Monday, November 14, 2011

First Free Pattern: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Hat


This past weekend I had a request for my Very Hungry Caterpillar Hat pattern. I have actually never written a pattern before and do most of my patterns from trial and error and recreate from memory and measurements. So I took on the challenge and wrote my very first pattern, so please bear with me if it is hard to follow, but I did try to be as thorough as possible.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Crochet Hat Pattern

I use Sugar and Creme Cotton Yarn For this Hat and some scrap yarn for the the eyes.

Starting with your basic white color and using a g hook for small children sizes and an h hook for adult sizes, or hook needed for gauge. (infant hats will need a smaller gauge, or larger gauge for larger adult size.)
1. Ch 2, work 8 hdc in 2nd chain from hook;do not turn. Cap is worked in a round. You can place a marker on the last stitch of each row to keep track. (8sts)
2. Work 2 hdc in each st around. (16 sts)
3. (2 hdc in next st, 1 hdc in next) around. (24 sts)
4. (Hdc in next 2 sts, 2 hdc in next) around. (32 sts)
5. Repeat row 4, hdc in last 2 sts. (42 sts)
6-11. Hdc in each st around.
Changing to lighter grass green
12-14. Sc in each st around. Fasten off. Weave in all ends.

Depending on the size you can add extra rows or take a few out as you are working the rounds of the hat.

For the hungry caterpillar I made smaller circles in dark emerald green and grass green, and one larger red circle for the head. I made two tiny yellow circles for the eyes. I used a basic circle stitch for the caterpillar's body segments, head, and eyes.

Using a g hook or size needed for gauge. Starting with dark emerald green. Make 3.
1. ch 2, insert hook in first chain and sc 4 sts. (4 sts) Circles are worked in rounds, do not connect. You can place a marker on the last stitch of each row to keep track.
2. ch 1, work 2 sc in each st around. (8 sts) fasten off and weave in ends.

Using a g hook or size needed for gauge. Starting with lighter grass green. Make 2.
1. ch 2, insert hook in first chain and sc 4 sts. (4 sts) Circles are worked in rounds, do not connect. You can place a marker on the last stitch of each row to keep track.
2. ch 1, work 2 sc in each st around. (8 sts) fasten off and weave in ends.

Using a g hook or size needed for gauge. Starting with red.
1. ch 2, insert hook in first chain and sc 4 sts. (4 sts) Circle is worked in rounds, do not connect. You can place a marker on the last stitch of each row to keep track.
2. ch 1, work 2 sc in each st around. (8 sts)
3. ch 1, (sc in first st and 2 sc in next st) around (12 sts) fasten off and weave in ends.

Using an f hook or size needed for gauge. Starting with yellow. Make 2.
1. ch 2, insert hook in first chain and sc 4 sts. (4 sts) fasten off and weave in ends.

For the inner pupils of the eyes I use emerald green and embroider the eyes into place. I do a technique that is a bit different than what others may do. First cut a 24 inch piece of emerald green sugar and creme yarn and split the yarn fibers of 4 in half so you have two strands of thickness to work with. Thread this through the eye of a yarn needle and fasten it underneath one of the yellow eye circles with a small knot. Then come up the middle of the yellow circle with needle and pull the yarn all the way up and then make a knot close to the circle. Do this knot twice to make it large. (So make a second knot around the first.) Then wrap the yarn around and around the knot 2 or 3 times to get the size of circle you want. Then once you have your desired size of the eye pupil, insert the needle back down a side of the green pupil into the yellow circle. Then come back up near the middle knot with the needle and go back down near the middle edge of the pupil. Do this about 3 to 4 times until the pupil is securely fastened down into the center of the yellow circle. You will do this particular stitch 3 times. Twice for the pupils of the eyes on the 2 yellow circles, and once for the mouth of the caterpillar on red circle. Fasten off and weave in all of your ends.

Sew your eyes onto the red circle head of the caterpillar. After this step I make the mouth of the caterpillar using the above technique used for the pupil of the eyes.

Using the other 2 emerald green strands leftover from when we split the fibers for the making of the eye pupils and using an f gauged hook, insert the yarn into the top side of the caterpillar's red circled head and chain 3. Fasten off and leave a little bit of yarn left out to make the antenna. Do this again for the caterpillar's other antenna on the other side of the top of the head.

Now it is time to sew!

