FO: Gem

Pattern: Gem, from Heartfelt: The Dark House Collection by Kim Hargreaves

Yarn: Noro Kochoran, about 3/4 of 1 skein

Hook: US J (6mm)

Notes: At last, a hat that I might actually wear out of the house!  I originally crocheted it to pattern specs, but it was too big for me.  I ripped back and ended up leaving out the last 2 increase rows, producing a hat that is just as floppy as I would like, and one that I think looks like the hat in the pattern.  I did get stitch gauge with this yarn, but my rows were too tall, something which matters on something like a hat!  I cut the yarn at the end, and used a darker blue band for the final round of single crochet – I really like the way it looks!  Kochoran was nice to work with – in fact, it’s possible that I enjoyed it more for crochet than knitting.  It’s slightly thick and thin, and I think this is hidden better in the bumpiness of crochet.  I can’t tell if I’m allergic to it, but even if I am I’m wearing it anyway – this is the only hat I own which is actually flattering, and which doesn’t wreck my hair.

The pattern was well written.  Since I substituted yarns and didn’t use any beads, I cannot comment on those aspects of the pattern.  I did wish it had been charted, as it would have prevented a few mistakes.  I like it when crochet patterns include both written directions and charts, so that I can check them against each other.

And it only took 3 hours total, including ripping and re-crocheting – not bad, right?