Drawstring Beanie with Yarrow Flower | Guest Post
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I’m Marie Segares from Underground Crafter and I’m happy to be back on Oombawka Design for the second post in my charity spotlight series. Each month, I’m highlighting a charity that accepts crochet donations and sharing a free pattern, so read on for details.
An Illness That Impacts Us All
Nearly everyone knows someone who has had cancer. Every year, about 1.8 million people are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. and Canada alone. In the U.S., over 650,000 people with cancer receive chemotherapy treatments in an outpatient setting each year.
If you’ve ever spent time in a treatment setting, you know that the temperatures are generally cold and unforgiving, even when you’re healthy. One of the major side effects of chemotherapy and other cancer treatments is hair loss. Hair loss makes your scalp very sensitive to temperature and other sensations.
July’s Featured Charity: Halos of Hope
One way that crocheters can support people going through cancer treatment is by partnering with this month’s featured charity, Halos of Hope. Halos of Hope volunteers distribute crocheted, knitted, and sewn caps to over 450 cancer centers each month. By working with local yarn shops, crochet and knitting guilds, community groups, and the annual STITCHES events, Halos of Hope is able to extend their reach.
To donate, you can send hats to the Halos of Hope office in Arizona, or use their Find a Center search to find a cancer treatment center in the U.S. that accepts donations.
Tips for Making Great “Chemo Caps”
The best “chemo caps” are made with love using soft yarn with minimal seaming. Remember that patients will have very sensitive scalps. Chemotherapy has a strong impact on the immune system, so patients will often machine wash and dry anything worn in treatment to remove germs. For all of these reasons, extra care must be taken when choosing yarns. Softness is the most important factor, followed by ease of care. A yarn that can be worn by patients with environmental or chemical sensitivities is the icing on the cake!
For this pattern, I used Lion Brand Nature’s Choice Organic Cotton Yarn. In addition to being extra soft, it can be delicately machine washed and is appropriate for most patients with allergies and chemical sensitivities.
Since cotton yarn can shrink unpredictably, I designed this hat to feature a drawstring tie that keeps it firmly on the head. I also added a small yarrow flower embellishment. Many cultures around the world have historically associated yarrow with healing and health.
Drawstring Beanie with Yarrow Flower
Crochet Pattern by Underground Crafter
The drawstring on this soft and seamless hat adds a touch of style and ensures a perfect fit.
Finished Sizes
- Listed circumferences are slightly larger than typical crochet hats to allow for cotton yarn shrinkage. If you are substituting with an acrylic yarn, please choose a smaller size based on your preferred final circumference.
- Child/Teen: 21.25” (54 cm) circumference, 7.75” (19.5 cm) length
- Adult small: 23.5” (59.5 cm) circumference, 8” (20 cm) length
- Adult large: 25” (63.5 cm), 8.25” (21 cm) length (requires 2 skeins of CA)
Materials
- Lion Brand Nature’s Choice Organic Cotton (3 oz/85 g/103 yds/94 m/100% organic cotton) – 1 skein ea in 170 Pistachio (CA) and 101 Strawberry (CB), or approximately 103 yds (94 m) in ea of 2 colors in any medium weight yarn.
- J-10 (6 mm) crochet hook or any size needed to obtain gauge.
- Yarn needle.
- Locking stitch marker or scrap yarn.
Gauge
- Rnds 1-5 in pattern = 4” (10 cm). For best fit, always check your gauge.
Abbreviations Used in This Pattern
- BL – back loop only
- ch – chain
- cl – cluster – (Yo, insert hook in ring, yo and draw up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops) twice, yo and draw through 3 loops.
- ea – each
- FL – front loop only
- hdc – half double crochet
- inc – increase – (HdcBL, hdcFL in same st)
- rep – repeat
- Rnd(s) – Round(s)
- RS – right (front) side
- sc – single crochet
- sk – skip
- sl st – slip stitch
- sp – space
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- WS – wrong (back) side
- yo – yarn over
- * Rep after asterisk as indicated.
Pattern Notes
- Hat is worked in rounds in continuous spirals without joining until Rnd 13.
- Move stitch marker up each round to mark last st.