Position all of the circles the way you want along the bottom center of the hat right above the grass green edging. Starting with the emerald green circle first positioned to the farthest left and then the grass green next and so on and so forth. Sew the red caterpillar head on last leaving the antennas not sewn on so it has a 3d effect. You can sew the circles straight across or in an up and down pattern as I have done to make the caterpillar look like he is walking along.

So there it is! I hope you have a lot of fun and if you have any questions at all regarding this pattern please feel free to email or message me. Thanks and happy crocheting!

22 comments:

  1. Brooklyn said I'd love your pattern and I do - can't wait to get started! :)

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  2. I am so happy to hear that you love my pattern! Happy crocheting to you!!

    Lindsay

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  3. Sweet. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to try it out. the little caterpillar is cute :)

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  4. Yay Kristy! I would love to see pics once you have it finished!! Have fun crocheting!!

    Lindsay

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  5. The stitches from 6-11 should be longer. Maybe to 20 before switching to green. Not sure yet because I have not made it that far but I will let you know. Otherwise it is a very very short hat.

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  6. Hey MissyLiew...that is why I posted underneath the main pattern for the hat "Depending on the size you can add extra rows or take a few out as you are working the rounds of the hat." I know some crochet a lot tighter than others so that is why I posted that. I tend to crochet a lot looser than most. I hope this helps and have fun. ;)

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  7. Hello! I came across this pattern just love it! I am the editor of AllFreeCrochet.com and would love to feature your tutorial on my site with full credit to you. I know my readers would love it as well, and in return would generate some nice traffic to your site. If you agree and would like us to feature your project, our readers will simply click the link to your blog to get your full tutorial. It's really that simple. Please let me know if this would be ok. I look forward to hearing from you!
    Jenny
    Jbenoit@primecp.com

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  8. Hello! I just learned to crochet and now I'm learning to understand written patterns. What does it mean by stitch two then 8 half crochet?

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  9. Hello Laura!

    I would be happy to help! I am assuming that when you say stitch 2 then 8 half double crochet, you are referring to the first step.

    "Ch 2, work 8 hdc in 2nd chain from hook;do not turn. Cap is worked in a round. You can place a marker on the last stitch of each row to keep track. (8sts)"

    You will chain 2, then you will do 8 half-double crochets in the very first chain that you made (the second chain from your hook) This will form a ring. Just remember not to join because you are working in a round. Let me know if this helps!

    Lindsay

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  10. LOVE this pattern and also loved very much the song playing on your site. Would you mind telling me the name of this song?

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  11. Thank you Betty! The song is called Dream by Priscilla Ahn. I absolutely love it too. :) Happy crocheting!

    Lindsay

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  12. I love this little hat. I have this book and i read it to my kids and to m grandson.My grand daughter is 2 years old and I would love o buy her a new book like this and make her the hat.

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  13. Thank you! I was a preschool teacher for 6 years before I had my own daughters and The Very Hungry Caterpillar was always a favorite. When I read it to my class it got the most infectious giggles and smiles. My daughters are 8 and 6 and it is still one of their favorites. Secretly it is still my favorite from when I was a child a well. I know the story by heart and will forever. :)

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  14. Thanks for the Very Hungry Caterpillar pattern ~ ~ ~

    Love the music! ! ! ! !

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  15. Thanks for the pattern! I am working on it now and getting ready to start over with a larger hook (I do crochet pretty tightly). I'm thinking a scarf with all the things the caterpillar eats through would be a nice addition...

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  16. You are welcome Pamela! You idea for a food scarf to go along with the hat sounds ADORABLE!!! Happy crocheting!

    Lindsay

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  17. This hat is adorable! My grandson is a fan of Eric Carle books so I am definitely going to make it? Congratulations on your bravery with the tutorial! You are very talented! Thank you!

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  18. My friend is a Pre-K teacher and wanted me to make her this hat for her caterpillar/butterfly unit...here it is
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4864098395060&set=a.4864097635041.1073741827.1075234648&type=1&theater

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  19. Thank you so much Roberta and what a cute picture Anonymous! I am so happy she loves her hat. I used to be a preschool teacher too. I bet her class LOVES it! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Lindsay

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  20. Super Cute!

    You might be interested in this group..
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/BloggingHookers/

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  21. Hi! I just posted your very cute Caterpillar Beanie an my facebook Site: https://www.facebook.com/schoenstricken.de
    With a Link to your site. I really like the Beanie thanks for sharing!
    Best from Berlin, Jessica

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  22. So darn cute-my granson loves the very hungry catterpillar! Thank you for this pattern. Keep up the good work!
    Pat

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