Although it's definitely not hat season around here, it's always baby gift season. A friend asked if I still made baby hats, and the answer was "Of course!" And of course I forgot how much these little hats take out of me, I overthink them way too much.
The main pattern from Repeat Crafter Me is pretty straightforward, and I've made enough of them now that I can whip out the hat part pretty quickly. The issue in the past has been that they turn out too big. Way. Too. Big. For this one, to get a hat fit for a baby/toddler, I made the 0-3 months one, and that seemed to work well.
After the basic hat is done, the heart wrenching work begins. The nose, the eyes, the ears and - just stick a crochet hook through my heart - the mouth! How I agonize over these little hats, worrying if they look cute enough, happy enough, not funky around the eyes, and of course they must have the sweetest little mouth ever. Perky, but not defiant, happy but not smirky. Well, maybe just a bit smirky.
This part of the hat crocheting process makes me earn the wage of a sweatshop worker in a developing country, the kind that Bill and Melinda Gates help through their philanthropic kindness. I need to give Mr. Gates a jingle and see if he can be my crocheting patron. You know, for the good of the arts.
So here was the process for the puppy hat, which took me not long to make, but oh so long to finish.
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| I made the hat part pretty quickly. Then for the nose, the slightly crooked nose. And the mouth. Is it cute enough? Not snarky? But just a little smirky? |
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| Oh how I agonized over this little guy's eye patch. And his eyes, Then I attached his ears. The left ear wants to stick up. Way up. Proving that an ear can smirk. |
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| Then, how long to make the ear flap cords? I mean, I don't want to choke the poor baby. But too short looks stupid and not nearly cute enough. These decisions keep me up at night. |
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| There. A puppy hat, slightly spunky but not too smirky, and fit for a baby. |
