Though I’ve made dozens of hats, I want to get better at making them. To improve my technique, I look at patterns and stitches to see what I can incorporate into future hats. Particularly I’m looking to see what works, what doesn’t and to develop a better eye for hat making.
What I mean is not just making hats that will fit a human. I’m beyond the fear that a hat won’t fit a person. What I want is to be able to do is look at a hat and see if I can envision it in other yarn weights or look at yarn and see if I have enough for a hat or if I can envision a hat made from oddballs. When I say made from oddballs, not a random amount of stripes but effectively using the odd bits yarn I have in creative ways. I am confident in where the stripes will lie when I use certain self striping yarns for particular patterns in a scarf or afghan. How they work up in different hat patterns is a different story.
My eye for hats hasn’t developed yet. I make plans for afghans and can see the best use of oddballs and color combinations. While hats are smaller, it’s the varied sections: height, crown, brim, circumference means there’s more variables to take into consideration, not to mention style. Is this a close fitting beanie or a slouchy hat? So many options.
My hat making skills have improved and they look good and fit. It’s the learning curve I’ve imposed on myself. It’s not that the skills I have aren’t transferrable to hats, it’s just that I’ve made more afghans and scarves than I have hats. Also, I look for improvements I can make after each project and try to make changes. I’m still learning and willing to try different things. (And I’m still developing an eye for hats.)
Happy crocheting!
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