Crossed Double Crochet Sun Hats - Pattern Modification

Now that the sun is starting to be up longer and hotter every day, I wanted to make some a brimmed hat to keep my eyes shaded. I found this free pattern on The Lavender Chair (or check it out here on Ravelry), a wonderful site with tons of free crochet patterns for kids and adults. The hat is so cute! BUT the adult sized pattern is a bit too big for me so it blows off in the wind. And the child sized pattern is way too small for me.

Here are my pattern notes to size down the adult pattern. You'll still need to visit The Lavender Chair for the actual pattern though!

Fit: head circumference 21" with 1" negative ease so it holds onto your head

Abbreviations:
- st/sts = stitch/stitches
- hdc = half double crochet

Pattern Modifications:

Round 1: Hdc 9 in magic ring

Rounds 2-6 follow pattern instructions (round 6 ends with 54 sts)

Adjust round 7 to end up with 64 sts:
2x (2hdc in next st, 1hdc in next 5 sts)
3x (2hdc in next st, 1hdc in next 4 sts)
2x (2hdc in next st, 1hdc in next 5 sts)
3x (2hdc in next st, 1hdc in next 4 sts)

Follow pattern instructions for the rest of the hat. Here's another pic of the finished product (made in Bernat Handicrafter 100% Cotton).

Ellen's Baby's Blanket - Knit Pattern

 
This square-shaped blanket is knitted diagonally using just knit stitches (K), yarn overs (YO), and knit 2 togethers (K2tog). Gauge is not that important, just keep measuring along the edge of the blanket as you knit until it reaches the length you want for one side, then start decreasing. For my blanket, I increased to a maximum of 161 stitches in the middle row.

Coloring can be all one color, or striped. The blanket shown has asymmetrical stripes of two colors - no real pattern, just freeform, though each stripe is worked over an odd number of rows so that consecutive color changes occur on different sides of the work.

Needle size: US 9 (5.5mm) - I used a circular needle to manage the large number of stitches in the middle rows.

Yarn: KnitPicks CotLin in Flamingo and Raindrop (2 50g skeins of each color)

Increasing side:
C/o 3 stitches.
Row 1: K1, YO, K2.
Row 2: K1, YO, K3.
On each row, continue in this pattern (K1, YO, knit until end of row) until the length of one edge is as long as you want one of the sides of the square blanket to be.

Decreasing side:
Row A: K1, K2tog, K to end of row.
Repeat row A until there are only three stitches left in the row.
Bind off.

New Knit Finished: Comic Artist Wristlet!

I finished my comic artist wristlet (finally!) this week, so I have something to wear to prevent my tablet from thinking my palm wants to make squiggly lines all over the bottom of my comics.

More project pics and yarn/needle details are listed on Ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/vixxyn/comic-artist-wristlet. Leave a note in the comments or send me a message on Ravelry if you want the simple pattern to make a wristlet or two of your own!