A house with a country looks or Rustic/Sylvan interior is very attractive and pleasant to the eyes. A sculpture or wood flooring and beams provide more country feeling. Wood has always played an important element for interior designers.

In fashion, you can get that similar country or rustic look through accessories or clothing. People contrast their dresses with a combination of browns and whites. The wood or weathered look have always inspired me. I was planning to create a different kind of slouch hat. I started browsing online for a different pattern. After some time I felt something was missing in every pattern.

I had already created many hats and had learned a lot about stitches. It wasn’t going to be very challenging. I decided to design all by myself. The outcome was very fascinating; a hybrid between hat and beanie. Unlike the other beanies, the base of this beanie did not sit along the shape of the head. The circular base gave the look of a hat. I named this hat as Sylvan Slouch Hat.

Process:

Base:-

1. Start with simple double crochet(DC) base. A magic ring with 12 DC.
2. continue increasing by 12 up to 6 rows or depending on the required diameter for the crown.

Body:-

1. 1 row of Half double crochet(HDC) around with white yarn
2. 1 rows of HDC (knit style) around
3. 1 row DC around with main yarn working on the 3rd/hidden loop of HDC
4. 1 row of DC around
5. 1 row of Back Post Double Crochet  (BPDC) around
6.  1 row of DC with brown yarn around
7. 1 row of Front Post Double Crochet(FPDC) with brown yarn around
   • You can with continue with 1 more round of DC around. I prefer FPDC since the brown yarn thickness was less than main yarn. I wanted to give the consistent thickness around the hat.

• 1 row of BPDC of main yarn around
• 1 row of FPDC of brown yarn around
• 1 row of HDC or brown yarn.

Brim/Edge:-

1. 4 rows of Herringbone Half Double Crochet(HHDC) stitched created by Tamara from Moogly with white yarn around.

Caution Section:-

1. 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″. Based on this calculation, the position of the bands can be set.
2. FPDC and BPDC required a bigger crochet hook or loose stitching technique to maintain the seamless look of the beanie.
3. Depending on the texture of the yarn, you can either choose a larger crochet hook other than recommended one or you can loosely stitch FPDC and BPDC.
   • Since I always do tight stitches, I choose bigger crochet hook than the recommended one. It is more of testing a couple of rows to see the flow.
4. For edging the last row, you can change the crochet hook to a smaller size to give a tighter set.
5. Since the base of the crown is DC stitch, the diameter of the crown can be 5.5-6.5″ for the adult woman, depending on the target audience.  The BPDC will not reduce the crown size. 

Product Specifications:

Defining Dimensions:-

• Height of the hat: 9.5″
• Circumference: 23″

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

Optional Alterations:-

• You can increase the base diameter to give a more slouchy feel. Also, increase the height of the beanie.
• You can add pom-pom matching the colour with the edging or the base colour. There are different ways to create pom-pom.
• You can attach flowers, beads or a bow made of crochet, plastic, suede leather etc to give cuteness to the hat.
• You can put fur edging or tassels to give a different touch.

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.

Sylvan Slouch Hat

Style Aisle:

• Select the yarn colour matching with your winter wear. Try out the Hat-Scarf combo, Hat-Gloves combo of the same pattern or different pattern but the same colour mix.
• Choose the contrast colours matching with your jacket.
• Choose the wool colour based on the palette in the wardrobe. Experiment and enjoy the beautiful colours.

Materials:

1. Yarn: Jo-Ann Big Twist Chunky – Chunky City Pathway, Red Heart Soft – Chocolate, Red Heart Soft – White
   • 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: 5.5mm
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!!!