Marlberry crochet beanie

This is a super-quick one day stash-busting crochet project. At least it would have been had I not decided to start it while I was tucked up on the sofa with a head full of snot and fuzziness that made me often lose track of what I was trying to do, occasionally wonder how many loops in a double treble (despite over 50 years of doing them), and frequently doze off. If I can make it in two days feeling like that, anyone else can make it in considerably less time.

There are two things to get your head round here if you are a beginner to crochet. One is crocheting with two strands of yarn. This just means you need to be careful about how many loops you pull the hook through: it’s easy to pull through too few if your concentration isn’t great (mine really wasn’t). The other thing is the front post stitch for the crochet rib that’s used for the body. It’s not hard, and worth practising as it’s really useful for necklines, hems and sleeves if you progress to making garments. It’s also easier to adapt the length than the more usual sideways crochet rib used for the band in this pattern. There’s a great video tutorial here if you’re not sure – it’s for a treble rather than a double treble, so wind the yarn round the hook twice rather than once.

As well as being easy, this pattern is infinitely adaptable. It’s designed for an adult woman, but by working from a narrower and shorter rib band it could be made to fit a child; or make it longer and wider to fit a larger head. Likewise, the body can be worked shorter or longer to fit, keeping the same pattern of decreases at the crown. I used a colour-block design with two berry colours, both twinned with black as the second strand for a marl effect (from my stash, so a mixture of brands). But it could be striped or single-coloured, as you prefer. Or make it a real stash-buster for all those small balls of leftover yarn, twinning each with a single base colour and swapping colours as each runs out for a random colour-change. Finally I topped mine with a floppy pom pom as described here, but do make a tighter one if you prefer. Or leave it off altogether. No-one’s gonna be judgey here.

• 1 x 100g ball of DK yarn in each of black, purple, teal. (Note that I used yarn from my stash so none of the balls were the full 100g. My hat used approx 140g of yarn in total.)
• 6mm/size 4 crochet hook

Note: Tension is not important as you can fit the hat as you work.

**All instructions use UK crochet abbreviations**

fpdtr = front post double treble: yarn round hook twice, insert hook right to left at front of work under post of next st, yarn over hook and pull through a loop (4 loops on hook), then yarn over hook and pull through two loops three times. (See above for link to video tutorial.)

2trtog = work 2 tr together: yarn over hook, hook into next st, yarn over and pull through a loop, yarn over and pull through 2 loops (2 loops left on hook), hook into next st, yarn over and pull through a loop, yarn over and pull through 2 loops (3 loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through all 3 loops.

Work the band:

Using one strand of black and one strand of purple together, make 8 ch.

1st row: 2 ch (to stand as first htr), htr into 3rd ch from hook, then every ch to end, turn. (9 htr)

2nd row: 2 ch then, working into back loops, htr into next and every st to end, htr into top of 2ch, turn.

Continue to work 2nd row until band fits snugly round head (for me this was 44 rows). Fold the band in half so the ends meet and work a row of dc to join them into a band. Do not fasten off.

Work the body:

1st round: 3 ch to stand for first tr. Working into the edges of the rows, work 55 tr evenly round band to end, joining to top of 3 ch with ss. (56 sts – or the number you need to make an even row of trebles that lie flat on the edge of the band, making sure you have a number divisible by four including the stitch made by the first 3 ch).  Do not turn – continue to work round in the same direction throughout.

2nd round: 3 ch, fpdtr round next st, *tr into next st, fpdtr round next st*, repeat *to* to end, ss into top of 3 ch.

Continue in front post rib stitch as set in 2nd round for 10 more rounds (12 in total), changing to teal and black for rounds 3-7, and back to purple and black for the rest of the body.

Work the crown:

13th round: 3 ch, fpdtr round next st, miss next st, fpdtr round next st, *tr into next st, fpdtr round next st, miss next st, fpdtr round next st*, repeat *to* to end, ss into top of 3 ch. (42 sts)

14th round: 3 ch, fpdtr round next st, *2trtog in next 2 sts, fpdtr round next st*, repeat *to* to end, ss into top of 3 ch. (28 sts.)

15th round: ss into first fpdtr, 3 ch, *fpdtr round next fpdtr, miss next st*, repeat *to* to end, ss into top of 3 ch. (14 sts.)

Fasten off, leaving a long end of the yarns. Thread these through the top of the last row of stitches using your hook or a wool needle, draw up tightly to gather crown, and fasten securely. Weave in ends.

Sew your choice of pom pom on top, and fold back the band. You have a hat!