Heyday Hat

Heyday Hat by Nett Motherbear

What is Being Made

The Heyday Hat is a structured crochet hat designed by Nett Motherbear, featuring a gathered crown and open brim construction. This downloadable PDF pattern creates a finished hat measuring 58cm in width and 29cm in height when laid flat before seaming. The design includes a 13cm open brim section and a 16cm body, topped with a faux fur pom pom for added texture and visual interest.

Crochet Techniques and Stitches

This pattern specializes in Tunisian Crochet, a hybrid technique that combines elements of both crochet and knitting. The Heyday Hat uses the Tunisian Knit Stitch (abbreviated as Tks) exclusively throughout all forward pass rows, creating a fabric with a distinctive knitted appearance and dense, structured drape.

The Tunisian Knit Stitch technique requires understanding the two-part row structure inherent to Tunisian crochet:

• Forward Pass: Working Tunisian Knit Stitches across the row, leaving loops on the hook
• Return Pass: Working yarn overs and pulling through two loops in sequence until one loop remains on the hook, which counts as the first stitch of the next forward pass

The pattern also incorporates foundational chain stitches (ch), slip stitches (sl st), and basic stitch abbreviations (st/sts) for construction and finishing. The return pass is implied throughout the body of the instructions and does not require separate notation for each row.

Materials and Tools

The Heyday Hat pattern calls for 4 × 50g balls of Scheepjes Cahlista yarn in shade 172, an aran weight yarn that provides excellent stitch definition and structure for the Tunisian Knit Stitch technique. A 7.00mm Tunisian crochet hook is required to achieve the correct gauge and fabric density.

Additional materials include a tapestry needle for weaving in ends and seaming side seams, scissors for cutting yarn, a measuring tape for checking dimensions, and a faux fur pom pom for the crown finish.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern specifies a gauge of 10cm square = 14 stitches × 19 rows in Tunisian Knit Stitch. Achieving this gauge is essential for the hat to reach its intended finished measurements. The gauge measurement is taken from a swatch worked in the primary stitch used throughout the pattern.

Skill Level

Rated as a beginner difficulty pattern, the Heyday Hat is accessible to crocheters new to Tunisian techniques, though some familiarity with basic crochet terminology and fundamental stitches is helpful. The repetitive nature of the Tunisian Knit Stitch and straightforward construction make it an excellent introduction to Tunisian crochet methods.