It's a Mad Hat Chemo Beanie

Good morning y'all!  I am excited to bring you this pattern today.  

I have been told by so many that chemo hats have sizing issues and slip about or just plain too big.

This is a super stretchy hat done in worsted.  I would not suggest the smaller worsted yarns such as Caron Simply Soft as I do not know how the size would come out.  I do suggest Red Heart Soft or any of the soft worsted.  I also think it would work with 2 strands of soft baby yarn held together, though I have to try that one to be sure it works.

I threw this up untested so if anyone finds an issue please feel free to ask. 

First of all the lovely flower is a pattern from Zooty Owl and you can find it here-http://zootyowlcards.blogspot.com/2014/06/hibiscus-bloom-pattern.html.

I used an old earring I had for the center beads and just stitched them in.

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE PATTERN BEFORE BEGINNING

You will need 1 skein of soft worsted yarn.

J hook

tapestry needle to tuck in ends

stitch markers of your choice

SPECIAL STITCHES

The back loop only hdc (blohdc) and the front loop only hdc (flohdc) is used throughout switching to flosc and blosc for the last row.  Here is a good example, differing only in that it shows dcs.  http://www.stitchdiva.com/tutorials/crochet/crochet-in-the-front-or-back-loops-of-a-stitch 

No rows are joined.  You will work in continuous rounds, marking the last stitch as you go. 

The increases are worked in the same stitch and you will work one or the other first then the next in the same stitch.  Be very careful to get your stitches placed properly.   I would count my increase rows when complete just to be sure you have the right count.  I had to frog my second hat several times due to this issue, I think because I used variegated yarn.   So here we go!

Make a Magic Circle leaving a long tail to weave in.

Rnd 1-  In your MC, ch 1, work 12 hdc , mark last st.  Tighten your MC.

Rnd 2-  * blohdc in first st , in same st flohdc, ( 1 increase made) * Repeat 11 times.  12 blohdcs and 12 flohdcs for a total of 24 sts.  Mark.

Rnd 3-  * blohdc in next st, flohdc in next st* working evenly around. Mark. 24 hdcs total.

Rnd 4-  In next st, *1 blohdc, and 1 flohdc, in 2nd st 1 blohdc, in 3rd st 1 flohdc and 1 blohdc, in 4th st flohdc*  Repeat 5 times for a total of 36 hdcs.  Mark.

Rnd 5-  Repeat row 3 all the way around for 36 hdcs.

Rnd 6-  *1 blohdc and 1 flohdc in next st, 1 blohdc in next st, and 1 flohdc in next st.*  Repeat around.  Mark.  48 hdcs.

Rnd 7-   *1 blohdc and 1 flohdc in next st, 1 blohdc in 2nd st, 1 flohdc in 3rd st, and 1 blohdc in 4th st, in next st 1 flohdc and 1 blohdc, next st 1 flohdc, next st 1 blohdc, and 1 flohdc* repeat around.  Mark  60 hdcs.

Stop increases here for sizes 3-10 and women sizes.  For men an extra row will be shown at the end of the pattern ***

Rnds 8/16-  Continue your blohdc, flohdc pattern working evenly around.  Mark the end of each row.

Rnd 17-   Switch to blosc/flosc pattern and repeat around to finish off your hat.  If you use a sc round it will tighten your hat and it will not have the stretchy edge to it.  Do a couple sl st and weave in your end.

At this point your hat should measure 8 inches from top to bottom edge.

Hope this works as well as I envision.   Happy hooking y'all until we meet again.   All questions welcome.

***  For a larger Beanie for a man add one increase row after Rnd 7 for 72 hdcs total then continue as in Rnds 8 through 16.  Your row count will be upped 1***

1 blohdc and 1 flohdc in first st,  1 blohdc, 1 flohdc, 1 blohdc, and 1 blohdc in each of next 4 sts.  Repeat this around for 72 hdcs.   Mark and continue with the even rows.  For a mans Beanie work even rounds until hat measures 9-10 inches long.  For a better fit measure your subjects head.  For donations I would do some 9 and some 10 inches long.  However they do stretch nicely.