Agnetha Faltskog (ABBA) Beanie Pattern Help

[ABBAFan456]

Hello, I just started learning to crochet, and I wanted to make myself this Beanie from the ABBA Museum store.   I literally only learned how to crochet so I could make this beanie, and I've attempted to make it a couple of times now, and each time something seems to be going wrong.  For example, I've started crocheting in a spiral after increasing the stitches for the first four rows to make the hat wide enough, and the beanie is stuck looking like a pancake and not curling in to make more of a dome shape even though I don't think I'm increasing it anymore.

Can anyone figure out what I'm doing wrong, and what I can do to fix it?  I'm having trouble understanding the pattern as well, and if anyone could explain it to me, I'd really appreciate it. :)

[Granny Square]

Hi and welcome!  

First:  Since you are a beginner, I really strongly recommend that you follow the pattern which is NOT worked in a spiral.  It is not written that way, it makes a big difference and it will not look the same if you don't follow the pattern exactly word for word, and is certainly why you are 'going wrong'.

Sorry to waggle my finger at you, but I want to help you to get your hat going right so you are happy with the result.

Working a hat in a spiral really only works when you are working 100% in UK DC stitches, or maybe HTR, (100% of the hat in identical short, plain stitches in other words).  When you work in a spiral, and stop, your work will look like this:  ____── sort of, best I can do on a keyboard.  With a spiral you are always working uphill, you need to work straight (not uphill) in rounds because with your stitch pattern, with varied stitches, the rows need to meet up evenly and not ajog.  As in make a flat ring, 'chain up' to bring the yarn to the next round's level, make another flat ring, chain up...which is what your pattern is telling you to do.

If you knit..this is one major way crochet is different.  Crochet stitches are taller, so working in a spiral is rare outside of making a stuffed toy, or socks, or simple 1 stitch hats.

On your hat, the rounds begin with chain 1, chain 3 or 4.  The number of chains correspond to the height of the stitch that follows the turn.  The 'understood rules':

DC - chain 1 to turn, the chain does not count as a stitch.

HTR - chain 1 or 2 to turn, the chain may or may not count as a stitch (strange stitch, pattern usually will tell you).

Treble - chain 3, chain counts as a stitch

Dtr - chain 4, chain counts as a stitch.

When a chain does not count as a stitch, you make the chains, and make your first real stitch in the last stitch you made in the row before.

When a chain does count as a stitch, you make the chains, then skip the first stitch in front of you (last stitch from the row before), and make the first stitch into the following stitch.  Reason:  because the chain counts as a stitch, it is treated as if it is 'in' the first stitch.  Then, when you encounter that same chain at the end of the following row, you stitch into the top chain.  If you don't do this, you will gain or lose stitches.  There are other ways to deal with this I don't want to throw too much at you all at once.

Edited December 17, 2019 by Granny Square