Darth Maul was a fearsome warrior with a devious mastermind and his double-bladed lightsaber added to his ferociousness. Did you how he was created? Iain McCaig and Lucas described the drawing by Gavin Bocquet as “A kind of Rorschach pattern”.

In the final drawing, McCaig’s used his face, with the skin removed, and some Rorschach experimentation (dropping ink onto paper, folding it in half then opening). The head originally had feathers, based on prayer totems, but the Creature Effects crew led by Nick Dudman interpreted those feathers as horns, modifying his features into those common in popular “depictions of the devil” as mentioned in Wiki.

The adult male character inspired me to make one for the Dad of the family. Other characters were Mom Princess Leia, Toddler’s R2D2 and Baby’s BB8.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Process:

Though there is no pattern written for Darth Maul, there are many pictures that helped me to create the beanie all by myself. The pattern is simple. The Darth Maul has 2 colours on his head. Back is black and the front is red.

The beanie can be divided into 3 parts.

1. Base of the Beanie
2. Creation of the Thorns
3. The Final stitch.

Base of the Beanie:-

There are various ways to create the base of the beanie.

• You can follow Hazelnut Bosnian Beanie pattern and start with red to create front part and use black to create the back part.
• You can use Gingham Fall Pillows colour switch for every row.
  • I started with black 12 HDC and a magic circle.
  • while increasing by 2 at 2nd row, I used black for creating 12 HDC. Then added red to create another 12 HDC.
    • Here, I continued the black yarn at the back of every next 12 HDC along with the red to avoid the hassle of cutting and joining at every end. You can cut the yarn at every row and join them when needed in next row. 
  • I continued the basic process of Half Double crochet beanie pattern for an adult man using a 5.5mm crochet hook.

The detailed instruction-

R1: Starting with (Black yarn) Magic Circle; CH 2, 12 HDC; join at 1st HDC with Slip Stitch(SS). Total 12 counts.

R2: CH 2, 2HDC in 6 stitches; (insert red yarn and carry black yarn behind till the end of the row) 2HDC in next 6 stitches; pick up black yarn from behind and join at 1st HDC with SS. Total 24 counts; 12 black, 12 red.

Note: when you are using one colour, always carry other colour behind and stitch together. Follow this video for clear understanding.

R3: CH 2, 2HDC in next stitch, HDC in next 2 stitches; (insert red yarn and carry black yarn behind till the end of the row) 2HDC in next stitch, HDC in next 2 stitches; pick up black yarn from behind and join at 1st HDC with SS. Total 36 counts; 18 black, 18 red.

R4: CH 2, 2HDC in next stitch, HDC in next 3 stitches; (insert red yarn and carry black yarn behind till the end of the row) 2HDC in next stitch, HDC in next 3 stitches; pick up black yarn from behind and join at 1st HDC with SS. Total 48 counts; 24 black, 24 red.

R5: CH 2, 2HDC in next stitch, HDC in next 4 stitches; (insert red yarn and carry black yarn behind till the end of the row) 2HDC in next stitch, HDC in next 4 stitches; pick up black yarn from behind and join at 1st HDC with SS. Total 60 counts; 30 black, 30 red.

R6: CH 2, 2HDC in next stitch, HDC in next 5 stitches; (insert red yarn and carry black yarn behind till the end of the row) 2HDC in next stitch, HDC in next 5 stitches; pick up black yarn from behind and join at 1st HDC with SS. Total 72 counts; 36 black, 36 red.

Repeat R6 to increase by 12 i.e. HDC in next n+1 stitches, to get the diameter.

R7: CH 2, HDC in 36 stitches; (insert red yarn and carry black yarn behind till the end of the row) HDC in next 36 stitches; pick up black yarn from behind and join at 1st HDC with SS. Total 72 counts; 36 black, 36 red.

Repeat R7 to get the height of the beanie.

Creation of the Thorns:-

I like the setting of the thorns from Roonie Ranching Blog. I made the 7 thorns of skin colour yarn and added 2 rows of black yarn at the end.

