Baker's boy hat in cotton crochet

This is the top of a hat I made recently using Sirdar DK cotton and a pattern by Sirdar : number 8577 , it's a leaflet and includes the hat in 4 sizes, 3 children's and adults and a scarf to match.

The pattern is for Country style yarn : a kind of woolmix but as the Spring is here and summer coming I thought I' dmake it in cotton.

It's a current fashion item for my daughter .

You use the yarn double and 6MM hook so it grows fast and includes a new stitch for me: cl/f : you do a kind of cluster around the front of a treble( US dc)

I love the plaited look of this stitch, though it can be tricky to work it evenly.

It used up 140 g of the yarn and as it comes in 100 g balls, that's just 2 balls.( for size 7-9)

Top and peak are worked separately and then sewn together, I crocheted the peak pieces together for a nice edge to the peak.

To stiffen the peak and still have it washable I did not use cardboard: HERE'S A NEW IDEA:!!!!

I ironed a green plastic shopping bag- cut up- between 2 layers of baking parchment on a low heat setting and no steam.

The plastic sits between the 2 layers of parchment to protect both your iron and the ironing board.

Then I kept adding layers of plastic- they fuse together and shrink a bit under the heat- until I achieved the stiffness I wanted.

Then I used the peak template from the pattern to cut out the correct shape, inserted it into the peak pieces and crocheted/sewed it together.

Voila: I hope it's washable now.

Here she is wearing it, she loved it and it was worn constantly for at least 2 days!

The fresh flower is optional......