Correctly Sizing Hats

I have received a few questions about how I size the chemo hats, so I thought I would write it out here.  I have accumulated notes from all over the web, none of these ideas are unique to me!  But hopefully having them all consolidated in one area will help. SKIP TO THE BOLDED AREA IF YOU ARE JUST WANTING THE NUMBERS. 


There is no way to say "make x rounds" to get the right sized hat.  There is so much variance, with stitch height, hook used, yarn used, and the actual gauge that one crochets - there are no hard and fast numbers. So I measure across the hat, in inches.  This makes it consistent, regardless of the variables listed above.

Hats are generally made in 2 sections.  First are the increasing rounds at the crown of the hat.  Second are the rounds of the hat that fill out the body, or the height, of the hat. I use the guidelines on Bev’s Country Cottage site for the measurements.

Women’s head circumference:  20”-22” and a hat height of 11”

Men’s head circumference: 22”-24” and a hat height of 11”-11.5”

I try to make a variety of sizes, in the ranges listed above.  When in doubt, I lean towards the smaller sizes to help account for the missing hair of the average chemo patient.

I start my hat with increasing rounds, and continue until it measures the correct diameter as below.  (Circumference divided by 3.14 (pi) equals the diameter is the actual math used, but I just follow the numbers below.) Regardless of the stitch used, it should measure to the diameter listed below. 

To measure the diameter, I take my tape measure and stretch it from edge to edge of the increased circle, across the middle.

SO, HERE ARE THE MEASUREMENTS I USE FOR HATS:

20” circumference hat needs a diameter of approximately 6.25” across  (20/3.14 = 6.37”)

21” circumference hat needs a diameter of approximately 6.5” across (21/3.14 = 6.69”)

22” circumference hat needs a diameter of approximately 6.75” across (22/3.14 = 7.00”)

23” circumference hat needs a diameter of approximately 7.25” across  (23/3.14 = 7.32”)

24” circumference hat needs a diameter of  approximately 7.50” across (24/3.14 = 7.64”)

Once I have the correctly sized circle for the crown of the hat, I start working on the body of the hat. In most common patterns, this means just to continue rounds, without increasing, until the desired length of hat  is reached, usually 11”-11.5”.  Don’t forget to take in account any border or finishing edges you want to put in the hat – this needs to be counted in the length as well.

(This is about as clear as mud.  I am sorry.  Just measure your hat from edge to edge to figure out when to stop increasing, using the numbers above and you should have the correctly sized hat.  If in doubt, lean towards the smaller size, since hats generally have a good amount of stretch to them.)

Please let me know how this works for you!! 

Crochet Chemo Sleep Cap

Crochet Chemo Sleep Cap Pattern

This pattern is by no means an original.  Many different parts were pulled from other hats.  I wanted to create a sleep hat that had no seams and no knots to irritate the skin while lying down.  I needed a hat that fit snug, and kept the head warm all night.  I found a few knit patterns that filled all the requirements, I did not find a crochet pattern that met all these needs. So I wrote this basic outline.  This pattern was created on Ravelry just so that I could duplicate it easily in my projects.  I had to have a place to host my pattern, so this blog it is!  This pattern was written as a reference to myself, so if you happen to stumble across it and have questions, don’t hesitate to email me:  skattersATgmail or you can leave a comment here too.

Yarns I have used:  I Love This Cotton, Caron Simply Soft  (remember to use VERY soft yarn for chemo caps and most people don't like wool.)

Hook:  5.0 mm  “H” hook

Pattern Notes:  Hat is worked in a spiral.  Do not join rounds. You can work in all dcs (as written) or hdcs (just substitute hdc for all dcs in pattern) for a tighter stitch. Just use one stitch consistently. This pattern was originally created for an adult female.  I prefer to keep my hats just a bit on the small size, since you have to account for the lack of hair. I will eventually use this pattern to create sleep caps for men too, making them a bit larger and leaving off the shell border.

CROWN OF HAT

Rnd 1:  magic circle, 11 dcs in circle, pull circle tight. Do not join here, or any rnd following  (11 dcs)

Rnd 2:    2 dcs in each st around.  Use stitch marker in first stitch, move up to first stitch at the beginning of each rnd to keep track of where to begin/end each rnd (22 dcs)

Rnd 3:  *2 dcs in first st, 1dc in next st* repeat * around to end of rnd (33 dcs)

Rnd 4:  *2 dcs in first st, dc in next 2 sts* repeat * around to end of row  (44 dcs)

Rnd 5:    *2 dcs in first st,  dc in next 3 sts* repeat * around to end of rnd (55 dcs)

Rnd 6:    *2 dcs in first st, dc in next 4 sts*  repeat * around to end of rnd  (66 dcs)

Continue rounds in this way, adding one more stitch in each of the “dc in the next  __ sts” until the hat has a diameter of approximately 6 - 6.5” for adult female hat or 7 - 7.5" for an adult male hat. (See HERE for more information about sizing hats.)  I measure diameter from edge to edge of the circle, going across the middle hole.  Feel free to change this diameter, based on whose hat you are making.

BODY OF HAT

Rnd 1:  dc in ea st around

Repeat Rnd 1 until hat measures approximately 7“.  (lay the hat flat, and measure from the tippy top of the crown (where the magic circle hole is) down the front of the cap, to the bottom of your last rnd.)  Once again, these measurements are a starting point, adjust as you need. You may want to try on the hat at this time to determine whether you want more rows or not.

BORDER
For a male hat, I just work 2 -4 rows of single crochet. A reverse single crochet looks nice, but I have heard from multiple chemo patients that it pulls and binds.

For the female hats, I use a simple shell border. If you want a subtle shell, like the one pictured on the two purple hats, use hdcs in your shells.  If you want a more pronounced shell, like on the turquoise hat, use dcs.  (Directions given using hdcs.)

Rnd 1:  *sl st in next st. sk next st. 5 hdcs in next st. skip next st* repeat around. 


Depending on how many stitches you ended up with in the crown, the shells may not work out evenly.  I just try to position my last 2 shells the best I can.  That is considered the back of the hat, so I am not too worried about it.

That’s it!  Just weave in the ends and you’re done!