Cheshire Hat

Cheshire Hat by Seòlta Hooker

What is Being Made

The Cheshire Hat is a whimsical crochet hat design created by independent designer Seòlta Hooker. This project produces a finished hat sized to fit approximately a 62cm head circumference, making it suitable for adults or larger head sizes. The design incorporates playful color blocking and surface crochet details that reference the iconic grinning character, creating a fun and recognizable finished piece.

Craft and Techniques

This is a crochet project worked at an intermediate difficulty level. The pattern is written using UK crochet terminology, which differs from US terminology in stitch definitions. The hat construction employs several key crochet techniques:

• Surface crochet - A specialized technique where slip stitches are worked directly through the fabric of the finished hat to create surface details. This method is used to create the hat's distinctive mouth feature without cutting into or significantly altering the base fabric.
• Color work - The design utilizes color blocking with contrasting yarn colors to build visual interest and character definition.
• Shaping and decreasing - Standard crochet shaping techniques are employed to achieve the hat's three-dimensional form and proper fit.

Stitches Used

The Cheshire Hat pattern incorporates the following crochet stitches:

• Double crochet (dc) - A fundamental stitch used throughout the hat construction for fabric density and structure.
• Treble crochet (tr) - A taller stitch that may be used for specific shaping or textural elements.
• Backpost treble crochet (bptr) - A post stitch variation that creates raised texture by working around the post of stitches from previous rows, adding dimensional detail to the design.
• Chain (ch) - Used for foundation chains and stitch construction throughout the pattern.
• Slip stitch (ss) - Used for joining rounds and, critically, as the foundation for the surface crochet mouth detail.
• Increases and decreases - Shaping techniques used to expand and reduce stitch counts as needed for the hat's contoured fit.

Materials and Tools

The Cheshire Hat pattern calls for specific materials to achieve the designer's intended finished look:

• Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran weight yarn in two colors - Neon Pink (1 ball) and Pansy Purple (1 ball) - for the main hat construction. An oddment of white double knit yarn is also required for accent details.
• Hook: A 5mm crochet hook is used for working with the aran weight yarn.
• Additional tools: Stitch markers for tracking pattern placement, a tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends, and a baby brush or other soft brush for finishing and fluffing the completed hat.

The aran weight yarn provides a medium-weight fabric that works up quickly while maintaining good stitch definition for the detailed surface crochet elements. The yarn choice and hook size can be adjusted by going up or down one hook size to modify the final hat dimensions if a different head circumference is desired.