A good friend had her baby a wee bit early, and so I got to make some very tiny things to warm the baby’s head and feet. I found the bootie pattern online. (It was so easy, I had it memorized by the second bootie). And I improvised the hat. You can too!
Make a row of foundation single crochet as tall as you’d like the hat to be. (I made the preemie cap 4 1/2 inches tall).
Work half-double crochet in the back loop only until the hat, when stretched is the width you’d like it to be. (I went for a stretched-width of 10″ which was 8″ unstretched.)
Crochet the foundation row to the final row to close the cap. Leave a 12″ tail. Create a draw-string closure for the top of the hat by weaving in and out along one side edge about 1/2″ in from the edge itself. This creates the crown of the hat and the floral poof on top at the same time. Draw closed, and wrap the yarn around the poof a couple of times. Weave in your ends. If you don’t want a florette at the top, make your drawstring on the wrong side of the cap (which ever side you choose to be the wrong side) and make it only a smidge from the edge.
That’s it! I really like the look of the half double crochet rib–it reminds me of a broken rib in knit, which I like a lot too.
The yarn I used is Malabrigo Merino Worsted, from my stash. I used a 5 mm hook.
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crochet, pattern, free pattern, hat, preemie
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