Cookie Monster costume hat

Cookie Monster is my all-time favorite Muppet, so I wanted to make a messy-bun-style hat of this character. I started mine too late to wear it for Halloween this year, but I'll totally be ready next year!

I used a variation of the Loopy Chemo Cap pattern from my free Chemo Cap Bundle. Instead of starting at the very top of the hat, I started with 40 foundation HDCs (the equivalent of round 4) and then continued to work the pattern as written from there.

I used the Addi Pro 22-needle knitting machine to make the white part of Cookie Monster's eyeballs. My first attempt turned out looking super lumpy and squished, which led me to conclude that the eyes needed a bit of polyfil stuffing to help them hold their round shape.

To make the eyeballs: Cast on with white yarn and knit for 19 rows. Cut a long tail and use a bent-tip needle to cast the stitches off the machine. Gently stretch the knitted piece, and then gently cinch the ends. Fold one end inside the other (same as when you're making a beanie). Pull the yarn tails through the "top" of the cinched ends and knot securely. (This cinched end will be the front of the eyeball; you will later cover this cinched end with a crocheted black pupil.) Thread one tail onto a yarn needle. Grab one handful of polyfil and poke the needle through the center of the polyfil, then slide the polyfil down the yarn tail until it's sitting inside the "cup" of the eyeball. Using the tail on the yarn needle, pick up the bar in the middle of every third stitch along the top of the folded edge (these stitches will be used to cinch closed what is currently the folded end of the eyeball). Gently pull on the yarn tail to cinch the folded end closed, then stitch across the cinched opening to secure. Thread the other yarn tail onto the needle and poke it through the center of the eyeball and out the other side that you just cinched closed. Being careful not to pull too hard and squish/flatten the eyeball, knot the yarn tails together again several times to secure. Leave the long white tails for now so you can use them later to sew the eyeball onto the hat.

Using black yarn, crochet a small "pupil" for each eyeball by working 6 SC into a magic circle. Use the invisible joining technique to finish the outer edge. Tightly cinch the center of each pupil and knot to secure. Leave a long tail to sew each pupil onto the front of each eyeball, centered over the front cinched end. Knot to secure and hide black yarn tails inside the center of the eyeball.

Using the long white yarn tails, attach the eyeballs to the hat and knot several times to secure. Weave in ends and wear your Cookie Monster hat with pride!

Ribbed crochet messy bun hat with brim

Love the look of this hat - perfect for keeping warm and also stylish, and the brim will be handy on those cold but sunny winter days. It's the Ribbed for Him and Her Messy Bun Optional Hat by Marly Bird.

I deviated from Marly's pattern by working this top down (instead of bottom up), and I also used this YouTube tutorial by "Pleasant Seas" to knit the brim and then added this brim form from tops2toesboutique on Etsy to help the knitted brim hold its shape. It seems like no matter how hard I try I just cannot get the crochet slip-stitch brim technique to work, so for me it's easier to just knit the brim.

I completed all the crochet and knitting for this project in two evenings, but I had to wait a few days for the brim form to arrive in the mail before I could finish off the project.

BaaBaa Black Sheep Last-Minute Halloween costume

I wanted to make a quick and easy hat to serve as a last-minute costume I could wear while handing out Halloween candy. I remembered having this sweet pattern, Baa Baa by Melissa Mall, and thought it would make a great prop to wear. All I have to do to finish my costume is draw on a black nose, wear a comfy black T-shirt and black leggings, and I'll be set as the best (OK, the ONLY) Black Sheep on my block. 

I deviated from the pattern by making the hat with an open top (messy-bun style), a larger stitch count (to accommodate my big cabesa), and with a bottom band made of HDCs. On the ears I also added an extra increase row and two extra straight rows (for adult sizing). I also worked the body of the hat with the wrong side (inside) facing me, because doing it that way means you don't have to push the textured "bumps" out to the right side of the hat. With the stitch combination used in the pattern, the bumps naturally bump out to the side of the fabric facing away from you as you're working, so doing that part with the wrong side facing you saves you from having to do that extra step to get the texture to show where you want it.

This makes a great last-minute costume hat because it works up quickly. I made this in a single evening with small amounts of Red Heart Super Saver in the Black and Charcoal colorways and a 6mm hook. Baaaaaaaa!

Next Halloween, if I manage to plan ahead a bit further, I'd love to work up a Cookie Monster costume along the lines of one I saw a picture of just this morning by Agnes Hsu of hello, Wonderful. She made this for her son, who is just super adorable. She tells you all about how to make this costume on her blog.

Cookie Monster has always been my favorite Muppet, from way back when I was a child growing up watching "Sesame Street," so I would LOVE to dress up in a Cookie Monster costume. I even crocheted a Cookie Monster hat for Caleb, way back in the day.

OK, I couldn't resist crocheting a quick Cookie Monster character hat based on my Loopy Chemo Cap pattern, just in case I don't have enough time to make an adult size of that amazing Cookie Monster costume above.

I used my Addi Pro 22-needle knitting machine to make the eyeballs, and then added one round of SC for the pupils. Whatcha think? 

Happy Halloweeeeen!

Heidi Yates of Snappy Tots has generously shared the pattern of her Frankenlight design for free on her blog. Go check it out! Her pattern makes a decorative cozy that fits over a pint- or quart-size canning jar and results in a super-cool decoration to add to your Halloween display.

