Florence Beanie: Adjustable Size Free Crochet Pattern
I think I made new stitch! Of course, I haven’t looked through every pattern on the internet to make sure, I just know I haven’t seen it before. I call it the “Quad Stitch” - which sounds like a painful workout. The name refers to the four “legs” the stitch stands on, giving it such a unique texture! To complete the quad stitch, yarn over, pull up a loop, then pull up a loop from each of the next three stitches (without a yarn over between each), then yarn over and pull through all six loops on the hook. Finish with a chain two. The next quad is started in the same stitch as the last leg of the previous quad, then across the next three. Finish again with a chain two.
Since written instructions can be confusing, I’ll include a diagram of how I worked the stitch:
Each quad shares a stitch with the leg of the previous quad.
The Florence Beanie is made from a round of quad stitches, then two rounds of half double crochet in the third loop. If you haven’t worked in the third loop before, you can find many excellent tutorials on YouTube! It really is an easy technique that produces a beautiful, almost knitted look.
I used Yarn Bee’s Dee-Lish Boutique alpaca blend in Turnover My Heart for this hat with a faux fur pom pom I ordered from Amazon. This yarn is just so squishy and warm! Probably one of my favorite hat yarns! Of course, you can use any Baby/3 weight yarn to complete this project - I just happen to be partial to this particular alpaca blend!
For another version of the hat, I used Lion Brand Mandala - which is also a 3 weight wool blend yarn. I believe both turned out incredibly well!
The pattern is written in a three stitch repeat. For an average adult size, use 69 rows for the brim. However, to size up or down, simply increase or decrease the number of brim rows in increments of three. For instance, a youth size pattern would be 66 rows; a child size, 63 rows; etc. Here is an awesome hat sizing chart that will help you adjust the pattern to fit any size! Just work up the brim rows until they measure the right length and adjust to make sure it is a multiple of three. Since wool blend yarns have lots of give to them, getting the perfect fit is a piece of cake (yarn cake, of course)!
Free Crochet Pattern
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Materials:
Yarn Bee Dee-lish alpaca blend, or other baby/3 weight yarn, like Lion Brand Mandala
Hook size H/8 - 5.00 mm
Yarn needle
Pom Pom (optional)
Stitches:
Ch - chain
Sc - single crochet
Sc dec - single crochet decrease (bun pattern only)
Hdc - half double crochet
Hdc in third loop - half double crochet in third loop
QS (Quad Stitch) – This stitch is worked across four stitches, with the first leg of the quad in the same stitch as the last leg of the previous quad.
-Yarn over, pull up a loop from next stitch, pull up a loop from next three stitches (do NOT yarn over between each loop), yarn over and pull through all the loops on the hook, ch 2. Next quad is worked the same, but pull the first loop up in the same stitch as the last leg of the previous quad.
Pattern:
Brim:
Row 1: ch 13, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch. (12 sc)
Row 2-69: ch 1, turn, sc in back loop in ea st (12 sc)
Attach Row 1 to Row 69 by sl st through both thicknesses of ea sc.
Free Crochet Hat Pattern
Hat:
Rnd 1: ch 1, hdc in each stitch (69 hdc)
Rnd 2: ch 1, working in third loop of hdc, quad stitch across first four stitches, ch 2, *quad stitch with first leg in same stitch as last leg of previous quad, ch 2* repeat 20 more times. Quad stitch across last three stitches and in the first st of rnd 1. Ch2, join with sl st to first quad. The last leg of the final quad stitch will be in the first stitch of Rnd 1 so as to share a st with the first quad of Rnd 2. (23 quad st)
Rnd 3: ch 1, hdc in same st, 2 hdc in ch2 sp, *hdc in quad st, 2 hdc in ch 2 sp* repeat around. Join with sl st to first hdc. (69 hdc)
Rnd 4: ch 1, hdc in third loop in ea st (69 hdc)
Rnd 5-19: Repeat rows 2-4 five more times or until you reach the desired height.
Finish off (unless you want a bun beanie), leaving a long tail.
Turn hat inside out, weave the long tail in and out of the last row of stitches, then cinch it up. Turn right side out (still using the reeeaaalllyyy long tail), attach the pom pom. Turn inside out to finish off and weave in the end of the tail.
Optional Rounds for bun beanie:
Rnd 29: sc decrease across two stitches around (36, 42 sc dec)
Rnd 30: sc dec around (18, 42 sc dec)
Finish off. Weave in ends. Way to be awesome!
Free Crochet Pattern
This pattern is my own, original pattern. Please do not copy, sell, or distribute - instead, please refer others to my blog. You are, of course, more than welcome to sell any items made using this pattern. I would love to see pictures of your finished hat! Please tag me on Instagram or post a photo on my Facebook page!
Don’t forget to check out my Buddy Basket Weave Beanie - another adjustable size hat pattern!