Pattern Instructions
Hat
Beginning at crown using CA, start with magic adjustable ring. (Rhondda has a great magic ring tutorial here.)
- Rnd 1: (RS) Ch 2, 8 hdc in ring, pull yarn tail tightly to close ring, place marker in last st. (8 sts)
- Rnd 2: Inc in ea st around. (16 sts)
- Rnd 3: *Inc in next st, hdcFL in next st; rep from * around. (24 sts)
- Rnd 4: *Inc in next st, hdcFL in next 2 sts; rep from * around. (32 sts)
- Rnd 5: *Inc in next st, hdcFL in next 3 sts; rep from * around. (40 sts)
- Rnd 6: *Inc in next st, hdcFL in next 4 sts; rep from * around. (48 sts)
- Rnd 7: *Inc in next st, hdcFL in next 5 sts; rep from * around. (56 sts)
- Rnd 8: *Inc in next st, hdcFL in next 6 sts; rep from * around. (64 sts)
- Rnd 9: *Inc in next st, hdcFL in next 7 sts; rep from * around. (72 sts) CHILD/TEEN SIZE ONLY: Continue to Rnd 12.
- Rnd 10: *Inc in next st, hdcFL in next 8 sts; rep from * around. (80 sts) ADULT SMALL SIZE ONLY: Continue to Rnd 12.
- Rnd 11: *Inc in next st, hdcFL in next 9 sts; rep from * around. (88 sts)
- Rnd 12: HdcFL in ea st around.
- Rep Rnd 12 until hat measures approximately 0.5” (1.3 cm) shorter than finished length, changing to CB in last yo of last hdc of last rnd, fasten off CA.
- Rnd 13: HdcFL in ea st around to last 3 sts, scFL in next st, sl st in ea of next 2 sts, join with sl st to first hdc.
- Rnd 14: Ch 3 (counts as hdc + ch-1 sp), sk 1, *hdc in next st, ch 1, sk 1; rep from * around, join with sl st to second ch of beginning ch 3.
- Rnd 15: Ch 1, sc in same st and in ea ch-1 sp and sc around, join with sl st to first sc. Fasten off CB.
Drawstring
- With CB, make a chain measuring approximately 12” – 18” (30.5 – 46 cm) longer than finished circumference. Turn, sk first ch, sc in ea st across. Fasten off.
Yarrow Flower
- With CB, ch 4, sk 3, join with sl st to first ch to form ring.
- Rnd 1: (WS) Ch 1, (cl in ring, ch 1) 5 times, join with sl st to top of first cl.
- Rnd 2: Turn to RS, starting in same ch-1 sp (sl st in ch-1 sp, ch 3) 5 times, join with sl st to first sl st.
- Rnd 3: (Sc, 4 dc, sc) in ea ch-3 sp around, join with sl st to top of first sc. Fasten off with 12” (30.5 cm) yarn tail for seaming.
Assembly
- Starting at back of hat with mid-section of drawstring, weave drawstring through ch-1 sp in Rnd 14 of hat so that loose ends are positioned at front.
- Using yarn needle and long yarn tail, sew yarrow flower to side of hat.
Finishing
- With yarn needle, weave in ends. Tie drawstring to fit.
If you’d like to crochet a prayer shawl for a patient, consider my free Pineapples for Everyone Shawl pattern, which can be easily customized with different yarn weights.
© 2015 Marie Segares (Underground Crafter). Published with permission on Oombawka Design.
Marie Segares is a crochet and knitting designer, teacher, and blogger, and the Proprietress of the Underground Crafter. Please visit her at one of the following links:
Facebook | Pinterest | Website
Or, check out her profile and additional Guest Posts on the Oombawka Design Contributor Page.
On behalf of the Oombawka Design readers, and myself, I would like to Thank Marie for sharing information about the Charity Halos of Hope and for sharing her lovely design – Drawstring Beanie with Yarrow Flower. Cancer is a terrible illness and one which has touched too many of us, in one way or another. Sending healing thoughts, and prayers of hope to those who are currently battling this disease and to those who are caring for their loved ones. I would also like to thank each and every one of you who offers your time to make items to donate to Charity for those in need. Together we are stronger!
What a great pattern! Thank you for sharing this and sharing the charity as well.