Note: The stitches are supposed to tight so use a smaller crochet hook (4mm in my case.) 

1: Starting with ch 2, make 4 SC at last loop. Working in spiral continue 4 SC for another round. Total: 4sc Turn inside out to get the right side of the stitch and continue further.

Note: It might be difficult due to tight stitch. Use stitch markers at end of each row to have a clear indication of start and end of the rows.

2: 2SC on every 2nd SC of the row. Total: 6sc. Repeat one more round.

3: 2SC on every 4th SC the row. Total: 8sc. Repeat one more round.

4: 2SC on every 4th SC the row. Total: 12sc. Repeat one more round.

5: 2SC on every 4th SC the row. Total: 16sc. Repeat one more round.

6: 2SC on every 4th SC the row. Total: 20sc. Repeat one more round.

Join Black yarn and complete one round. In the next round make 2SC in every sc. join with slip stitch and leave the tail for stitching. For 2 thorns, I added 1 more row of 9 stitches of (SC,HDC,DC,DC,DC,DC,DC,HDC,SC) to give the look.

The Final Stitch:-

This might be a bit tricky to explain. I made the design directly on the hat while stitching the thorn. But you can create the designs on 3 thorns and sew them as per the mentioned design.

Make a series of ch stitch +1 to get the desired length. Add a row of sc. Ch1 and leave a tail to sew to the beanie.

Note: You have to keep setting up the chain row on the beanie in the defined shape to get the exact length. Please keep in mind to stitch loosely as the beanie expands when you wear it. The final stitch shouldn’t impact the length and circumference of the beanie.

Caution Section:-

1. The selection of the yarns is important. The thickness and elasticity of the yarn and the chosen crochet hook determines the design.
2. Also, your technique impacts the smoothness or finished look. Everyone has different techniques ranging from tight stitching style to medium to loose stitching styles.
3. In case, you are unable to get the required chosen coloured yarn of same thickness, you can change the crochet hook and your technique as you go around, to get the seamless look. For me, I chose one crochet hook and changed my technique for different yarns.
4. Since the number of rows alters due to different yarn sizes and crochet hooks, it is best to total up the number of rows required to make 1″.
5. The positioning of the stripes or thorns and edging size along with the knowledge of the gauge will reduce the rework. I didn’t make any edge thus I concentrated on the positions of the random stripes and thorns.
6. Use stitch markers to mark the thorns first and then plan out the stripes position or vice versa, according to your convenience.

Product Specifications:

Defining Dimensions:-

• Height: 9″
• Circumference: 22″-24″

The sizes can be altered based on the total count of the stitches for the rows.

Optional Alterations:-

• I do not think you need any embellishment for this. The Darth Maul beanie is an accessory by itself.
  

Remember: do not over accessorise it. This hides the beauty of the pattern itself. Believe in elegance simplicity!!

In case, you have stuck anywhere or have any queries, kindly contact me.

Adult Star Wars Darth Maul Beanie

Style Aisle:

• Go for complete Star Wars Darth Maul look. Darth Maul Beanie with a white and orange outfit.
• White sweater or black sweater with a Darth Maul beanie.
• Use as great Star Wars Darth Maul costume for Halloween. Make other characters to complete the Star Wars family.

Materials:

1. Yarn: Vardhman Wool – Red, Black, Skin.
   • Note: you can play around with different branded yarns as far as they give the synchronous flow of the pattern using a constant crochet hook.
   • You can either go for the yarns with the same recommended crochet hook OR decide the yarn and change the crochet hooks along with the tightness on the crochet stitches as you proceed with the pattern.
   • You can change the pattern to get the continuous flow.
2. Crochet Hook: 4.5mm, 4mm
3. Needles
4. Scissors
5. Measuring Tape
6. Stitch Marker: My stitch markers are the mini safety pins we get from clothing tags.

Happy Crocheting!!!