Santa hat! (For dogs or other things not human adults.)

This hat is something I whipped up in about 1.5 hours for my dog. I thought about making one for myself, but bah humbug.

You'll need:

• Some boucle yarn (I used .5 roll of Plymouth Yarn "Heaven". It was on sale. I have also used Yarn Bee boucle, so whatever works I guess.)
• Size H hook (5.0mm)
• Size G hook (4.0mm)
• Pom-pom maker
• Red yarn, like Red Heart Super Saver (I had some in stash that was unlabeled, but it is aran-weight)
• Some patience, because working with boucle can be a lil annoying!!!

You'll need to know:

• hdc (half double crochet)
• sl st (slip stitch)
• 2hdctog (2 hdc together (decrease)) - See my previous blog post about invisible decreases if you are interested in doing that technique with this stitch
• 3hdctog (3 hdc together (decrease))
• sc - single crochet
• ch - chain
• TO - tie off. Bind off. Same thing. 
• How to make a pom-pom. See Youtube videos. You can make your own pom pom maker with cardboard or use a purchased set. I have Susan Bates Easy Wrap Pom Pom makers.

Notes:

• This is written using US terms.
• Sl st does not count as a stitch throughout this pattern.
• When working with boucle, I recommend strongly counting your stitches carefully, and using stitch markers if you need to. It's easy to lose stitches. I like this Plymouth Yarn over the Yarn Bee boucle because the thread is a little shiny and somewhat easier to see. It still gets lost but not as bad in my opinion.

Forging onward!

For the fluffy band, using your H hook,
Rd 1: ch 40, join with sl st. Be careful not to twist your chain. With boucle it can be harder to tell (I actually twisted mine), but maybe laying it out flat will help if you have a hard time visualizing.
Rd 2-6 (5 rounds): sc in each st - 40
TO. Tuck in tail.




Starting the body of the hat, switch to G hook and your red yarn,
Rd 1: Join yarn using the hole of the stitch below the last round of your band and, pushing your hook up into the stitch above it, sc in each. Join with sl st to the first st of the round. - 40

This round gets a little tricky, but keep at it. The reason I didn't go into the top of the stitch is because I didn't want the red stitching to look seamed onto the top of the band. I wanted it hidden.



This is why I struggled with hiding the stitches.
The front should look clean, as the boucle hides the stitch work.

This is a photo showing what I'm doing. Insert hook, then push up through stitch above. sc like normal.



 



 











Rd 2-5 (4 rounds): hdc in each - 40
Rd 6: hdc in 6, 2hdctog, rep around - 35
Rd 7-8 (2 rounds): hdc in each - 35
Rd 9: hdc in 5, 2hdctog, rep around - 30
Rd 10: hdc in each - 30
Rd 11: hdc in 4, 2hdctog, rep around - 25
Rd 12-16 (5 rounds): hdc in each - 25
Rd 17: hdc in 3, 2hdctog, rep around - 20
Rd 18: hdc in 2, 2hdctog, rep around - 15
Rd 19: hdc, 2hdctog, rep around - 10
Rd 20-21 (2 rounds): hdc in each - 10
Rd 22: 3hdctog twice, 3hdctog, skipping one stitch between each stitch you'd normally insert your hook into to decrease. This is to aggressively pull the top closed. You can do it however you want though.
Leave a 6" tail and TO.

Make your poof ball/pom pom.

Now, attach poof ball to tip of hat, securing tightly.

Using the 6" tail from the tip of the hat, fold the hat to where the fold hides the seam we made, anchoring the tip of the hat to the hat itself with the tail.

Not too bad, eh, once you get past the boucle junk!!!!