The fine art of the hat

So I'm sitting here crocheting another hat in the long line of crochet mens hats for my late grandfathers potlatch in the middle of november and I wonder....how many people have crocheted this exact style of hat. I wonder how many of the men will keep this hat and use it on those cold north coast of BC winters. I wonder if they will be used at all....

There is a fine art to the hat. Especially mens hats, since we all know that there are certain styles men will not wear. Simple is key to the men I am crocheting for...so here is my dilema. how am I to keep from getting bored? I have no idea really....perhaps changing from that bold black to the steel grey....or instead imagine I am crocheting a frock fit for a king, instead of a simple hat

Bikini Cover Dress

Bikini cover dress

I created this pattern  before creating the actual dress. So I don't have a picture, but I am almost done.... I used this stitch for the entire dress http://www.ehow.com/how_2284142_crochet-shells-lace-stitch.html

Materials
1 ball of baby weight yarn
4.5 hook
1 needle and thread
1 length of ribbon



1. I began by measuring my daughters bust. This will vary by child. But if you are unable to measure the childs bust, you can take a look at this site which gives generic sizes for different childrens sizes. http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/babysize.html

2. sew the two ends of the elastic together

3. tie on the yarn, and ch 1. sc over the entire elastic.

Row 1. hdc over even numbered sc on the elastic, making sure to make the end number divisable by 6. I ended up with 96 hdc in the end. You could even make a larger number if you wanted more of a flowy dress.

Row 2. Work hdc over every stitch around

Row 3. ch 1 * skip next 2 chs, work shell in next ch, skip next 2 chs, sc in next ch; repeat from * across join with a slst to ch 1

Row 4. Ch 5 (counts as first dc plus 2 ch), sc in center dc of next shell, ch 2, dc in next sc, * ch 2, sc in center dc of next shell, ch 2, dc in next sc; repeat from * across. join with a slst to the third chain.

Row 5. Ch 6 (counts as first dc plus 3 ch); sc in next sc, ch 3, dc in next dc, * ch 3, sc in next sc, ch 3, dc in next dc; repeat from * across. join with a slst to the third chain.

Row 6. Ch 1; sc in first dc * ch 2, dc in next sc, ch 2, sc in next dc; repeat from * across join with a slst

Row 7. Ch 1, sc in first sc, (work Shell in next dc, sc in next sc across).

Repeat row 4-7 until your dress reaches the length you desire, ending on a shell stitch row and fasten off.

You can add a ribbon to the elastic row to tie like a bikini to keep it up, or leave it like a tube top.