This sun hat pattern by Kinga Erdem is drop-dead gorgeous, so I just had to make one. The Raffie Sun Hat pattern is available for free on Kinga's blog, My Hobby Is Crochet.
But I did have to adjust the pattern somewhat to make it in a messy-bun style to accommodate my everyday hairstyle. I used the Peekaboo Sun Hat design by Susanna Biyae as my guide for that. The Peekaboo Sun Hat pattern is available for free on Susanna's blog, Fosbas Designs.
I think I used a thinner raffia than Kinga used for hers, so it wasn't possible for me to meet gauge using the suggested hook size. I went up two hook sizes and also worked the top of the hat to 75 stitches to get to the size I need. My polyester raffia yarn came from Amazon.
The cluster-stitch pattern for the sides of the hat crown needs a stitch count in a multiple of 3, so changing the stitch count is fairly easy. Kinga works hers in the round (so the right side of the work is always facing you), but for mine I was doing mine in rows (to make the back of the hat open). Fortunately for me, it was possible to work the cluster-stitch pattern she uses simply by reversing the order of the cluster stitches on the wrong-side rows (to keep the clusters "leaning" the same direction). Easy peasy. Working the rows this way probably changes the look of the cluster-stitch pattern somewhat, but I think it turned out great.
The wire rope I used to reinforce the brim came from Home Depot. This product was recommended by Jess Coppom in her free Fedora Crochet Sun Hat pattern, which is available on her blog, Make And Do Crew.
The last thing to figure out is the hat band. I used a 4mm hook and chained 150, which was long enough to wrap around the crown of the hat with ends long enough to tie in a loose square knot. I don't know if I'll leave it like that or if I'll maybe try adding some beads to dress it up a bit without being too busy.
My husband and I have a lovely vacation coming up, and I'm super excited to get to take this gorgeous sun hat along to wear during our adventures.