Last weekend I posted my Hot Spot Square pattern and I promised you some further fun with that pattern this weekend.

First a little history lesson. Many of those that have been crocheting for a long time may already know about crochet and motifs, but some of you might not.

A lot of crochet blanket projects that use motifs originally developed as a way to use up the left-over bits and bobs of yarn from other projects or from worn out clothing that had been unraveled, somewhat like the history of crazy quilts. Little bits of yarn would be wound up into small balls and stored for later use.

Some crocheters would work up parts of motifs when a little time could be found. The odds and ends of yarn would be sorted thru and the smallest ones selected to become centers of the motifs. Then more rounds would be added to these until squares of the desired size were completed. Those squares would be sewn together to make blankets.

In the late 60s and thru the 70s the Granny Square became very popular as the building block for all sorts of items; clothing as well as home décor. Color choices would sometimes still be somewhat random for the center of the squares, but often the final rounds of the squares would be a unifying color.

Over the years, the motif was modified and now you can find lots of wonderful books of crochet motif patterns. Some of those patterns are close to the traditional granny square with 3 double crochet shells separated by chain-1 spaces. Some are very far removed from that humble beginning.

My little Hot Spot Square is a nod to the Granny Square in that it is worked in concentric rounds and you can change colors at any point to give a completely different look to the square. I’ve also added a twist by having the circle-to-square thing happening.

The Floating Flower

For this look you’ll need 3 colors of yarn.

Color 1 for flower’s center: Approximately 2 yards for Rounds 1-2. (Sample shown uses Lion Brand “Heartland” yarn in color #125 Mammoth Cave)

Color 2 for your flower’s petals: Approximately 3.5 yards for Round 3. (Sample shown uses Lion Brand “Heartland” yarn in color #103 Denali)

Color 3 for Square border: Approximately  9.5 yards for Rounds 4 and 5 (I usually pick a color in the green range since I consider these rounds to be the “leaves” of my flower). (Sample shown uses Lion Brand “Heartland” yarn in color #174 Joshua Tree)

If you use the same color in all your squares for Rounds 4 & 5, the effect once joined, will be that of flowers floating on the background. You can use up all your bits and bobs of left-over yarn from other projects for the flowers, then use a single color for the background. You’ll be surprised at how lovely your project will come out despite it’s rag-tag beginning.

The Graphic Circle

For this look you’ll need 3 colors again, make sure that your 1st and 3rd color contrast strongly with the 2nd color for the boldest look.

Color 1 for the center circle: Approximately 6.5 yards for Rounds 1-3. (Sample shown uses Lion Brand “Heartland” yarn in color #103 Denali)

Color 2 for the graphic border surrounding the circle: Approximately  3.5 yards for Round 4. (Sample shown uses Lion Brand “Heartland” yarn in color #153 Black Canyon)

Color 3 for the contrasting square border: Approximately 6 yards for Round 5. (Sample shown uses Lion Brand “Heartland” yarn in color #150 Mount Rainier)

This square will also work well with a single color for the square border and that border can be used for a continuous join-as-you-go for all your “spots”.  I prefer to use a method like that for joining all my motifs, rather than sewing them together. I’ll have more about that next month.

Another option for joining your squares is to crochet them together.

The Zipper Join

This join uses a single crochet to join the squares together. You work a single crochet in one square, then in the other square that you are joining. You repeat alternating which square you work into. You can chose to skip stitches to allow the seam to lay flat, or can work in every stitch to get a raised decorative ridge. Either one of these methods are usually worked on the Right Side of your project as they tend to be a design feature.

The Slip Stitch Join

This join is usually worked on the Wrong Side of your project.  Slip stitches used for joining need to be a bit loosier than what you would use to join rounds in your motifs. You may need to go up a couple of sizes in your hook if your slip stitch tension tends to be tight.

Hold your 2 squares you are joining Right Sides facing, then bring your hook thru the edge stitches using the back loop of the first square and front loop of the second square. Work this way across the side of the squares until reaching the end. Generally you want to work one slip stitching into the corner chain spaces.

With either of the crochet joins you can create a full strip by carefully matching your squares stitches in one direction then skipping over or working around those seams when you go in the opposite direction.

