Handmade Treasures: Slouchy Crochet Beanie

I am in the process of crocheting an adorable, lightweight slouchy beanie. I am so excited about this cute and easy crochet pattern and yarn that I have to share this treasure with you - before I have even finished the project. If you like to crochet, or if you would like to learn, this is a cute and easy pattern. Simple enough to finish in a few days and cute enough to give as a gift. 

I am unable to take credit for creating this pattern.  I am not that talented. In fact, I had chosen the yarn before I even had a pattern. I feel fortunate that I was able to find this yarn and this pattern for this particular project.

There is a young lady at work who has tentatively expressed a desire to learn to crochet.  In order to try to tempt her to give crochet another try (we have tried on one other occasion), I decided to have her choose the yarn, and I would try to crochet something easy for her. 

She chose this cheery red and white yarn.

Red Heart - Team Spirt (red and white)

I am pressed for time.  Because I did not feel that I would have time to mail order it, find a quick and easy pattern, and then complete it in the time frame I had set for myself, I went to a local craft store.  In fact, I went to two craft stores, trying to find her red and white yarn.

Stitch Studio by Nicole - picnic

I was unable to find the yarn she had chosen. Instead I found this beautiful, lightweight yarn at AC Moore.  It is Stitch Studio by Nicole - Picnic. It is a lightweight and soft yarn.  It will make a beautiful beanie.

I then located an easy and quick crochet pattern by The Crochet Crowd.  Fortunately, they provide both the written pattern and a step-by-step video tutorial. 

In the tutorial, they are using Caron Cakes yarn, which is a gorgeous, soft yarn that is dyed in a way that it creates a beautiful change in pattern without changing yarn. I was tempted by the Caron Cakes yarn while I was shopping at the stores, but unfortunately there were no bright red options. Because I have chosen a slightly lighter weight yarn, I did test the gauge and chose the hook that will give me that gauge. However, even with that preparation, I believe these hats will not fit large heads (like mine). But that works out well for this project. I believe it will end up fitting the young lady perfectly.

Caron Cakes yarn

Introduction photo credit: author's photo of beanie in progress (graphic courtesy of FotoJet)