Do you like watching the Olympics? I always look forward to it and I love summer and winter equally. Summer has gymnastics, hand ball, beach volleyball; winter has snowboarding, hockey, figure skating. It’s so amazing to see so many athletes excel. I was also pretty cool to see Ralph Lauren’s designs for the Team USA closing ceremonies uniforms. The crochet olympics team hat is awesome. But holy. Guacamole. I won’t be spending $200 on one, so I decided to make one.
Join me?
Don’t let the color work intimidate you, seriously. If you work slowly and steadily, this hat will be simple for you. It’s definitely not a quick project, but it’s a very rewarding project. It turned out even prettier than I imagined, and I think you will be seeing more graphs here soon.
The trick to getting the design to line up is simply working through the back loops! I learned this neat trick from the book Modern Tapestry Crochet. It’s a perfect book for tapestry crochet beginners. She makes it SO easy.
NEVA HAT (Crochet Olympics Team Hat)
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What you need: (affiliate links)
– I Hook
– Mighty Stitch (Medium Weight Yarn) in Serrano, White and Navy
– Pom-Pom
– Bobbins
– Darning Needle
Abbreviations: US Terms
Ch – chain
Sc – single crochet
Dc – Double Crochet
Hdc – Half Double Crochet
Sl st – Slip Stitch
St – stitch
BLO – Back Loops Only
Gauge: 14 sts = 4″ (Gauge Pattern)
**The PDF has been updated to include the mittens!**
Ribbed Brim:
Ch 8.
1. Hdc in 2ch ch from hook. Hdc in each ch. Turn. (7 sts)
2. Ch 1. hdc in same st. Hdc in next 5 sts in BLO. Hdc in last st going through both loops. Turn. (8 sts)
Repeat row 2 until your band reached approx. 19″ (or until it fits your head snugly). Achieve this measurement by gently pulling your band. You want the hat to be snug.
Fold the the band in half and sl st the ends together forming a band. Turn the band so the loop is on the top and the seam is on the inside. Continue on to the body:
Hat Body:
Work the hat body in BLO, this allows the stitches to line up properly.
1. Ch 1. Sc around the top of the band, echieving 72 total stitches. Join.
2. Ch 1. Sc in each st around. Join with a sl st. (72 sts)
Begin working the graph on row 3. (Be sure you are working in BLO)
The graph starts at the bottom right at the beginning of row 3. Work from right to left.
You will repeat the graph three times. The graph is 24 sts, so when you reach the end of the row, you begin again on the right side of the graph on the same row. Be sure to begin each round with a ch 1, and finish each row by joining with a sl st into the first st of the round.
When you are working the rows with three colors, I prefer to use a bobbin instead of carrying the yarn (see the bobbins in the materials list). You have a few when you join the red yarn for the middle of the diamond, but you will only have that many for 3 rows.
You have finished the graph. Finish your hat by working the decrease rows (26-27).
26. Ch 1. *Dc. Dc2tog* repeat all around the hat. Join. (48 sts)
27. Ch 1. Dc2tog all around the hat. Join. (24 sts)
Turn your hat inside out. Using your darning needle, sew a loose running stitch across the top of the hat and cinch it tight to close it. Tie a firm knot. Weave in your ends.
So pull on your new hat and tune in to the Olympics. They start this weekend, yay!
Stay tuned for more projects featuring color work, because it is so much fun.
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Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful crochet patterns! I look forward to trying them ALL! Lol! Love your work!
Thank you Angela!!
I think this is an intermediate pattern but well written, beautiful graph and great tut. This is my new WIP and having no trouble at all; just getting in the rhythm. I’m using a heavy wt 4; I.e., red heart super saver. And I used an H hook for the brim then switched to an I for the pattern. For my head, I use an I or J with Red Heart SS and 64 rows for the brim, 72 for my husband. For those having sizing trouble, I would suggest crocheting a hat including brim in plain color, SCBLO to check fit. Once they have obtain the correct fit WITHOUT CHANGING STITCH COUNT, they can then start your gorgeous hat. I have done this when I am starting a complex pattern with a graph then I have a hat to donate to St Vincent de Paul for the homeless and I KNOW FOR SURE that when I start the complex pattern, I will be happy with result. Thank you for your free pattern and taking time to answer all the questions.
Thank you Mary! Very helpful info, I appreciate it!
Wonderful idea about the stitching one in plain scblo first and donating it. :-)
Okay, one more thing I love about this pattern is that when I skip a stitch on the graph, it’s easy to catch the mistake. I don’t have to frog many stitches to fix it. Thanks for sharing this great pattern, Bethany!
I’m having so much fun with this pattern! I’m about half way through the chart and I must say I won’t dive right into the mittens but look forward to giving the set at Christmas!
And IMHO,Caron simply soft is what I call a “thin four.” I have some British yarn I love but the feel is more like a baby sport.
Would this be easy to convert to a scarf pattern? I’ve finished the hat and mittens thinking a scarf to go with the set would be awesome. Thinking taking the graph and possibly just doing a repeat of it until the scarf is long enough – does that sound like it would work? Since it’s your graph wasn’t sure if you had a scarf pattern that wasn’t up or wanted to see if you could provide input possibly on a way to do a scarf with the graph to match the hat and mittens.
Yes that would work! I don’t have a scarf at the moment, I am sorry!
Hi, when you chain one to start row, do you SC into bottom of that chain one or next stitch? Thanks
I personally sc in the bottom of the chain. You can do it either way, just make sure if you are working a sc in the same as the chain, then you are joining with the sc, not the chain. (and you would join with the chain if doing it the other way)
Thank you so much for your speedy response. I’ve made a start! My son has requested this hat for his trip to Poland. Thanks again x
You are welcome! How fun!