Summer is coming, and I am totally into this collection of super-simple crochet patterns that Wool and the Gang has released for their new yarn, Ra-Ra Raffia. I have a big trip coming up this summer (tell you about it soon!) that I need a crushable hat for, which is basically a life-long wishlist item. I do not have a head for hats, so we’ve talked before about how if I could bring myself to crochet one, maybe I could actually get it to fit me right! This perfectly plain one makes me want to give it a try:
TOP: Joanne Hat looks so chic in black and a little like an upside-down planter in natural, but the latter might be more practical
BOTTOM: Paper Gangsta is a classic crocheted market bag that, once again, is making me want to make such a thing! (For knitted options, see: Market bags)
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PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: from the Scout collection
i just saw these this morning too and am SMITTEN! i do love that Joanne Hat (fyi the raffia yarn only comes in navy, not black) but i think it’s the Worn This Way hat i’m falling hardest for… i’m trying not to buy yarn but does raffia count???
Oh duh, it is navy! Hmm, now I’ve even more torn. But no, I don’t think raffia counts as yarn!
See, I’m another hats-don’t-fit-me-plus-I-look-weird-in-them person. I know I need a summer hat, I try on summer hats, and then I don’t wear summer hats and spend all summer whining about how much I wish I had a summer hat.
If those old-fashioned bonnets like they wore on Little House on the Prairie were in style, I’d make one of those. Those things are functional as all get-out.
Awhile back, someone gifted me a hat kit: wires, linen/hemp yarn, and pattern. I haven’t really looked at it yet because A) I keep forgetting I have it and B) if I add another new project into the line up now, I might just lose my mind.
Haha YES those old bonnets make so much dang sense. Can you imagine if we were to try to make them fashionable?
I can only imagine the looks, lol!
I made a raffia purse last year using same yarn. It worked up surprisingly easy, I purchased several colors at the time thinking I would add a stripe or edging. Ended up using the raffia for a million other things as so beautiful and handy. Nicer texture than regular raffia. I believe it is a palm fiber. I used the purse all summer and it held up perfectly. I saw the hat patterns recently and was thinking of making one, would be fun. (Was going to attach a photo but can’t figure out how)
Raffia is so endlessly useful, it’s true. I did a lot of experiments a few years ago, knitting and crocheting with various jutes and cords for an idea I had and it was super fun. So I think I might actually try this!
hmmm, being an experienced hat person (because i have a farm in a very sunny place), i will say that this hat doesn’t actually look like it would stay on one’s head though…with movement or running, or a little gust of wind, it looks like it would go off…maybe with an optional chin tie or something…
also, it depends what one wants a hat for–if chicness, then yes this hat is cute; but it isn’t going to protect your face from any sun…
(not trying to be a downer, i love the ‘knitting/crocheting” a hat idea, just being practical i guess)
I’ll be curious to hear what it’s like to work with this kind of yarn. I have a tendency to get sore wrists from knitting, and I have learned to be very wary of any yarn that isn’t stretchy. Wool really is the best in that regard, but this looks so useful for summer!
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