I crochet a lot tighter than Heidi does, so I had to go up a few hook sizes to get a Franken-cozy size that would fit over a quart-size canning jar. 😊 But it worked out fine for me to follow the rest of the pattern as written (same stitch counts and row counts).

I love the technique Heidi uses to make Frankie's hair; it's much faster and easier than bobble stitch (in my opinion) and gives terrific texture. I used 9mm ball buttons for Frankie's freaky pupils, and I used this waterproof solar LED light string/lid/hanger for the top of the jar.

I think Frankenstein is the OG zombie, so I love this idea to make him into a hanging solar luminary as part of my Halloween holiday decor. (I've always preferred The Munsters to The Addams Family, bah-ha-ha.)

This turned out so cute that I had to make a few more of these in other characters to add to my Halloween display.

Next up I made this jack-o-lantern based on the same concept of Heidi's pattern. After completing the bottom rounds I worked the sides in a standard granny stitch for 11 rounds, then switched to the green and the smaller hook for the top edging. I added a curly green vine and the traditional black "cutouts" for the eyes and mouth, with some embroidered "teeth."

Finally, I based this ghost luminary on the same concept of Heidi's pattern. After completing the bottom rounds I worked the sides in a standard DC-ch 1 mesh for 11 rounds, plus a couple of rounds of SC for the top edging.

I deviated from Heidi's pattern for the base on all my Halloween luminaries, because I wanted the crochet to be open to allow light to shine through the bottom when these are hanging up. On this white one, I like the way the base of my ghost cozy resembles a spider's web. Maybe I could make another one of these in white and trim it with a plastic spider?!

For the ghost face and arms, I turned to the Emojipedia's Ghost Emoji page for inspiration, thinking it would be cute if I could make my ghost resemble the emoji.

A tribute to my Purple Warrior, Miss Pam

I designed a gift pack of three chemo beanies in honor of my bestie and purple warrior Miss Pam, who is battling pancreatic cancer. In the photo collage above, the designs are called, from left to right, the Smooth & Simple Chemo Cap, the Sleek & Stretchy Surface Braid Chemo Cap, and the fun and funky Loopy Chemo Cap. It took a few months and a lot of work, but I finally have all the hats made (and also a Purple Power Throw blanket for some extra snuggly comfort) and ready to deliver to keep my friend warm and cozy this winter!

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, so I'm releasing my free pattern pack on Ravelry now to give everyone an opportunity to download the patterns and get stitching on some chemo caps in time for that event.

Making and donating chemo caps to cancer patients is a charitable endeavor that is near and dear to my heart. My hope is that you will use these free patterns to donate caps to patients in need in your area as well.

In my experience, Red Heart Super Saver (and other similar acrylic yarns) can be an acceptable choice for chemo caps because even though it's stiff and scratchy when new, after running it through the washer and dryer, it comes out very soft. The machine drying step is key. (The yarn still feels stiff after coming out of the washing machine. It's only after machine drying that the yarn will soften up.) It's an individual thing whether a particular patient can tolerate the feel of the acrylic yarn. I would say for all-day wear, a natural fiber like cotton would probably feel more comfortable and breathable. 

Prototypes in my photos are displayed on a 21-inch circumference wig form.

A note about sizing: My pattern instructions are based on the type of yarn (a heavy worsted/aran) and size of hook I was using, but even if you use the exact same supplies as I did, your individual tension might produce a different size finished hat. I tend to crochet tightly; if you crochet loosely, "your mileage may vary," as they say. So if you have a specific hat/head size in mind for a specific person, it's important to know what the circumference is of their head, and it's also important for you to measure the diameter of the top of your hat when you reach the end of the increasing rounds (since these are top-down patterns) to have a better estimate of the size of the finished hat before you do all the work of the sides of the hat and then end up disappointed because it turned out either too tight or too loose for the intended wearer. (You can always do the math: diameter x 3.14 = circumference.)

In the photo below of the top of my purple prototype hat with the measuring tape, you can see that the diameter at the end of my round 7 is about 6.5 inches. If you multiply that measurement by pi (3.14), it will give you the approximate circumference of the finished hat, or about 20.5 inches, in my case. Since I wanted a hat to fit a bald head that's about 21 inches in circumference, this should be just about right.

Depending on your unique tension and the yarn you're using, you might find that you need to end up with more or fewer stitches to end up with a finished hat that's the correct size for your intended wearer. Or you might be able to achieve the correct size by changing the size of hook you're using but keeping the same number of stitches mentioned in the pattern.

The nice thing about these patterns is they are very basic and easily changed to accommodate different sizes. Just keep increasing until the top of your hat reaches the diameter you need, and then stop increasing and continue working the sides of the hat at that particular stitch count. Work the length of the sides until they are as long as you need, and then finish off. My materials list and stitch counts are only a jumping-off point for you to create a hat that works for you.

Click here to download my three-pack of quick and easy chemo caps at Ravelry, and please remember to make a few to donate to your local cancer center. Thank you so much, and happy stitching!

And just for fun, here's a photo of the Purple Power Throw blanket I also made for Miss Pam:

The throw uses the stitch pattern from the Sunny Cardi pattern, except I modified it to have the rounds begin/end in a corner by utilizing the technique for beginning/ending rounds found in the Lazy Diamond Boho Pocket Shawl. I love the way it turned out. Having the rounds begin/end in the corner looks so much neater than my original version of this blanket, my I Am the Storm Throw.

Love you so much, bestie. Keep on being strong.