Jess Mess-y Bun Hat

A friend of mine asked me last year to crochet her one of those messy bun hats. I said sure, but then I let it go. I didn’t ask for any details like what color she wanted or what style of stitch. The holidays were coming and I thought it would be a nice surprise for her to get the hat for Christmas. When I imagined what I would make her, I pictured something classy and feminine. I also wanted a color that would literally go with anything.

I believe I achieved everything I envisioned with the Jess Mess-y Bun Hat. (I hope she doesn’t mind the play on her name. I thought it was cute!) Although I do think I probably should have called it the Jess Ponytail Hat since I’ve never seen her messy, but it just didn’t have the same ring to it.

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As it turns out, when I went to the store, I bought too much yarn. I know, boo hoo, right? You can never have too much yarn! 😉

I’m not really sure what I was thinking that one little hat would need two skeins of yarn, but the Caron yarn was just so classic, soft and pretty—I had to buy two! Plus, there’s something about being in the yarn section of a store. My ability to think clearly becomes altered as I wander the yarn-filled aisles with stars in my eyes! I might have an obsession…  I said might… 😉

Anyway, I’ve seen some hats that use hair ties to begin the ponytail hole, but I really didn’t think it was necessary. The hole is plenty large enough to pull a thick ponytail through and even if you have thinner hair, the hat would still look great! That’s one less step to worry about when making this pattern.

I really like that Caron yarn is so beautiful and luxurious without being overpriced, which probably affected my decision to buy more than I needed. But there I was looking at about a skein and a half of extra yarn. Well there was no way it was going in a tote with all my other leftovers. That’s just sad.

It became a matching infinity scarf instead. Now the choice is yours—my friend’s scarf, the Cream Clusters Extra Long Infinity Scarf, is very long (you can get that pattern here) and you can wrap it around your neck three times…less if you want more drape.

If you prefer a shorter version like the Navy Clusters Infinity Scarf, try this pattern here.

And if you would like this hat without the hole that I called the Navy Clusters Hat, then check out that pattern here. It’s basically the same hat, just made in a different color.

Here is a pin for your Pinterest board…

Add this pattern to your Ravelry queue here…

The Jess Mess-y Bun Hat

Materials Used:

* Less than 1 skein of Caron Simply Soft – Off white 6 oz / 170.1 g; 315 yds / 288 m
Or any medium weight yarn.
* Boye Aluminum 6-Inch Crochet Hook, H8/5mm
Adjust your hook size if needed to obtain the required gauge.
* Tapestry needle

Finished Size Approximately:

23” circumference, 7 ½” height

Gauge:

6 clusters plus 2 dc of a cluster by 7 and a half rounds in a 4” (10cm) square.

Special Stitches:

Cluster Stitch

YO, insert hook in st, YO, draw back through st, YO, draw through 2 loops on hook, (YO, insert hook back into same st, YO, draw back through st, YO, draw through 2 loops on hook) twice, YO, draw through all 4 loops on hook, ch 1.

Front Post Double Crochet

YO, insert hook from front to back between the posts of the indicated dc of the round below and the one before it. Wrap hook around the desired dc by inserting hook from back to front between the posts of the indicated dc and the one after it. YO, draw yarn around the back of the post of the dc, YO, draw through 2 loops, YO, draw through 2 loops.

Abbreviations:

ch – chain
sc – single crochet
st – stitch
sl st – slip stitch
dc – double crochet
FPdc – front post double crochet
YO – yarn over
FC – foundation chain

Notes:

• When making the first cluster stitch of a round, the ch 2 counts as the first stage of the cluster. So, ch 2, (YO, insert hook back into same st, YO, draw back through st, YO, draw through 2 loops on hook) twice, YO, draw through all 3 loops on hook, ch 1. This will be indicated by “complete cluster” after instructions to ch 2.

* American crochet terms used throughout.

Instructions:

FC: Ch 22. Careful not to twist chain, sl st in first chain to form a loop, ch 1.

Round 1: Sc in the bottom loop of each chain around, sl st in first sc made. (21 sc)

Round 2: Ch 2, complete cluster st in same space. (Don’t forget the ch 1 to complete a cluster) Cluster st in every sc around, sl st in top of first cluster. (21 clusters)

Round 3: Sl st into ch-1 sp, ch 2, complete cluster. In next ch-1 space, cluster st. In next ch-1 sp, 2 clusters. (An increase was made). *In each of next 2 ch-1 spaces, cluster st. In next ch-1 sp, 2 clusters.* Repeat from * to * around. Sl st in top of first cluster made of round. (28 clusters)

Round 4: Sl st into ch-1 sp, ch 2, complete cluster. In next 2 ch-1 spaces, cluster st. In next ch-1 sp, 2 clusters. *In next 3 ch-1 spaces, cluster st. In next ch-1 sp, 2 clusters.* Repeat from * to * around. Sl st in top of first cluster made of round. (35 clusters)

Round 5: Sl st into ch-1 sp, ch 2, complete cluster. Continue to cluster st once in every ch-1 sp around. Sl st in top of first cluster made of round. (35 clusters)

Round 6 – 10: Repeat Round 5

Round 11: Ch 2, dc in every st around, sl st in top of first dc made. (70 dc)

Round 12: Ch 2, *FPdc in first st, dc in next st* Repeat from * to * around. Sl st in top of first FPdc made of round. (35 FPdc)

Round 13 – Round 14: Repeat Round 12.

Finish off. Weave in end.

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