioned sound the same. 🙂 You’ll repeat everything in the ( ). So 2HDC, 1HDC, 2HDC, 1HDC, 2HDC, 1HDC, etc.
Thank you for this great pattern, if I can follow aND successfully finish this hat, you have made a miracle pattern, I really have trouble follow American pattern?
was wonder if you have a men’s (uni-sex) simple slouch beanie? i’m making several of your others, and I love them! Thanks! Also, for the others, like the macchiato, i’m having trouble finding a nice button..any ideas?
Hi Wendy! I only have one men’s hat, and it’s a beanie, but could easily be made a slouchy by adding some extra rounds: http://littlemonkeyscrochet.com/hats-for-the-homeless-a-giveback-opportunity/
I get most of my buttons at Joann Fabrics. They have the nicest selection. You definitely pay a little more for nice ones, but I think button selection is just as important as yarn selection so I try to factor in that extra couple bucks when I’m budgeting out the cost of a project 🙂
I finished this hat yesterday and it came out ENORMOUS. The band fits my head perfectly but the rest of the hat is huge. It’s 13″ wide and 12″ high. I know some slouch hats are on oversized, but this one doesn’t look like it is in the picture. Is that the size it’s supposed to be?
No — as stated in the pattern, the hat should measure about 9.5” across at band, and 9” tall. The BODY of the hat will probably be somewhere around 11″ wide when laid flat, because it’s the tighter band that brings it down to 9.5″. It depends on where you’re measuring. As far as height — you can just do fewer rounds to get it closer to 9″ tall.
There could be a couple different reasons yours came out too large. Did you check gauge? You may crochet much looser than I do. Or, did you choose a different yarn? The Scarfie yarn is going to have a tighter gauge than many other #5 yarns because the yarn itself has varying weights throughout (it goes from thin to thick repeatedly). So if you follow the pattern with a solid, consistent #5 yarn without checking your gauge, you might end up with a larger hat.
I did use the scarfie yarn, so that’s not the issue. Oh, well. I’ll try again checking the gauge first and see what happens. I am so bummed b/c I tried taking the hat apart and the fuzziness of the yarn makes it impossible. The yarn strand just ripped in two several times so I ended up just pitching the whole thing. I really do like the pattern, so hopefully I can figure out what I was doing wrong. I made your Jenny Slouch Hat a whole bunch of times and it came out great every time. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your beautiful patterns!
I just wanted to let you know that I realized that my N hook was 10mm instead of 9mm. I tried again with a 9mm M/N hook and it came out perfectly! I’m actually on my 5th one now!
Hi,
What do you mean by (sc ch1 sc in the corners?)
What corners are you talking about?
The corners on the button flap.
Thank you for sharing this pattern, I love it, simple to make, my grandkids will love this in their Christmas Stocking this year. I’ll enjoy making them. Love your style and your instructions are great. Love and light Jennie. These hats are also great for the homeless, with a pair of Mittens to match.