Crocheting in Blue for HATNOTHATE

I am excited and ready for the national HATNOTHATE anti-bullying campaign to be launched on June 10 with a 24 hour streaming sponsored by Lion Brand Yarn.  

What is bullying and how can making and wearing a blue hat halt this noxious culture?Bullying may take on overt forms such as name-calling hitting, punching, or kicking.  However it also includes more insidious forms such as social ostracizing.  It involves the participation of others who enable the culture by failing to stand up to the perpetrator.  In the age of social media, the victim is even bombarded at home.  

To fight the cancer of bullying, the social culture must change.  This begins with awareness and solidarity.  We wear our blue hats to show kids that they are not alone.  We provide a platform for their stories and teach positive ways to improve the culture in their schools.  Victums of bullying frequently suffer depression.  There school work suffers, and they are more prone to self-harm and suicide.  This year It Gets Better joined forces with HATNOTHATE to uplift LGBTQ youth.

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-If you enjoy crocheting and knitting , you can use your creativity to promote this important effort by sending hats to:
#HATNOTHATE
Lion Brand Yarn Co.
​140 Kero Road
Carlstadt, NewJersey 07072
Their goal is 100,000 hats, and every hat counts.  Send your hats by August 21 for distribution schools nationwide.  See the website hatnothate.org for more information about the program and for lists of local drop-off sites.  The organizers are asking us to wear our hats on June 10 and post our photos on social media with the tag #HATNOTHate.

The hats must be handmade with blue or mostly blue yarn.  Circumference ranges from 16 inches to 20 twenty inches to fit elementary, middle school, and high school youth.  Students wearing these hats support the antibullying campaign with the message of awareness and solidarity.

-Lion Brand offers free patterns for crocheters and knitters on the #HATNOTHATE website.  I have researched the internet through Pinterest, Ravelry, and other sources to select 8 others. All of the patterns are free and will work well with the campaign. Please note that I have included general descriptions of materials and directions.  For specific, detailed information, you must refer to the patterns or websites listed in this blog post.

My first hat is my favorite go to Lakeside Beanie by 5 Knots North. The beanie is crocheted in worsted yarn with an H (5.0mm) hook and is worked from the top of the crown down.  The crown of the beanie is formed with an expanding circle of Double Crochet stitches.  The sides begin with Double Crochet stitches and transition to alternating Front Post Double Crochet and Back Post Double Crochet to make a warm, cozy, comfortable beanie that covers the head and ears.  The blue and white pompom completes the hat.  The style is gender neutral and is suitable for all ages.

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The Slouchy Hat Pattern can be found at Crafty Crochet and Things-blogspot.com.  It is crocheted from the bottom up with an I (5.5mm) hook from the bottom up.  Chain about 9-12 stitches to make band of desired with.  Crochet a Half Double Crochet into the Back Loop Only starting in the second chain from the hook.  Chain 1 at thebegining of each row and continue until you have the desired conference.  Join band short edges and pick up stitches for the hat.  The body of the hat is formed by making HDC in a spiral without joining.  Mark starting point with a place marker.  When you have achieved the desired height for the pattern size, you will be alternating rows of sc and sc2tog with all sc.  Use the long tail to make running stitch and to close the gap. The hat can be made with or without the pompom. I chose a yarn pom pom in matching blue. The hat is gender neutral, but I would go with a darker blue for males.

The Easy V Stitch Hat, designed by Nanay Madel, can be found on Cool Creativity. com or on Daisy Cottage Designs.net.  This hat is crocheted from the bottom up starting with a ribbed band.  Once the bands joined, start to pick up V-stitches in the same color as the bottom band.  Since I was using only two colors  (dark blue and white) I was able to carry the color yarn that was not in use up the back side of the hat.  In this way I could avoid having many pieces of yarn to weave in.  The hat was worked in worsted with an H (5.0mm) hook. I added a white pompom, but a dark blue is also attractive. 

A  Very Good Hat from Moogly.com is is crocheted from the bottom up with a J (6.0mm) hook.  Starting with a foundation chain in the main color (dark blue), the ribbing is achieved by alternating Front Post  Double Crochet with Back Post Double crochet.  The pattern calls for Half Double Crochet stitches and changes color  every two rounds. I spread out a multi-coloredself striping yarn and cut the yarn when it changed color.  Then I selected the colors for the colored rows.  In this way I could control the color distribution so that it did not stop or start in awkward places.  I collected all fo my left over pieces to make a multi-colored pompom.

The Winter Rays Ribbed Crochet Hat @ned and mimi.com uses an interesting stitch combination.  This bottom-up pattern calls for a band using a slip stitch from the back Loop Only, but a changed it to Half Double Crochet because it was easier to make the stitches.  The body of the hat is formed with rows of Five half Double Crochet from the Back Loop Only alternating with two Front Post Double Crochet.  The sequence creates a ribs that reach from the ribbed base to the top of the hat. I like the way the yarn color changes from a solid brand of light blue at the bottom of the hat to a darker blue at the top.  A dark blue Pom Pom works well with this style.

I found a Topper kit with a stuffed mimihippo head in my stash.  Although the enclosed pattern called for knitted style, I decided to crochet the hat with a combination of double crochet and V stitch.  The pattern was crocheted from the top down.  The blue topper and the matching blue ribbing worked well together.  This hat would be suited for an elementary age child.

The Mint Cluster Chemo Cap Pattern on Allcrafts blog.com starts at the crown with a Double Crochet.  I used a H (5.0mm) hook with a softer yarn.  After I crocheted a crown circle ending with 60 stitches I transitioned to cluster stitches separated by a single space. I changed the pattern to include a band of 4 rows of HDC to give shape to the hat.  

The Northern Exposure Pom Hat is demonstrated on You Tube.  After a foundation chain of 30 stitches, you make a Single Crochet and a Double Crochet in the second stitch from the hook. Skip a stitch and crochet the repeat across.  As you work the rows the stitch combo will look like it is stacked.  You will end with a rectangle that is about 20 inches wide.  Then you will sew the ends together with mattress or whipped stitch.  The stitching sides are slightly different.  Decide which you prefer before you stitch up your hat.  Use a running stitch to cinch the top of the hat together.  Reinforcewith additional stitches.  You can attach a pom pom or leave it plain as I did.

I am thrilled to join this worthwhile #HATNOTHATE campaign and to share my patterns with you.  On June 10,  I will wear one of my blue hats and post on Facebook and Instagram .  I hope you enjoy crocheting these blue hats with these patterns. I would love to see pictures of your creations.  Aga[n, please note that my comments and descriptions are general.  You have to go to the specific pattern for complete directions.

As always, I welcome your feedback and reflections.  Please join me on my stitching journey.