Ring Around the Hearts Graph Hat

Ring Around the Hearts Graph Hat

What Is Being Made

The Ring Around the Hearts Graph Hat is a crochet hat designed by Amanda Evanson featuring a decorative heart pattern created using a graph technique. This toddler and children's hat is worked from the top down, creating a seamless crown that expands outward to form the brim. The design showcases a colorwork effect with contrasting yarn colors arranged in a repeating heart motif around the hat.

Craft and Technique

This is an intermediate-level crochet project that employs top-down construction, a technique that begins with a small crown and increases gradually to achieve the desired width. The pattern uses a magic circle foundation to create a tight, centered starting point for the crown shaping. The colorwork technique relies on strategic yarn color changes to create the graph pattern, with particular attention required during specific rounds to maintain crisp, clean lines where colors meet.

The designer provides specialized guidance for achieving professional-looking color transitions, recommending a specific tutorial technique for rounds 11 and 21 to prevent the main color from bleeding through contrast colors. This attention to technique detail ensures the heart motifs display sharp, well-defined edges rather than blurred color boundaries.

Stitches Used

• Magic circle: Foundation technique for creating the crown center
• Chain stitch (ch): Used for turning chains and foundational stitches
• Double crochet (dc): Primary stitch for constructing the hat body
• Front post double crochet (fpdc): Creates textured increases and stitch definition
• Slip stitch (sl st): Used for joining rounds to create seamless transitions

Materials and Tools

The Ring Around the Hearts Graph Hat is worked with Red Heart Super Saver yarn, a durable, affordable acrylic option available in numerous colors suitable for creating the contrast color pattern. Two crochet hook sizes are required: a size I hook for the toddler version and a size J hook for older children and adults. The gauge is 3 stitches and 3 rounds per 1 inch when worked with the I hook, allowing crafters to adjust sizing by selecting the appropriate hook size.

Design Notes

The pattern accounts for the natural curling that occurs during top-down hat construction, which is a normal part of the process. The final hat shape develops as rounds progress, with the initial curl resolving as the piece expands. The downloadable PDF format provides complete written instructions and visual guidance for executing this intermediate colorwork project successfully.