Lisa: More Adventures in Millinery

I made beanies to go with the girls' Christmas presents this year. They were inspired by a beanie I saw at Anthropologie last winter. I couldn't find a picture of the beanie online anywhere, so I just had to go from memory, but I think they ended up pretty close. If you bought this beanie and recognize it, let me know!

Anyway, here's the yarn I used. It's a lightweight worsted yarn, made of easy-care acrylic and nylon, but it is really soft and feels a bit angora-y. Two skeins was more than enough for five hats. I could have gotten them all out of one skein if I hadn't kept the giant, loose version I made first.

I used YLI 4mm silk ribbon (which I finally found at the Stitchin' Station) to do the ribbon embroidery. My mom showed me the stitch for the rose and what she called a "lazy daisy" for the leaves.

Here's the finished product! Unfortunately, the photo is crap, but now I've given them all away so I can't take another picture. Maybe I'll force Sarah to model hers so I can get another shot.

The embroidery part was surprisingly really easy. What also surprised me was that I had such a hard time crocheting the hats. I used a simple double-crochet beanie pattern (I'll post the link later if I can find it), but I had several problems. First of all, I don't think I really understand crochet patterns. I mean, I know what all the stitches are, but there are still some confusing things. For instance, why does the pattern want me to close off each row with a slip stitch, chain a few stitches, and then start the new row? Why can't I just crochet the whole beanie in a big spiral? Anyway, the first time I tried the beanie with the recommended yarn weight and hook size, it came out humongous. I guess I am a loose crocheter. I tried a much tighter version, which hurt my hand, but that turned out like a little skull cap that ended above the ears and looked ridiculous. I ended up adding a few extra rows of DC above the SC edging, and just ignoring the row separations--I did it in a spiral. After I got all that stuff figured out, each hat took about 2 1/2 hours to crochet and then the embroidery took about 20 minutes.