The hat (and friend) that started it all
I've been drooling over R2D2 hats for a while and always wanted to make one for a friend. But when I wanted to get started, I realized that all those gorgeous hats I could find just freehanded the stripes. They did look good with it - but somehow, I couldn't bring myself to do that. I wanted the stripe pattern to be accurate, or as close to it as possible.
One would assume that the internet would provide the world with at least one useful back view of R2D2. Ha. I actually had to rewatch the movie to check if the little toy I wanted to use as a reference matched the movie. Luckily it did. It's unbelievable, a little cheap thing that had come out of a fast food restaurant's paper bag held more information than the internet.
So I made hats, four so far, with different sized yarn and needles, and made the pattern adjustable for all sizes.
And here it is!
bulky acrylic version, pattern will be not as crisp as the thin yarn version, but still cute - and yes, that little guy was my pattern reference and most important crochet tool
R2D2 hat with accurate stripes, for all sizes
You need:
blue and grey yarn,
scraps of red and black yarn
crochet hook in a size that matches your yarn
Abbreviations:
*repeat instructions between asterisks*
dc - double crochet
st st - sling stitch, also used for "close round with sling stitch"
1. start with blue: ch3, 12dc in first stitch, close round with slip stitch
2. ch3, dc in same dc, 2dc in each dc, close round with slip stitch
3. likewise *2dc, 1dc*, work the last loop of the last dc, sl st
(I skipped this round in the hat in the last two pictures, because the yarn was very bulky, so don't be confused - I told you, adjustable pattern
)
4. work one round in grey with another increase *2dc, 1dc, 1dc*, sl st
when finished with the round, wrap grey yarn around blue yarn to lift it up and carry it along
5. in grey: ch3 taking the blue yarn with you by wrapping the grey yarn around after every ch, 1 dc in grey, do last loop in blue,
*2dc in blue in next dc, dc in the next 5dc ( = 7dc in blue), switch to grey in the last loop, 2dc in grey, switch to blue in last loop*
work 6 blue blocks, close round with sl st
6. ch3 in grey, take blue yarn with you, 1 dc in grey, switch to blue in last loop
*(dc, dc, dc, 2dc, dc, dc, dc) in blue, (dc, dc) in grey*
close round
7. - 14. (or until desired size is reached): work rounds of dc in grey with an increase of 6dc in each round, then work two more rounds without increases. Don't forget to transport the blue yarn with you at the beginning of each round!
Now come three rounds with the
Stripe pattern
You can adjust this stripe pattern to your head size. You also can scale the parts of the pattern according to your thickness of yarn, making the stripes wider or narrower. You should just make sure that you scale everything within its own quarter of round. Dividing the rounds in quarters is what makes this pattern adjustable.
As you will work three rounds of stripes, you'll of course work 12 quarter parts.
Always transport the unused yarn with you between stitches!
1st quarter:
4-5 dc in grey, then fill the rest of the quarter in blue (remember taking the grey yarn with you!)
2nd quarter:
1 dc in grey (2 if your yarn is very thin), fill quarter with blue except for the last 7 stitches, these are:
1 dc grey, 1 dc blue, 1 dc grey, 2 dc blue, 1 dc grey, 1 dc blue
3rd quarter:
1 dc grey, , 4-5 dc blue, 6 dc grey
repeat *2 dc blue, 1dc grey* (or *1 blue, 1 grey* for bulky yarn) three times
fill rest of quarter with blue
4th quarter:
3-4 dc grey
fill the rest with blue, with 1 dc in grey in the middle
Work three rounds of the stripe pattern, then finish with one round in grey.
For thin yarn, you can add more rounds in grey, or even put a round of blue in between them.
If your hat is a bit loose, work the last round with a smaller hook for better fit.
finishing:
Work a square in blue (estimate size)
make two small cameras and a big one in grey, a small one in red and a big one in black (it also works if you make all cameras in grey)
Cameras can be simple yoyos (ch3, 12dc in first ch) or yoyos with one additional round of 12 single crochets for more depth
View of the back side
attach square and cameras (one grey camery is on the back) and weave in ends.
Yay!
Hope someone can use this, please post pictures if you make one!
