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Tips on summer hats/berets and how they are different from winter hats

Hi crocheters,

I suppose this can be a tip for beginners just learning how to crochet. I feel kind of silly because I’ve been crocheting for months and I just figured it out. My favorite things to crochet are hats, covering my head is important to me—so I figured I might as well share my advice on hatmaking for the summertime.

The difference between hats in the summer and winter really come down to two things: spacing and how thick the band (around the ears) are. In the winter you want warmth and thickness, in the summer you want something spacy, that allows a lot of air in and is comfortable to wear around the head without being too snug.

For winter hats, I like to do alternating FP (front post) and BP (back post) DC. You can get something that is super thick, without having to double up strands of yarn. When I think about spacing for winter hats I normally go for smaller hooks sizes (H or I) unless I’m using a super bulky yarn, but I try to not use a hook bigger than size N or P. The tighter the stitch (like SC or HDC) the warmer the hat will be. 

For summer hats, a series of SC decrease rows creates a fitted band. The consistent stitch skipping with help with circulation. When I make summer hats (berets, really) I want to use as big a hook (J or K) as possible with a smaller yarn (normally 4-ply). The spaces magnify the pattern, so you get something really intricate looking and the weight is dispersed evenly, so it becomes very lightweight.

I hope this helps for anyone who was wondering about this!

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