I need help with understanding this pattern

[Noobieboogie]

I really want to make this hat for my mom. For Christmas. I understand how to make the magic circle,single stitch, and increasing.... but I'm not sure how to start these...

• "Round 1: Ch 1, 7 sc through the loop. Do not join, place marker and work a continual round."
• "Round 1: Ch 3, 2 dc in the same stitch, skip 2 stitches, *3 dc in the next stitch, skip 2 stitches. Repeat from * till the last shell, join with the beginning chain."

http://lovestitches.blogspot.com/2011/11/pattern-crochet-hat-for-my-mom.html?m=1

What does it mean "do not join"? Do I just make the 7 chain and ignore the first and let the magic circle dangle?

[bgs]

There is no 7 chain.  You are making 7 single crochet stitches in your magic circle.   It tells you to work in a continual round so you are not joining the last stitch to the first stitch with a slip stitch but instead you work the first stitch of round 2 into the first stitch of round one 

https://stitchesnscraps.com/continuous-rounds-running-stitch-markers/

 

[Granny Square]

^ What she said.

I think you may be unclear on the magic circle/adjustable ring.  This pattern doesn't use one.  If you want to use a magic circle for a pattern that doesn't tell you to use a magic circle, you have to understand the mechanics of what the steps of the pattern are achieving, in other words the piece of the pattern that you have to eliminate to be able to substitute the magic circle.  

Patterns that don't tell you to use a magic circle (about 99.99% of them) will tell you to use a chain in some form, and either join multiple chains into a fixed ring and crochet over the ring, or to make a chain, usually turning chain +1, and put multiple stitches into the first chain.

In your pattern, the part you want to replace by the magic circle is the initial 'chain 1' , which is where the pattern tells you to put 7 SC into.  If I were starting this with a magic circle, I'd make the magic circle, chain 1 (in this case for the turning chain to bring the yarn up to the height of the row--not to put stitches into), and put 7 SC into the magic circle.