My weekend make: Mosaic crochet hat

Mosaic crochet is a new technique for me, and it’s so much fun. Here are some photos of a hat I made, using a beautiful free pattern by Martin Up North, called “Up Early-Up North.” I recommend checking out his blog, because in addition to his crochet talents, he takes stunning photos.

I used two wool yarns for the hat – one is a teal Australian wool I bought in Korea (can’t recall the brand), and the vermillion is Munsell Merino 150 Rainbow (available in Japan).

This sweet hat has a wide brim, is made in a generous, slouchy size (which is adjustable according to the pattern), and is topped with a squishy pompom. The hat is worked bottom-up in the round.

The mosaic technique isn’t difficult, but takes some getting used to. The technique works with two colors that are stitched so as to layer over each other and form mosaic-like patterns. Martin Up North has shared several patterns in his blog that explore the technique. I may try to make one of his blankets in the near future.

The look of mosaic crochet is pretty cool as one works – here, it reminds me a little bit of vampire teeth

The finishing touch on the hat is the pompom. Martin’s pattern requires a 7cm pompom, but I only have pompom makers in 2 smaller sizes – so I made my own pompom device with a toilet paper roll cut in half, and two 7cm cardboard circles (I used a glass to trace and cut them). If you head over to YouTube and search “pompom maker”, “The Nervous Knitter” has a very nice tutorial about how to make just this type of pompom. Her video is about 12 minutes long.

I cut a toilet paper roll in half, and used two 7cm circles, one with a hole pierced in the middle.

Here’s a quick run-down about how to do it. First, wrap yarn about 150 times around the toilet paper rolls. This will make a nice, fluffy topper. Tie a loose, long string around the middle of the yarn wad (passing it between the toilet paper rolls), and hold in place as you carefully slip the wad of yarn off off the toilet paper rolls. Then, tie the string much tighter in the middle, and knot it. (Keep track of the strings used to tie the yarn, because you will need them later.) Now you can take sharp scissors and cut the loops at each end.

Take the string that ties the pompom, and pass it through the hole in one of the cardboard circles. Flatten the yarn on top, and put the other cardboard circle on the flattened pompom, kind of like a sandwich.

You will cut the yarn carefully around the circle templates. Be sure not to cut the strings that tie it – keep them long, to attach to the hat.

Cut around the sandwich so the yarn is even on all sides. Then take the pompom out and turn it to the side, flatten it between the circles again, and cut the excess yarn that remains. You can trim it to your liking before attaching it to your article.

Are you a “pompom”, or “no-pompom” kind of person? Would love to hear from clever crafters who have a genius way to make pompoms or other yarn trim.

I’ll leave you for now with a couple of photos from today’s lovely Autumn walk. Have a wonderful day!