One of my favorite things about crochet is how handy it is for fixing things. Whether it be making decorative motifs to cover stains or repairs in clothing or in this case making a hat fit better.

As many of my readers know, and can guess from my logo/banner, I really like the color – hot pink.  I am also extremely pale due to my Scottish, Irish and German ancestry. So I burn easily and am a big fan of sun screen and broad-brimmed sun hats.

Last summer when my family and I were traveling I found an awesome Hot Pink and Buff colored ribbon sun hat at a shop along our route. I love these types of hats because they can be rolled up and stuffed into a carryall until needed.  Unfortunately it turned out this one was actually a bit too tight in the crown, so I didn’t wear it much.

This past Easter weekend my family and I went to the Denver Zoo for a wonderful sunny afternoon adventure. As we headed out the door I grabbed sun hats for all of us (my boys are just as pale and easily sunburnt as their pasty parents). Not remembering the fit issues with the pink hat it ended up being the one I grabbed.

I made it work for me during the afternoon, but decided something would have to be done about this hat to make it more comfortable and usable. On the drive home that evening I gave the hat a very detailed scrutiny to determine how I could modify it. My initial thought was, remove the crown and use the brim with a crocheted crown.

This hat, and the other ribbon hats I have, are made by a spiraled ribbon that is seamed top edge to bottom edge with appropriate gathers for shaping. This particular hat also had a grosgrain ribbon sewn inside as a hat band. That was part of what was making the hat too tight.

So I started my modification with removing the hatband. Unfortunately that did not create enough ease for a comfortable fit. Next step was to unravel the stitching that held the ribbon together for the crown of the hat, and down into the brim just far enough that the brim (with an open crown) fit comfortably around my head.

I then used the loose thread to re-stitch the ribbon and finish the end cleanly.

I used the thread I had pulled off to sew the ribbon into place and secure the loose end. I now had a lovely wide-brimmed crownless hat. I was a wee bit tempted to leave it this way, but I never like the way these types of hats look on me.

Next I went digging in my cotton yarn stash for some yarn to crochet a crown from. I was very happy when I discovered I had a nearly full ball of Bernat’s Cottontots yarn in the “Strawberry” color.

Now you might be wondering why I was obsessively determined to modify this particular hat (no comments from my friends that think obsession is my middle name). It’s not just that I like the look of the color, it’s that the color is very flattering.  As I said earlier I’m pale.  I’m about as pale as you can get without actually being an albino. But I’m not particularly fond of wearing makeup on my skin. Big makeup for me is mascara and lipstick, most of the time I’m wearing tinted lip balm and my naked, well-moisturized face.

But a hat with a predominantly pink brim sheds very flattering color on my face. When my clothing and accessories can boost my color without me doing any thing extra it is a win. One reason why I wear a lot of pink/peach/salmon/coral colors. They give me a punch of color without having to do more than get dressed or toss on a lovely scarf or hat.

To begin my crocheted crown I measured around the circumference of the crown opening on my new brim. That gave me the measurement I would need for the completed crown. I used my favorite hat stitch: half double crochet, and worked a flat circle until it was the desired diameter (all these numbers are further explained in my post “Pi Recipe”). Once I got to my target diameter I worked evenly in a simple pattern stitch joining each round and turning to keep the pattern.

After I reached the crown depth I wanted I fastened off with an eight inch tail and used an invisible join to finish, this keeps the join from being bulky or noticeable once the crown is attached to the brim.

My crown was now ready to be attached to my hat brim. I gathered up my sewing supplies; thread, needle, and straight pins.

I wanted to be sure that the crown and brim were matched well. I put a stitch marker where my join was on the crown then folded the crown opening and flattened it in half to find the point directly across from the join and marked it. I then folded the crown opening so the 2 markers met and used the same method to mark the points half way between the previous points. I continued this way until I had marked the crowning opening with 8 markers. I did the same using sewing pins for the opening on the brim.

After I pinned the crown to the brim it was a simple matter to sew them together using  thread that matched my yarn. Now I have a beautiful pink hat that fits comfortably and can be rolled up into my backpack or carryall when I am out and about.

So how have you used crochet to make something you already have be more usable for you?