As Promised...

Ok, I have to give a big thanks to my friend Pam G., who has been working on her Giraffe Hat amidst all of her other duties. I know how hard it must be for her to test a pattern written by a newbie, run a daycare, go to school, keep track of her own kids AND complete her own craft projects! So thank you Pam! :0)

That being said, I hope I will be forgiven, not only by her, but also by what few(if any)readers I have, because I am posting the pattern today before it has been fully tested. Why, you ask?!? Well, because...the more the merrier!! The more people testing out this pattern, the sooner I can learn from my mistakes and start coming up with more patterns! 

Before I post The Giraffe Hat Pattern, let's get the formalities out of the way:

Copyright: Please respect my copyright for this pattern. DO NOT rewrite, post, sell, or otherwise take credit for this pattern. It took me 2 days of pure hell to figure out and that kind of misery deserves recognition...as well as an expensive bottle of wine and a steak dinner. As per copyright, what you make is yours...sell it, gift it, eat it, set it on fire....it doesn't matter to me, I can only claim ownership of the pattern not the finished product. Do credit the pattern back to me if you sell the item, as that is just good manners.  Please do not use my photos....in the event that you just can't help yourself, again be respectful and give me the credit for my work.

Now then, I hope my pattern writing abilities are not so atrocious as to cause the crocheters of the world to see fit to skewer me on my hook. :0) 

The Giraffe Hat

I used and F hook for both the ears and the "horns". I used a J hook for the hat and held 2 pieces of yarn together so that the hat would be bulky enough to hold the ears/horns.

sc-single crochet
dc-double crochet
sl st-slip stitch
ch-chain
dc2tog-double crochet 2 together
( )-repeat

HAT: make "magic ring", ch 2 and DC 7 into magic ring, join with sl st

Round 1- (ch 2, dc into same stitch), 2 dc in each stitch around, join with sl st
Round 2- ( ), *dc in next stitch, 2 dc in next*, repeat from * around, join with sl st
Round 3-( ), *dc in next 2 stitches, 2 dc in next*, repeat from * around, join with sl st
Round 4-8-( ), dc in each stitch around, change color at the end of round 7 if desired, complete round 8, finish and fasten off.


Don't forget to weave in those ends!!

HORNS (make 2): ch 2, 6 sc in first ch, pull tight join with sl st
Round 1-(ch 1, sc in same st), sc in each st around, join with sl st
Round 2-( ), *sc in next st, 2 sc in next*, repeat from * around, join with sl st
Round 3-( ), sc in each st around, join with sl st
Round 4-( ), *sc in next st, sc2tog*, repeat from * around, join with sl st
Round 5- Repeat round 4, change color at end of this round
Lightly stuff the top of the horn and continue to lightly stuff as you finish the last 4 rounds
Round 6-9-( ), sc in each st around, join each round with sl st. Fasten off leaving a tail about 6 inches or more in length to attach to the hat
Leave the ends of the horns open(do not sew them closed)so they will keep their round shape when attached to the hat.

EARS (make 2): make "magic ring", 4 sc into magic ring, pull tight join with sl st

Round 1-(ch 1, sc in same st), sc in each st around, join with sl st
Round 2-( ), sc in each st around, join with sl st
Round 3-( ), *sc in next st, 2 sc in next*, repeat from * around, join with sl st
Round 4-6-( ), sc in each st around, remember to join at the end of each round
Round 7-8- Repeat Round 3
Round 9-11- Repeat Round 4-6
Round 12-( ), *sc in next st, sc2tog*, repeat from * around, join with sl st
Round 13-( ), sc in each st around, join
Round 14- Repeat Round 12
Round 15- Repeat Round 13
Round 16- Repeat Round 12
Round 17- Repeat Round 13, finish and fasten off leaving a tail about 6 inches or more for attaching to hat

You will need to flatten the ears to get the shape that they are supposed to be, just watch to make sure the seam is at the back of the ear.

For the "spots" I just made a "magic ring", single crocheted a random number of stitches into the ring, leave enough for a long tail for sewing, then pulled tight and joined w/sl st. Then I did one round of 2 sc in each st before joining and fastening off(weave in the end from where you fasten off and use the tail from the magic loop to sew the "spots" on the hat)

To find the right places to attach the ears and horns, I just flattened the hat out, with the "seam" in the center of the back of the hat. It will not lay completely flat, but will make nice edges on the sides to figure out ear placement. To attach the horns, reshape the hat so it sits open and pin them to the top in the place you want them.

It occurs to me, after comparing the yellow hat and the pink one, that I may have used an E hook for the ears the first time around(yellow hat)....but because I didn't write it down the first time, I have no idea!! Also, I may be having problems because I didn't count the stitches either....I just kind of put the ears together based on the shape I wanted. I will try to answer questions if you have any trouble with the pattern, but even though I wrote it....I might not be much help because I'm still figuring it out too!! LOL

As always, I welcome any constructive criticism, and comments. Please let me know what issues or problems there are with the pattern so that I can make necessary corrections. As with any pattern, use whatever hook and yarn that you like to achieve the look you prefer. 

I'm off to continue making some Christmas items for my son's teachers and classmates, as well as some fun things for making some hair clips with my friend's daughter when she and her brother visit next week. :0)