Li'l Monkey Baby Hat and Matching Afghanby Carmen Watkins
from Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker
I made this super cute set for my son. I worked it up when I was pregnant and couldn't wait until he was here to see him in his super cute monkey hat. Unfortunately, until recently the hat was too big. :( But now he wears it with pride. Who wouldn't want a sock monkey on their hat?
I used a 5.0 mm (H) hook and a 9.0 mm (M/N) hook as the pattern called for. I also liked the colors of the blanket from the book that I used the exact yarn and colors as suggested in the pattern. (Which I don't usually do - I usually pick my own colors or ones that are close enough.) I had to order the yarn online because I couldn't find the exact colors in any local yarn or craft store. I found them at http://www.herrschners.com/ which offers yarns at discounted prices most of the time.
The yarns used were:
Bernat Softee Chunky Solids & Marls: Berry Red (2 skeins)
Bernat Softee Chunky Solids & Marls: Berry Red (2 skeins)
Bernat Softee Chunky Solids & Marls: Natural (1 skein)
Bernat Softee Chunky Solids & Marls: Rodeo Tan (2 skeins)
Bernat Softee Chunky Solids & Marls: Rodeo Tan (2 skeins)
This pattern wasn’t too hard to follow. But I did find it a bit tedious to do. I had never done granny squares before and I didn't anticipate how long it would take to complete all the squares even though they were easy to do with the chunky yarn and larger hook. Sewing the squares together was a new skill and proved more difficult than I thought. Next time I do granny squares I anticipate it to be easier to put together. I didn't line them up quite right at first and had to go back a couple of times to re-do the sewing. I also found it frustrating to weave in all the ends of the yarn in each square from the color changes. I would think I had them all and then another inspection would turn up more ends to be woven in. I will have a better system in mind when I attempt granny squares again and I'm sure it will go much smoother.
The hat was super easy to work up and came out so cute. The monkeys were also easy to make. I think I would make the monkey on the hat a bit smaller next time as it seems to overwhelm the hat and my son's head when he wears the hat. If you wanted to make the hat a bit more girly, the pattern offers a scalloped edging instead of the plain straight edge.
All in all, this was a cute project to work on and I like how it turned out.
