The Beard Beanie Story

Out of all of the designs I have come up with - the popularity of the Beard Beanie dwarfs all others by miles.  After many requests, I have felt compelled to share more of our story.

Several years ago - as my husband and I were out on a date, in passing we saw some version of a bearded hat.  It really looked much like a simple ski mask - all one color, with a whole for the eyes and nose.  Upon further inspection - it was apparent that there was something that looked much like a bow-tie almost positioned under the nose.  After squinting one eye and tilting my head a bit - I could see that it was meant to somewhat resemble a beard and mustache.  It was November - and I was swamped with Christmas orders and projects at the time, but after my husband mentioned that I should try designing a bearded hat - I made a mental note that I would come back to it once I finished up my marathon long list of to-do's.

Once most of my holiday business was taken care of - I started working on the design.  The first one was made of all the same yarn - and I had chosen a slightly fuzzy yarn that was cream and beige if I remember right.  We took it to a family party where it was a huge hit and ended up going home with my brother-in-law.  With all my Christmas projects then finished - I set to work on a new beard hat.  The fuzzy yarn had looked nice - but proved to be a bit itchy and ticklish under the nose.  I tried switching yarn types and styles, and tweaked the design.  Eventually I got the fit just right - and found the softest non-fuzzy, non-itchiest yarns I could for the beard portion.  My husband soon found that they worked superbly to keep his face and head warm in the cold Cache Valley winter.  As I added one beard hat after another to my etsy shop - it became apparent that the design was a success.  If you look back through my posts on this blog - here is the first time I introduced a version of the beard beanie popular today.  

There are others claiming to be the original fitted beard beanie - but I want you all to know that I searched high and low and didn't find anything that had the same fit and design as our signature beardbeanie when we introduced it.  I hate copy cats and pride myself on coming up with original designs that are unique to my style and very functional.  So while some may spread a story high and low of thinking it up on a mountain top with a scarf - it's simply not true.  Those other, lesser quality copies are in fact copies.   

No one made the fitted beard beanie before we did.  And to this day - no one makes it as well as we do.  

For my next post, I plan on going in to more detail as to what sets our design apart from the rest.  

Bobble Hood with Tassels Crochet Pattern

So I finally finished editing the new pattern I had mentioned I was going to post.  It turned out quite lovely I think - hopefully you will like it too!  As I worked the pattern up - I found that there was some torque to the bobble row/hdc row portion.  Blocking will help with this.  The finished piece turns out lovely just the same.  Enjoy!

Yarn: 390 yds worsted weight yarn.  (Wool-Ease by Lion Brand was used for the hood pictured - 2 skeins)

Hook Size: US size I, or size needed to obtain correct gauge

Gauge:  9 rows x 7 sc = 2 inches square

Special Stitches:

bobble: Yo, insert hook in next st as specified by pattern instructions, pull up a loop, yo, draw through 2 loops on hook, (Yarn over, insert hook in same stitch, draw up a loop, yarn over, draw through 2 loops) 3 times, yarn over, draw through last 5 loops on hook.

fpdc: yo, insert hook behind post of stitch (from front to back), yo, pull through, bring up even with last stitch completed, yo, pull through 2 loops, (2 loops on hook), yo, pull through remaining 2 loops to complete stitch.

bpsc: Insert hook from back to front to back around post of corresponding stitch below, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over and draw through two loops on hook.

Pattern:

Beginning Chain: Ch 84.  

Row 1:  Sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across. (83 sc)

Row 2: Ch 2 (counts as dc), skip first sc, *sc in next sc, dc in next sc,; repeat from * across.

Row 3:  Ch 1, sc in each st across, ending with sc in 2nd ch of turning ch, turn.

Row 4:  Ch 2, skip first sc, sc in next sc.  *fpdc around the post of next corresponding dc 2 rows below, skip sc behind post st just made, sc in next sc; repeat from * across to end of row. Sc in last sc. Turn.

Rows 5-9:  Repeat rows 3-4, ending with row 3.  

Row 10:  Ch 1, sc in each stitch across.  Turn.

Row 11: Ch 1.  Bpsc around each sc from previous row.  Sc in last sc.  Turn.  (83 stitches)

Row 12:  Ch 2.  Skip first stitch (Beginning ch 2 counts as first hdc).  Hdc in next stitch and each stitch across.  Turn.

Row 13:  Ch 1. Sc in first 2 stitches.  *Work bobble in next stitch.  Sc in next 5 stitches.  Repeat from * to last 3 stitches.  Work bobble in next stitch.  Sc in next stitch.  Sc in top of ch 2.  Turn.

Row 14:  Repeat row 12.
Row 15: Ch 1.  Sc in first 5 stitches.  *Work bobble in next stitch.  Sc in next 5 stitches.  Repeat from * to end of row ending with a sc in the top of the turning ch 2.  Turn.

Row 16:  Repeat row 12.

Rows 17- 36:  Repeat rows 13-16 for pattern.

Optional Step:  At this point - the piece will have some torque to it - meaning the corners will not look exactly ‘square’.  You may want to drop the loop (keep it secured so it won’t unravel) and block the piece to square it up before continuing.  

Seam:  Fold piece in half to form hood bringing the with wrong side of fabric together.  Ch 1.  Sc edges together.  (This is done by working sc in loops from both sides of the piece)  Fasten off and weave in ends.

Bottom edge:

Attach yarn to right side bottom edge if right-handed, or to left side bottom edge if left-handed.   (You will work this row facing the wrong side of the fabric)

Row 1: Ch 1.  Make 66 sc spread evenly across bottom edge of hood (33 sc on each side).  Turn.

Row 2:  Ch 1.  Bpsc across to end of row.  (65 stitches). Turn.

Row 3:  Ch 1.  Sc in each stitch to end of row.  (65 stitches)  Turn.

Row 4:  Ch 1.  Sc in first stitch.  *Dc in next stitch, sc in next stitch.  Repeat from * to end of row. Turn. (65 stitches)

Row 5:  Ch 1.  Sc in each stitch across.  Turn.

Row 6:  Ch 1.  Sc in first stitch.  *FPdc around the post of next corresponding dc 2 rows below, skip sc behind post st just made, sc in next sc; repeat from * across to end of row.  Turn.

Row 7:  Repeat row 5.

Row 8-11, repeat rows 6-7.

Row 12:  repeat row 5. In last stitch - make 3 sc to turn corner.

Edge:  Sc along entire front edge of hood to next bottom corner.  Fasten off and weave in ends.

Attach yarn to bottom corner of hood on one side.  Make 30 double chain stitches.  Fasten off leaving a 2-3 inch end.  Repeat for other bottom corner.  When both of these are complete, Repeat this process attaching the yarn to the top back corner of the hood making only 10-15 double chain stitches instead of 30.  

Make 3 tassels.  Attach one tassel to the end of each double chain.  Pull ends down through the tassel to weave them in.  Weave all other remaining ends into the hood.  (Pom-poms can be substituted for the tassels as well if desired)

Alternate methods to create ties:  If a double chain is a stitch that you don’t like, or are unfamiliar with, you may take 3-4 strands of yarn and do a basic chain with them all together - making the chain much thicker than it would be with one strand.  A chain with one row of sc would also work.  If you are a knitter, or own a spool knitter or embellish-knit - you can make an i-cord instead.   The long ties should measure 9-10 inches in lenth with the shorter one measuring 3-5 inches.  The length on these can be varied according to your taste.

Copyright Taraduff 2012