Written by Sequoia Abbott-Saulteaux
Welcome back to my weekly #LearningProject blog posts!! For my fifth week, I decided to try something slightly new and started my first ever wearable with Yarnspirations Caron Cakes Slouchy Crochet Beanie pattern. For some reason, I found myself much more intimidated with crocheting wearable projects rather than just a blanket or similar blocky items. The part that I was most anxious for was getting my stitches right, I didn’t want to mess up somewhere and end up with something that I couldn’t even use. Thankfully, although it is not perfect and slightly wonky, I completed my first hat in just over a week with approximately 10 hours total! I did end up learning a lot on this particular journey and I plan to take what I learned to hopefully make some more great hats!
Part of the reason why I wanted to try making a hat for the first time, was the AMAZING colour selection from Caron Yarn. I dived into their “Caron Cakes” line which has multiple colour gradients that look so good and are quite well known among crocheting groups such as Redit’s /Crochet and Facebook’s WE LOVE CROCHET!. For my hat I used the colour, Strawberry Trifle (bought from Michaels for $9.99 per skein) and grabbed a Red Velvet to make another hat eventually. This yarn is a worsted (#4) level yarn that is soft, vibrant, and colourful.
Starting the hat was actually easier than I thought it would be, mostly because I tend to struggle with making making circles. With this pattern there was no magic circle (so while I’ll have to practice it for some other pattern, it was nice to use something a little easier to get a hang of). After reading up on the pattern, watching YouTube videos and reading comments on blogs, I noticed that there was some similar complaints among users. A common issue for those that used the pattern was the hat was turning out too small. To counter this issue, I attempted to add some more increase stitches near the middle of the pattern. Looking back, this addition may have been what caused the hat to be slightly lopsided, but overall I’m glad the hat fits.
One thing that I really liked about this pattern was how basic it was. This was a great beginner pattern for people who have novice experience, so there are only a few different types of stitches. Majority of the hat is completed with half double crochet stitches, which thankfully I got some practice with when building my cat blanket. I tried to spend an hour or two every day or so, since I found that too much crocheting can cause slight hand cramps.
Overall, I found the pattern pretty easy to use but I was confused in one or two places. When I started to get lost I found Youtube very helpful with channels like The Crochet Crowd and Yarnspirations (which has a lot of their websites patterns but not all of them). I have heard through comments that this pattern is a really good base pattern use if you wanted to add pom-poms and rims, so I feel like I will probably continue trying to tweak this pattern with a couple more hats (or several). For my hat I did try to make the hat longer than the pattern so that I can roll it up but alas, I ended up increasing too much at the end. The back of the hat goes slightly into a triangle like shape so I attempted to fix that by folding up the hat and then sewing just the back end down.
In the end, while my first ever hat is not perfect, I still love it anyways. It was such a cool process to get to pick out the colour scheme and see the pattern come to life while making it. I also really liked how in comparison to huge blankets, this was a relatively quick pattern to make. I’m probably going to save the pattern aside for later birthdays and holidays!
Sequoia Abbott-Saulteaux 
Holy cow!! That beanie turned out pretty sweet! It looks so cozy 🙂 . Your crochet skills are really coming along, great job Sequoia!! I have like a million beanies and toques, it would be cool to be able to make my own. Talk to you later.
Ian
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Ian!
Thank you so much, the beanie actually turned out very cozy! I was super intimidated before starting but it actually turned out not too bad, I would highly recommend! Thanks for your comment 🙂
-Sequoia
LikeLike
That beanie looks great Sequoia! I’ve always thought beanies like this would be so hard to crochet, but you make it look easy! I really enjoy the way you’ve documented the process by using multiple progress pictures. Seems like your skills are getting better with every post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Callen!
Thank you for your kind words, I tried to get a lot of pictures for the blog but also to motivate myself with seeing how far the beanie was coming along! The beanie actually looked a lot more intimidating than it actually was!
-Sequoia
LikeLike
A fabulously documented journey Sequoia! I am amazed at the capacity you have to reach out and try new skills with crocheting!!! I love the Beanie!!! 🧶💗
LikeLike
What a wonderful job for your first wearable project!! I personally have never used Caron Cakes before, but I love the colour changes and how the pattern in yours turned out! Makes me want to go buy some myself! Those yarnspirations patterns can be a bit dodgy sometimes, but considering they’re free it’s not so bad. Impressive that you could manipulate the pattern so early on in your journey, that was quite smart of you. Also, I gotta say, it’s also super impressive that you can read patterns so well already! When I first started, I stuck to YouTube tutorials and it took me awhile to start following patterns. In all honesty, reading crochet patterns can be so tricky you could have made that your learning project on its own 🤣 I can’t wait to see what else you make! ~Haley
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Haley!
Thank you so much!! I am still definitely getting used to reading the patterns so I found that pairing them with YouTube videos does wonders! I could honestly probably write a whole blog alone on just figuring out patterns lol! I ended up loving the colour changes and the feel of the Caron Cakes so I would highly recommend them (the only downside is the price)! Your comment made my day, so thank you again for your kind words!
-Sequoia
LikeLike
Hey Sequoia! Your beanie looks so good! From reading this post, it sounds like you put a lot of hard work into it! I also learned quite a bit about crocheting from reading your post! I had no idea about the different kinds of wool you could use or the different crocheting stitches there are! You’ve made lots of progress with your learning project, that’s awesome!
Can’t wait to see what else you create (I’m rooting for a dishcloth hahah)!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Janelle!
Thank you for your comment! I am so happy that you were able to learn something(s) from my blog post! I am always surprised with crocheting because I feel like there is always something to learn! (there are SO many different types of yarn and stitches). I am definitely going to be working on a dishcloth sometime also, as you can never have too many!
-Sequoia
LikeLike
Wow,
I love your beanie; it looks so amazing! It is clear that you have put a lot of time and effort into learning and putting your new skills into practice. I appreciate the range of information you chose to include that relate to crocheting such as different stitches. Great job and keep working hard!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Trista!
Thank you for your kind words! I am so happy that my effort is coming through the blog posts, (I sometimes worry that I can be adding too much fluff in). I hope to keep making more projects and trying out new stitches! Thanks for reading 🙂
-Sequoia
LikeLike
Your beanie looks great! It’s always so satisfying to complete and try on your first wearable crochet project, even if it’s not perfect! Thanks for sharing the process and the final project! I loved it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Nikki!
Thank you so much! I did not want to take off the beanie for the rest of the day after I finished it haha! There is something so satisfying about trying something on that you made yourself, thanks for your kind words!
-Sequoia
LikeLike