While I was in Belfast, Prince Edward Island, I purchased some locally sourced hand-dyed worsted wool. I selected three different colourways—Stones, Gale and Forget-Me-Nots–aptly named for their Maritime roots. I wanted to experiment with these variegated wools to determine which crochet stitches and which hat patterns would show them off best. Variegated yarns are created by …
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Prince Edward Island Arts and Crafts
Prince Edward Island is home to many artisans and craftspeople. Having recently travelled along the Points East Coastal Drive and Green Gables Shore, I discovered that the arts and crafts culture arose from a need for self-sufficiency in an island community. I could see that both heritage and the coastal and pastoral vistas have a …
Let’s Go Retro
The traditional granny square is simple and easy to crochet. Made up of double crochet and chain stitches, it is made in the round starting at the centre and working outward. Granny clusters of three double crochet stitches are worked into chain spaces in the preceding round. Early on, grandmothers, “grannies”, used leftover scraps of …
How to Wear a Slouch Hat
Here are a couple of ways to wear a slouch hat. First, place it on your head so that it covers most of your forehead but stays above your eyebrows. The bottom of the hat should just skim the bottom of your earlobes. Tease the back horizontally to spread out the slouch. This style is …
Not Your Granny’s Afghan
Granny squares were one of the first things I crocheted as a child. After making afghans, skirts, sweaters and vests, I started creating multi-coloured granny square hats using leftover lengths of wool. Now, I’ve decided to revisit that hat. My first two have a floral motif and are in shades of green, nature’s neutral. I …
Athletic Headbands
An athletic headband keeps the sweat from rolling from your forehead onto your face and into your eyes while you are exercising. Steve, physical fitness trainer at DoStrength Gym, is wearing one that I made of white and black cotton spandex. Often used as rib banding on track suits, this medium-weight fabric has crosswise and …
Stocking Cap
My latest sewn hat is a stocking cap with a roll-up cuff. Some define a stocking cap as a head-hugging knit cap with a long tail. Others equate the stocking cap with a beanie, the only difference being that a stocking cap might sport a tassel or pom pom. A nylon stocking cap or wig …
Crochet Hats in Progress
Embarking on a new crochet hat project is fun. Duplicating or tweaking the same hat pattern continues the adventure. Colour is an obvious way to change the look, as is the choice of yarn. Different yarns give hats different drape and structure. In the hats pictured above, Bluefaced Leicester wool and a wool/silk/cashmere blend were …
The Custom Hat
Bold or subdued? Colourful or neutral? Durable or delicate? When you decide that you would like to have a custom hat tailored and your head size is measured, there are countless fabric choices. After consulting with my customers, I have developed some general guidelines to help select. They fall into three categories that I call …
Crochet Cuties
A sister/brother duo was spotted at a provincial park campground this spring sporting crocheted hats. Like a lot of children, they have been wearing hats and caps since they were babies. This early habit has made consistent hat wearing easy and each child has a selection of many hats. The parents realized the importance of …
Hats by Tracy J 