Long Tailed Santa Hat - Free Pattern!

My Santa hats have been one of my best-sellers for many years, and I never wrote down what I did because it seemed too simple, but I thought you all might like it as a free pattern!

I use Lion's Brand Homespun, which is a bulky yarn with a bumpy texture. You could use other bulky or even worsted weight yarns, but your stitch counts will be different. Colors shown are Candy Apple, Deco and Pesto. I have also used white and Forest for the light color and the green. I have also made this pattern with pink and green, or just red and white, or just green and white...use whatever color suits your fancy.

The key to working with homespun yarn is not to work too tightly. If you pull to hard on this yarn, it will break. My gauge is 4 rows of DC is 3 inches, two dc across is about an inch. You may need a bigger hook to match my gauge if you don't work as loosely as I do.

Switching colors without leaving an ugly seam! This is a great technique for all sorts of stripe work. Once you get the hang of it, you will quickly be able to switch colors like a pro!

Pattern:
I hook (mine is Clover brand, which is nice and smooth through this somewhat difficult to crochet with yarn!) You may need a different hook to match my gauge.

Round 1: magic ring, double crochet 6 ( I start with red.) Join to first stitch, switch colors and chain 2
Rd 2: with white, dc 6, switch colors and chain 2
Rd 3: with red, dc 6, switch colors and chain 2
Rd 4-18: continue pattern, switching colors every row. I typically stop at 18, but if you want your tail longer or shorter, adjust as you like! This length is roughly to the middle of the back.

Next we start increasing by two every round.

Rd 19: dc 2, inc, dc 2, inc, switch colors and chain 2 (8)
Rd 20: dc 3, inc, dc 3, inch, switch colors and chain 2 (10)
Rd 21: dc 4, inc, dc 4, inc, switch colors and chain 2 (12)
Rd 22: dc 5, inc, dc 5, inc, switch colors and chain 2 (14)
Rd 23: dc 6, inc, dc 6, inc, switch colors and chain 2 (16)

Continue pattern, adding one to the dc count and inc around.

Newborn: Stop increasing at 30 dc (or until piece is 5 1/2 inches wide when laid flat) and go to Brim.
0-3 months: Stop increasing at 32 dc (or until piece is 6 inches wide when laid flat) and go to Brim.
3-6 months: Stop increasing at 34 dc (or until piece is 6 1/2 inches wide when laid flat)and go to Brim.
6-9 months: Stop increasing at 36 dc (or until piece is 7 inches wide when laid flat)and go to Brim.
9-18 months: Stop increasing at 38 dc (or until piece is 7 1/2 inches wide when laid flat)and go to Brim.
Toddler: Stop increasing at 40 dc (or until piece is 8 inches wide when laid flat)and go to Brim.
Child: Stop increasing at 42 dc (or until piece is 8 1/2 inches wide when laid flat)and go to Brim.
Adult: Stop increasing at 44 dc (or until piece is 9 inches wide when laid flat)and go to Brim.
Large Adult: Stop increasing at 46 dc (or until piece is 9 1/2 inches wide when laid flat) and go to Brim.

Brim section:

If you finished with red, work a round in white even so your last round is white.

Switch to green ( or your brim color of choice.)

Rd 1: Work a round of dc.
Rd 2: Alternate front post dc and back post dc around (giving your brim a nice ribbed look.)
Rd 3: Repeat rd 2.
Rd 4: for bigger hats, repeat rd 2 again. For baby hats, stop at rd 3.

Last round, sc around to give it a nice finish and finish off.

Weave in all ends at the bottom of the hat.

Make a giant pom pom! I use the 2 inch clover pom pom maker using all three colors together, and then tie very tightly with cotton string. Homespun is very slippery, so you need to tie it extra tight so all the strands can't be pulled out. Sew to the end of the tail using both the cotton string and the tails you have from starting the hat tail.

Porg! Crochet Pattern

As soon as I saw the trailer for the new Star Wars episode I knew I would be making a porg. Aren't they just the cutest things?

Note that this pattern has not been tested and the color changes are not for the faint of heart!

Materials:

Yarn in brown, cream, and mustard yellow or brown, cream, mustard yellow and reddish brown. Porgs come in all sorts of colors!

I used Vanna's Choice in Chocolate and Mustard and Michael's brand Immpeccible in Aran.
24 mm safety eyes (or as big as you can find)

Notes on color changes: Crochet naturally slants to the left, so turn your Porg over periodically to make sure the lighter color is even. I had to add more stitches to one side and fewer on the other to compensate for the drift. You can also do the whole thing in brown and add the belly and eye pieces with felt if you aren't comfortable with the color changing.

Carry the unused color around the back.

Work in rounds without joining, except where noted.

My Porg is about 6 inches tall, made with worsted weight yarn an a E hook.

