free pattern: alpaca slouch hat

Hi everyone!

Are you enjoying this Autumn as much as I am? I love the orange, red, and brown colours outside; the nip in the air; the shorter days; the longer nights; this is my season for sure! :)

Recently I got sent some yarn by Tré Liz, who has a lovely Etsy shop stocked to the brim with lovely hand-dyed yarns and rolags. I got to pick the skeins myself. It wasn’t a hard choice: she had three skeins of chunky, 100% baby alpaca yarn, that were dyed using beets. Beets, people! So before long, three beet-a-licious skeins made their way to my doorstep.

Yum!!! I think you can tell from the pictures that this is ridiculously soft yarn. I love the colours; how one can achieve a palette like this with just using beets is beyond me. I decided to make a slouch hat with it, using my currently favourite stitch: the popcorn stitch!

To make this hat, grab a 6mm hook and some chunky yarn, and do the following:
1. Make a magic ring, ch3, then work 11dc into the ring. Join with a sl st.
2. Ch 3, work 1dc in the same stitch, then *inc* around (making 2dc in each stitch). Join with a sl st.
3. Ch 3, inc in the next stitch, then *1dc, inc* around. Join with a sl st.
4. Ch 3, work 3dc’s in the same stitch, drop loop from hook, insert hook from front to back through the top of the first ch3, grab the dropped loop with hook and pull it through the st to close. Ch2, sk 1 st, *4dcpop (work 4dc in the same stitch drop loop from hook, insert hook from front to back through the top of the first ch3, grab the dropped loop with hook and pull it through the st to close), ch2, sk 1 st* around. Join with a sl st.
5. Ch 3, 3 dc in ch sp, *4dc in ch sp* around. Join with a sl st.
6. Ch 3, 2dc, inc, then *3dc, inc* around. Join with a sl st.
7. Ch 3, work 3dc in the same stitch, make into a popcorn st as in round 4, ch2, sk 2 st, *4dcpop, ch2, sk 2 st* around. Join with a sl st.
8. Ch 3, dc in ch sp, *2dc in ch sp* around. Join with a sl st.
9. Ch 3, *1dc* around. Join with a sl st.
10. Ch 3, work 3dc in the same stitch, make into a popcorn st as in round 4, ch2, sk 2 st, *4dcpop, ch2, sk 2 st* around. Join with a sl st.
11. Ch 3, 2dc in ch sp, *3dc in ch sp* around. Join with a sl st.
12. Ch 3, *1dc* around. Join with a sl st.
13. Ch 3, work 3dc in the same stitch, make into a popcorn st as in round 4, ch2, sk 2 st, *4dcpop, ch2, sk 2 st* around. Join with a sl st.
14. Ch 3, 1dc in ch sp, *2dc in ch sp* around. Join with a sl st.
15. Ch 3, *1dc* around. Join with a sl st.
16. Ch 1, 1sc, inc (2sc in same stitch), then *1sc, inc (2sc in same stitch)* around. Join with a sl st.
17. Ch 1, *1sc* around. Join with a sl st.
18. Ch 1, *1sc* around. Join with a sl st.
19. Ch 1, *1sc* around. Join with a sl st.
20. Fasten off.

Have fun with this hat! I’d love to see it when it’s finished :)

xo,
wink