I found my grandmother's hooks in my basement while cleaning one day. She had died when I was...I wanna say 10? I was in school and the funeral was out of state, so I wasn't able to go. When my parents came home, they brought me a few trinkets, some jewelry and her pouch of crochet hooks. She was very creative. I have one of her afghans, one she made me for Christmas one year. It's my favorite blanket, warm and soft and full of love. I tried at one point to learn how to crochet in middle school, but some tension issues and adolescent frustration lead to putting them away for many years. I picked up knitting and I loved it, but when I found the hooks, I felt guilty for not using them.
So, I set out to change that. I sat down with her hooks, and some yarn, and a few YouTube videos, and made my first granny square. Then a shawl. And I loved it. Now, I crochet almost every day. I hardly ever knit, crochet is so much faster. I still have my needles, and maybe someday I'll pick them up again. But for now, it's happy hooking for me.
Last year, a friend wanted a hat to commemorate her love of all things Cap. I couldn't find a pattern at the time, so I designed one. I crocheted through this pattern a few times, and the number of stitches of blue to crochet around the star hasn't been quite...consistent. But the overall technique is solid. So here it is, in time for the upcoming premier of Winter Soldier, the Captain America Beret:
I used the silvery yarn and a darker red to look more like the shield from the movies, but bright red white and blue work equally well.
G hook
~With white yarn~
Create a slip knot.
5sc in loop, pull tight
2sc in each sc around (10)
*2sc in stitch, 1 sc* around (15)
*sl, ch 6, [1sc in 1st ch, 1hdc, 1dc, 1htc, 1tc], skip 1 stich, s1* 5 times
sc around
sl st join 2nd color [blue]
~Blue~
ch 5, 1tc, 1htc, 1dc, 1hdc, 1sc, *1hdc, 1dc, 1htc, 2tc, skip 1, 2tc, 1htc, 1dc, 1hdc, 3sc* repeat 3 more times, 1hdc, 1dc, 1htc, 1tc, sl to join {ed. note: No matter how many times I test this, this row, and as a result the next, are always a bit off. The take away is basicly to transition from triples at the bottom to singles at the points.}
ch3, dc, hdc, 2sc, sl *sl, 2sc, hdc, 3dc, hdc, 2sc, 2sl* repeat 3 more times, s1, 2sc, hdc, dc, sl to join 3rd color[red] (55)
~Red~
ch3, *4dc, 2sc in same st* around, sl to join (66)
ch3, *5dc, 2dc in same st* around, sl to join [white] (77)
~White~
ch3, *6dc, 2dc in same st* around, sl to join (88)
ch3, *7dc, 2dc in same st* around, sl to join [red] (99)
~Red~
ch3, *8dc, 2dc in same st* around, sl to join (110)
ch3, dc around, sl to join (110)
ch3, *8dc, dctog* around, sl to join (99)
ch3, *7dc, dctog* around, sl to join (88)
ch3, *6dc, dctog* around, sl to join (77)
ch3, *5dc, dctog* around, sl to join (66)
ch3, *4dc, dctog* around, sl to join (55)
ch3, *3dc, dctog* around, sl to join (44)
ch2, hdc around, sl to join, twice
ch1, sc around, sl to join
Repeat final row once, finish off
If you use this pattern, please do not sell the items. It is for personal use only. However, feel free to send me a picture, I love to see what people make!
