Hello again, Hook Nookers! Emily here, the crochet/knit/macrame-obsessed maker and designer behind Be Knot Idle, and I'm stoked to be here sharing another pattern with you today! This particular pattern holds a lot of emotional weight for me, as it comes in a season of major change.
I’ve lived in Montana for 25 years, and as I type this paragraph, I am three days away from leaving it. We are moving to Oregon, which I am truly excited about, but there’s no denying that a large part of my heart will always live here. Montana is where I met my best friend. The place where I learned to drive. The place where I had my first boyfriend and my first kiss. The place where I graduated high school. The place where I was married and the place where my son was born. Leaving it is more than a little bittersweet. My goal with this hat was to pay homage to my home state, even as I say goodbye to it.
My mother made the same move, from Montana to Oregon, about a year ago. A few months later, she posted a picture of a Montana sunset, and talked about it being one of the things she missed most about Montana. Knowing this move was upcoming for me, it struck me just how much I would miss them, too. Montana is known as the Big Sky State, and for good reason. I’ve done my fair share of traveling around this globe of ours, and I’ve yet to find a place that quite compares to the skies here.
They can be breathtakingly beautiful at all times of day, with towering white clouds in a field of perfect blue, or dark grey waves of clouds pouring over the tops of jagged mountains, but they are particularly heart-throbbing at sunset. Of course there are the fire red and orange sunsets, and those are incredible, but my personal favorites are the evenings full of magnetic pinks and hazy purples and bright gold. On an evening like that, I can rarely resist pouring myself a glass of wine and going to sit on my front steps to watch it change and fade.
When I saw this Ramblin’ Woman colorway from Montana yarn dyer The Farmer's Daughter Fibers, it reminded me of those evenings I love so much, and I found it equally irresistible. I’ve done my best to work it up into something that does even a little bit of justice to the arched bands of color of a show-stopper Montana sunset.
This design is a simple one - only a slight variation on one of the first hat designs I ever came up with myself - but it’s these simple things that I will miss. A glass of wine. A Montana sunset. A feeling of home.
I hope you’ll find some yarn that makes your heart swell, pour yourself a glass of wine, and give this pattern a try.
The Sentimental Skies Slouch Hat Pattern
Materials:
Fingering or Sport weight yarn (labels vary by company, you’re looking for something that’s 18-19 wpi - I used Squish Fingering from The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers)
3.5 mm hook
Scissors
Darning needle
Stitches/Abbreviations Used:
Ch - chain
Sc - single crochet
ScBlo - single crochet back loop only
St(s) - stitch(es)
Dc - double crochet
Gauge:
In the ribbing portion, 8 sts by 5 rows equals 1”x1”
In the body of the hat, 27 dc (9 clusters) by 16 rows (starting and ending with a dc cluster row) equals 4”x4”
Ribbed Brim:
Ch 10
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc across, ch 1 and turn (9 sts)
Row 2: ScBlo across, ch 1 and turn (9 sts)
Rows 3-94: repeat row 2
Sl st front loops of row 94 to starting chain bumps
Body:
Round 1: Ch 1, sc around the sides of Rows 1-94 {2 sc around the post of the first row, 1 sc in turning ch of second row} repeat between {} 46 more times, sl st to first st to join in the round (141 sts)
Round 2: Ch 2, 2 dc into the first st (the same stitch you slip stitched into to join in the round) *sk 2 sts, 3 dc in next st, repeat from * 45 times more. Join with a sl st to top of beginning ch 2.
Round 3: *Ch 4, sc into space between clusters, repeat from * 46 times more. Your final sc will be at the space between clusters that is at the base of your initial ch 4 of this round. Sl st around the first ch of that ch 4
Round 4: *Sc into the middle of ch 4 space, ch 2, repeat from * 46 more times, sl st to first sc of the round to join
Round 5: sl st into the first ch 2 sp of previous round, Ch 2, 2 dc into same ch 2 space of previous round, *3 dc into next ch 2 space, repeat from * 45 times more. Join with a sl st to the top of ch 2.
Rounds 6-14 : repeat rounds 3-5
Rounds 15-16: repeat rounds 3-4
Round 17: sl st into the first ch 2 sp of previous round. Ch 2, 2 dc into first ch 2 space of previous round, *3 dc into next ch 2 space, repeat from * 3 times more, {dc the next 2 ch 2 spaces together (yo, insert hook into next ch 2 space, pull up a loop, insert hook into next ch 2 space, pull up a loop: 4 loops on hook. Yo, pull through 3 loops, yo, pull through 2 loops) 2 dc into that same ch 2 space, **3 dc in next ch 2 space, repeat from ** 4 times more} repeat between {} 5 times more (123 sts) Join with a sl st to the top of ch 2.
Rounds 18-32: repeat rounds 3-5, now with 6 less repeats per round
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail for sewing up top of hat.
Before closing, finished dimensions of the item measure approximately 10 ¼ inches wide, at the widest point, by 8 ½ inches tall, including the ribbed brim.
Using the tail and your darning needle, sew hat closed by turning inside out, laying the hat flat, with the end of round at the center point of the top edge, and sewing through the corresponding center point of the other side. Loop through this space twice. Then, without cutting anything, insert your needle through the apex of one of the folds on either side of the hat, then under the center point where you already sewn, then back out the apex of the fold on the other side. Pull this tight, and loop through this same spot a second time. Repeat this process, inserting your needle through the apex of a fold, then under the center point, then out the apex of a fold opposite the one you started with, until you have closed the hat completely.
Weave in ends, turn right side out, and you’re done!
What colors make your heart go pitter patter? I'd love to see what you choose! Tag photos on Instagram with #sentimentalskiesslouch. Happy Making!