US terms used

mr = magic ring
sc = single crochet
inc = increase
inv dec = invisible decrease
hdc = half double crochet
dc = double crochet

Eye Patches (do these first)

10 hdc in a magic ring
join, chain 1, sc inc around (20)
join, chain 1, sc inc 3 times (9)
turn, skip first stitch, sc 7 finish off leaving a long tail for sewing.

Insert your safety eye in the middle of the circle, and you should have a long side for the sides of the eye patch. Don't add the backing yet.

Head:

Round 1: MR, 6 sc
Rd 2: inc around (12)
Rd 3: sc, inc around (18)
Rd 4: sc, sc, inc around (24)
Rd 5: sc, sc, sc inc around (30)

*begin color changes*

Rd 6: 12 sc in brown, 5 sc in white/cream, 13 sc in brown
Rd 7: Repeat row 7, lining up the white stitches
Rd 8: 11 sc in brown, 7 in cream, 12 in brown
Rd 9: 10 sc in brown, 9 in cream, 11 in brown
Rd 10: Repeat rd 9
Rd 11: 9 sc in brown, 11 in cream, 10 in brown
Rd 12: 8 sc in brown, 13 in cream, 9 in brown

*insert eyes with eye patches between rows 7-8 with about 3 stitches of the head between the patches. snap on the backs once the eye patches are positioned how you want them, but don't sew down the ovals yet*

Rd 13: 8 sc in brown, 14 in cream, 8 in brown
Rd 14: keeping color changes even, (sc x 3, inv dec) around (24) (you may have to shift the decreases so they don't overlap a color change. Just make sure there are 6 of them in total)

*stuff head* you can sew the edges of the eye patches down once the head is stuffed

Rd 15: keeping color changes even, sc x 3, inc  around (30) Again, adjust the rows as necessary so the colors line up the way you want them)
Rd 16: increase the cream on either side of the belly patch, sc x 4, inc around (36)
Rd 17: increase the cream on either side of belly patch, sc around (36)
Rd 18: Keeping color changes even, sc x 5, inc around (42)
Rd 19 - 21: sc around, keeping the edges of the color change even. (42)
Rd 22: sc around keeping the color even, until you get to the center of the back. *sc 3 in same stitch in each of the two center stitches, to form the pointy tail* (46)
Rd 23: begin decreasing the cream by a stitch on either side of belly, sc around (46)
Rd 24: continue decreasing cream by a stitch on either side of belly, sc x 5, dec around *dec x 4 over the tail increases* (36)
Rd 25: continue decreasing cream by a stitch on either side of belly, sc x 4, dec around (30)
Rd 26: working in all brown again, sc x 3, dec around (24)
*finish stuffing*
Rd 27: sc x 2, dec around (18)
Rd 28: sc, dec around (12)
Rd 29: dec to close hole and sew up bottom

Wings:

MR, 6 sc
Rd 2: sc, inc around (9)
Rd 3: sc around (9)
Rd 4: sc, sc, inc around (12)
Rd 5: sc around (12)
Rd 6: sc, sc, sc, inc around (15)
Rd 7: sc around (15)
Rd 8: sc, sc, sc, dec around (12)
Rd 9-10: sc around, finish off and leave a tail for sewing

Feet:
mr, sc 6
inc around (12)
Slip stitch, chain 4, working back down the chain sc, hdc, DC and slip stitch back into same stitch
slip stitch in next stitch, chain 4, working back down the chain sc, hdc, DC and slip stitch back into same stitch
slip stitch in next stitch, chain 4, working back down the chain sc, hdc, DC and slip stitch back into same stitch

3 toes formed. Finish off leaving a tail for sewing and sew to the body with the toes curled downwards.

Sew on mouth and nostrils using brown yarn.

San Diego Comic Con 2017 Preview!

I have a table in the art show this year, so I am making a few bigger things for that! I will still have my booth in Artist Alley for my normal assortment of octopi and penguins. :) See you all there!

April the Giraffe!

My brush with internet fame! A friend of the giraffe lady from a viral video ordered a giraffe hat from my Etsy shop, and I was happy to whip one up and send it for baby Porter.

And last week they got to meet April the Giraffe!

So happy I could make their moment extra special.

San Diego Comic Con 2016 Preview!

A few of the items that will be available at my booth, BB-22 in Artist Alley! Stop by and say hello!

New Items in my Shop!

Apparently this is the season for puppies! Custom orders recently have led me to add an adorable puppy hat, booties and diaper cover set, as well as adorable baby puppies.

Also new this week is this darling little romper!

Win a BB-8 Making Kit!

Win a BB-8 supply kit! Includes 120mm joint for the turning head, a sound box pre-recorded with BB-8 sounds, a 30mm safety eye and an 18mm safety eye! The free BB-8 pattern is here.

I will draw a winner on February 1st! Contest runs January 20-31st.

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