Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Fred's beanie from Big Hero 6!

Now, Fred's beanie is actually pretty detailed and I think the most accurate version that could be made would be done with fingering and knitting, but my friends are nice enough not to hold it against me if I use worsted and crochet. I've already cosplayed Honey Lemon from the lab,


and a friend of mine was fun enough to say she would be Fred, too. Which meant we needed his beanie.

I used Cool Green Simply Soft for my Teal, and Dark Sage Simply Soft for my Dark Green, and what I assume is Limelight Simply Soft for my Light Green, although I lost that label, so I'm guessing (But what other color could it be? Really.)

I completely improvised this pattern. I used a sketch of what's on the front of his beanie and laid my crochet down on top of it as I went to make it match. I used a G hook and a variety of stitches:

Chain stitch
Slip stitch
Single crochet
Half-double crochet
Double crochet
Treble crochet
Half-double crochet decrease 
Double crochet decrease
Treble crochet decrease
(The last three alternately written as '2dctog' or '3trctog' where it was easier to write.)

I used the different stitches to shape the three-eyed monster as I went. I believe the different size stitches make smoother lines than trying to chart a sc grid on a hat. If you disagree with my choice in stitch at any point, feel free to change it. Use the pattern as a guide and go from there, if that floats your crochet boat. Go for it!

You should have some experience with crochet colorwork before diving into this. The yarn strings get kinda funky in the middle there because we're going in the round. But don't worry! The back can look as ugly as you want; no one'll ever see it!

I took pictures almost every row, so that you can see the development of the hat as I went. I hope it helps you understand what I was doing!

Round 1: 80 foundation hdc


(I do hdc instead of sc by yarning over once at the beginning of the fsc stitch, so that there is an extra loop to pull through at the end. I chose foundation stitches because they are stretchier than crocheting into the chain, and I don't have my Fred here to measure the hat on as I go. Feel free to ignore this row if you are uncomfortable with foundation stitches. You can chain 80 and hdc around, instead.)

I joined in the round by chaining 1, then slip stitching into the bottom of the right side and the left side at the same time, then chaining 1 again, and slip stitching through the top of the right side, then through the top of the first fhdc like would normally be done to join in the round.

Round 2: ch2, hdc around

Round 3: ch2, 30hdc, hdc dec, sc, slip stitch twice, sc twice, hdc twice, dc twice in same stitch, dc twice in same stitch, hdc twice, sc twice, slip stitch twice, sc, hdc dec, hdc to end




Round 4: ch2, 30 hdc, switch to dark green, hdc dec, dc twice, switch to light green, dc, sc, sl stitch, switch to dark green, hdc twice, 2 hdc in next stitch, 2 hdc in next stitch, hdc twice, switch to light green, sl stitch, sc, dc, switch to dark green, dc twice, hdc dec, switch to teal, hdc to end.
 
Round 5: ch 2, 31 hdc, Switch to dark green, hdc twice, switch to light green, hdc, slip stitch twice, switch to dark green, hdc eight times, slip stitch, change to light green, slip stitch, hdc, switch to dark green, hdc twice, switch to teal, hdc to end.


Round 6: ch2, 33 hdc, switch to dark green, sc, hdc, dc, 8 hdc, dc, hdc, sc, switch to teal, hdc to end


Round 7: ch 2, 26 hdc, 3 dc, 22 hdc, 3 dc, hdc to end

Round 8: ch 2, 25 hdc, ch1, dc, hdc, 4 sc, 18 hdc, 4 sc, hdc, dc, hdc to end

Round 9: ch2, 24 hdc, 2dctog, change to light green, sc, hdc, dc, change to dark green, 2 dc in next stitch, change to light green, dc, hdc, sc, change to teal, 14 hdc, change to light green, sc, hdc, dc, change to dark green, 2 dc in next stitch, change to light green, dc, hdc, sc, change to teal, hdc to end


Round 10: ch 2, 27 hdc, change to light green, sc, hdc, dc, change to dark green, 2dctog, change to light green, dc, hdc, sc, switch to teal, 2 hdc in next stitch. At this point, you might have two sets of the light green and dark green strings carrying under your stitches. I recommend tucking them in every other stitch through the nose. First stitch, one set. Second stitch, second set, back and forth through this section to thin the fabric a little. 2 dc, 2 hdc, 4 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc, 2 hdc in next stitch, change to light green, sc, hdc, dc, change to dark green, 2dctog, switch to light green, dc, hdc, sc, switch to teal, hdc to end


Round 11: ch2, 32 hdc, dc, 3 trc, 2 dc, 2 hdc, 4 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc, 3 trc, dc, hdc to end





Round 12: ch2, 31 hdc, 2 dc, 3 trc, 2 dc, 2 hdc, 4 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc, 3 trc, 2 dc, hdc to end.



Round 13: ch2, 33 hdc, 3 sc, change to light green, 1 sc, 2 hdc, dc, dc2tog, switch to dark green, 3 dc in next stitch, switch to light green, dc2tog, 2 hdc, 2 sc, switch to teal, 2 sc, hdc to end


Round 14: ch2, 33 hdc, 4 sc, switch to light green, 2 hdc, dc, dc and trc in next stitch, switch to dark green, 3trctog, switch to light green, fasten off dark green, trc and dc in next stitch, dc, 2 hdc, sc, switch to teal, fasten off light green, 3 sc, hdc to end


Round 15: ch2, 39 hdc, 7 sc, hdc to end

Round 16: ch2, hdc in each hdc of the previous round, sc in each sc of the previous round.


Round 17: ch2, hdc around
^---Repeat until hat measures 7 inches from brim

Round 18: ch2, 6 hdc, 2hdctog around

Round 19: ch2, 5 hdc, 2hdctog around

Round 20: ch2, 4 hdc, 2hdctog around

Round 21: ch2, 3 hdc, 2hdctog around

Round 22: ch2, 2 hdc, 2hdctog around

Round 23: ch2, 1 hdc, 2hdctog around

Round 24: ch2, 2hdctog around

Round 25: ch2, 2hdctog around, cut the yarn leaving a tail, sew through all remaining stitches, pull tight, and fasten off.


I do notice that the face is leaning toward the right. If you find a good time, that you're comfortable with, to shift it one stitch over between the mouth and the first set of eyes, or between the first set of eyes and the third, go for it. I didn't find one, but I was improvising a pattern on the fly. ^_~


Honey Lemon in Fred's hat because Why Not?