One-Hour Hat!

I've been seeing a lot of articles lately regarding crocheting just as fast as possible.  8-hour afghan!  6-hour baby blanket! 15-minute dishcloth!  And there are genuine prodigies who amaze and dazzle us with their natural talent for producing gorgeous crocheted projects in what seems the wink of an eye!  How do we keep up?  Or can we?  Or do we want to?

I think speed-crocheting appealed to me more when I was younger, when the goal was to produce as many hats, scarves, blankets and rugs as quickly as possible.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, my main motivation in learning to crochet was to be able to provide affordable gifts for others.  Anything to speed along the process was okay with me!

But these days I see crochet, like knitting and other repetitive fiber work, mainly as a way to slow down, relax and take a brief vacation from our hurried, harried lives.  The time we spend leisurely crocheting, curled up in an afghan against the winter chill, a mug of hot cocoa or coffee or tea at the ready, soft music playing, is time well spent refreshing ourselves.  Though we are working on projects, the process is the important thing, not the speed at which we complete them.

That said, there is still a place for speedy crochet, when you have to have a gift or project done RIGHT NOW.  In that spirit, here is a pattern I wrote some 15 years ago for a one-hour hat.  Try it sometime when you need a hat today!

********************

One Hour Hat
by Patricia Moomaw

Skill Level:  Beginner.

Size:  One size fits all.

Materials:  1 to 1.5 ounces/30 to 50 gm any worsted weight yarn; size P/11.5 mm crochet hook; tapestry or yarn needle.

Gauge:  Not important.

Pattern Notes:  Weave in all ends. Hat is worked in rounds, do not join unless otherwise indicated. Mark beginning of each round with stitch marker and move up with each round.

Rnd 1: Ch 3 loosely (counts as hdc + ch 1), 7 hdc in 3rd ch from hook. Do not join. (8 hdc)

Rnd 2: 2 hdc in each st around. (16 hdc)

Rnd 3: 2 hdc in next st, hdc in next st, rep from around. (24 hdc)

Rnd 4: 2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 2 st, rep from around. (32 hdc)

Rnds 5-11: Hdc in each st around.

Rnd 12: Sc in next 6 sc, 2sctog in next 2 sc, rep from around (28 sc). Join with sl st to first sc. Fasten off, weave in ends.


Enjoy your new hat!

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