In my quest to use up my working stash and the request from my best friend’s mom for hats and scarves, I did some stash shopping and found that I have some hat and scarf kits. When I bought these I just liked the yarn and thought that I could at least make a scarf and have some left over, but with the addition of a neutral or coordinating yarn, I can make a matching set. Many times I don’t plan projects. I just buy what I like in amounts that will be enough for an afghan or be incorporated into an afghan or enough for a scarf. There are not many variations in the amounts that I buy because I want to be able to make “something” regardless of what that something will be, unless it’s baby hats for the American Heart Association, the amount that I purchase is in scarf quantities minimum.
Many yarn of the month clubs have a project in mind such as a shawl or other item. I’m a scarf person and for most of the winter coats that I have, I have made two or three matching hat and scarf sets for myself. Yet, most of the hats that I make are little red hats for the Little Hats Big Hearts campaign. It doesn’t take much more effort to make an adult sized hat and there are fewer restrictions for materials. I tend to stick with neutrals or darker colors that won’t show dirt as much – though I do like the look of natural yarn, which is basically an ecru shade and already has a creamy color.
For many years I used the same yarns to make scarves and just went by weight which worked for me. It just happened that the yarns had similar yardages and that helped when I was planning items. Now that I am using up my working stash and want to make some matching or coordinating hat and scarf sets, I needed to have an idea how much yarn an adult hat requires. My online research gave a range of about 750 to a simple pattern to more than 800 for more detail, not to mention if the scarf is wider than 6 inches or longer. What I have learned form making previous hat and scarf sets for myself is to make the hat first, you may swatch, or do whatever you need to do to get gauge or know your gauge and just dive right in. Either way, if you start your project, make your hat and then do not have enough to make a scarf as wide as you would like, that works, but you can always alter the pattern of the scarf or make it a wee bit narrower. Not having enough yarn to make a hat can leave your head cold or you get to the point where it is beyond an ear warmer and just an unfinished hat. Besides you may decide when you are working on your hat that you may need to alter the pattern (especially if it is for yourself – e.g. you want it to be longer than the pattern calls for, or you have a bigger head, or want a roomier chapeau).
Recommended finished sizes in patterns are just that – recommendations. Patterns are like recipes, they give me inspiration, this doesn’t mean that I have to follow the directions to the letter, especially after making something a few times (or a dozen times).
When I started using better quality yarns I realized that there was no consistent yardage for worsted weight yarns even with a similar weight. By trial and error I learned to make a hat first, especially for adult males whose heads don’t always fit into the approximate or suggested size ranges on the charts. Many men are fine with a shorter scarf, even for a tall guy or even anyone who doesn’t like to wear a “lot of scarf.” In that case, I make a variety of styles and I’m planning on doing that with the hats that I make as well. I have made one set already and stretched the yarn by adding a little black to make the yarn go farther. The bag just said 14 ounces and 400 grams no yardage given. There are ways to determine how many yards per ounce, but it wasn’t that important to me for this project. I did play a bit of yarn chicken but I made it to the last stitch of the last row on the first set I made. This is a slouchy hat, so if I made a skull cap, beanie or toque then it would take less yarn. The slouchy hat with long scarf about 7 inches wide and 65 inches long took a 14 ounce bag of unmarked worsted with a few rows in the hat and scarf of black acrylic.
Hats and scarves allow for a bit of creativity, especially if you know the basic dimensions of an adult hat – 21-23 inches in circumference and a scarf can be anywhere between 5 – 8 inches wide and at least 60 inches long. Using the basic measurements as your guide there is a lot of creativity that can take place.
Happy crocheting!
