My Hats Look Like Mushrooms

[Malleus]

Hi all,

I enjoy making hats for people but it seems that whenever I make a beanie that doesn't have a pompom on top, they end up looking like mushroom heads.
I assume it's something to do with my stitch counts but I'm following the instructions & the photos all look like nice tight fitting beanies.
Any suggestions would be appreciates. 

[magiccrochetfan]

Hi, welcome to the Ville!  It's really hard to say what's going on without more info.  If you can post a clear photo of a hat you made, and tell us the name and location of the pattern you used, that will help.  Also the specific yarn and hook size used.  

[magiccrochetfan]

Also did the pattern tell you the stitch counts at various points?  And did you count the stitches in the finished hat to be sure your stitch count is correct?  Asking because you said you think your stitch count is wrong.  

[Granny Square]

This may not be the problem, but I'm just going to throw this out there, because there's an aspect of working solid stitches in the round that is a little...misleading, and can cause extra stitches if you're not careful.  It might not be a bad idea to put a stitch marker in the top of the first stitch of the round, because there's a little pseudo-stitch-looking-thing that happens.

See the spot with the red arrow in the photo?  That's not a stitch!  It's the base of the first stitch in the round; the first stitch's TOP  that you should work into is the top chain of the 3 chains to the left of it.

[Ellie 13]

It's a good idea to mark the 1st stitch (as above), or don't join rounds, mark the 1st stitch to keep count. Either way, you should put a marker every 5th round so you don't lose count. Missing or extra rounds can mess up things too. Who knows, maybe "mushroom" hats might become a new style  .

Ellie 13

[Malleus]

Thanks for the replies, sorry for the delay but, I’ve been out in the woods. 

So the pattern I used is from here 

https://www.elkstudiohandcraftedcrochetdesigns.com/work-or-play-beanie/

and a picture of my beanie is attached. 

I tend to mark the first stitch then every 10th stitch to keep me in track. But, this is my 4th creation so I’m very much a neophyte & sure I botched it up somewhere. 

 

 

[magiccrochetfan]

I don't see any significant problems, it looks good to me!  Looks like from the stripe up about six rows , that section is a bit fuller than the sc brim....is that what you dont like?  

You shouldnt expect a hat to lay completely flat.   The shape just will not do that.  

How does the hat look when it is worn?  

[Granny Square]

I see no botching here   This is exactly what the shape is supposed to look like.  As you said, it looks right on one's head (in the photo - have you tried yours on?), and that's what's important.

Oops,  Magic!

[magiccrochetfan]

Hi Granny Square!  

[Malleus]

Mostly I don't like that the hat isn't very form fitting. In the pattern photo it seems to fit very closely, mine seems to bulge at the top like a mushroom. 

 

 

[magiccrochetfan]

It must be that your gauge is tighter on the sc brim.

 You could switch to a pattern that's all dc or hdc.  Then you'll need to stop increasing sooner to make it fit snugly.  

[Granny Square]

It looked great flat; now that I see it on your head, I can think of 2 things I'd have done differently on your pattern.

First, there is a rule of thumb on making a flat circle (like the top of a hat like this).  For SC, start with 6 stitches, and add 6 stitches each round.  For HDC, start with 8 or 9 stitches, and add 8 or 9 stitches each round.  For DC, start with 12 stitches and add 12 stitches each round.  The reason is: SC is about half as tall as DC, and HDC is somewhere in the middle.  Your pattern starts in HDC and adds 10 per round, which I think is too many; too many stitches makes a wavy circle.  The waviness can vary on your stitch tension; I make short stitches so that caught my eye; I'd have picked 8 increases for HDC, myself.

Also, if you 'stack' your increases (especially with bigger things in the round), you end up with more of a hexagon, octagon, nonagon or twelve-agon (too lazy to look that one up) than a circle.  Patterns seldom tell you to avoid stacking increases.  I can see sort of pointy spots on your mushroom, which gives a hint that this is happening.  The pattern of increases for a circle or hat top is x plain stitches, increase (x starts with zero and increase by 1 each round).   To stagger them, after the first couple of rounds, start alternating rounds with the pattern increases as written and a stagger round.  Stagger round:   instead of x plain stitches, make half of x plain, increase, then for the rest of the circle do x plain stitches between the increases until you are near the end, then the last stitches would be the 'other half' of the plain stitches you omitted at the beginning of the round.  The next round would be the normal 'x plain, increase' pattern.  Example: if you are at the point of "5 plain stitches, increase", then make 2 stitches, increase, proceed around 'as normal', then at the end the last 3 stitches would be plain.

[Malleus]

Thanks folks!