Father's Day Fisherman's Hat

Almost a year ago, I started this blog. One of my first posts was about crocheting a fisherman's hat for Father's Day.  I finished the first hat in September, submitted it with a number of other such patterns for publication with a major yarn company for a proposed booklet.  Obviously, that did not pan out.

At the encouragement of my wonderful CGOA mentor, I figured out how to self-publish.  And tonight I finally figured out how to post it as a pattern for sale on Ravelry!

This hat has everything that the commercial ones do:  places to hang hooks and lures, a wide brim, and neck protection from the sun that can be rolled up and tucked into the hat on overcast days.  The tapered design allows it to fit a head circumference of 22" to 24".

The best part is that it works up pretty quickly.  If you are interested in ordering a copy of this pattern,

Crochet and Father's Day

I must admit I enjoy the crochet gift idea lists that appear on the web prior to most holidays.  The most recent are all about Father's Day, which I believe is on June 18th this year.  That gives just over 2 weeks to complete something at this point.

Men in general are difficult to find crochet projects for.  With Father's Day in June, on the cusp of summer, it's not generally a time when hats, scarves, and sweaters are needed or wanted.  I asked my husband if there was anything that I could crochet for him for Father's Day.  Without missing a beat, he suggested a fishing hat.  His thought is that it could have loops around it to store hooks and lures.

After doing some research online, I discovered there are basically 3 types of fishing hat:  baseball cap, double-brimmed baseball cap, and bucket style.  They should have a roll-up "cape" to protect the back of the neck and ears from the sun; a wide brim to protect the face and shield from glare; be waterproof, or better yet, float; have mesh in the crown for cooling, AND have some sort of built in sweat band.  It's no wonder I could not find any crochet pattern anywhere on the web for such a thing!

I have decided to accept the challenge.  I'm thinking of maybe bamboo yarn for the shell and testing to see if it floats.  It's worth a try, anyway!  I'm hoping bamboo can endure the kind of abuse caused by fishing hooks and lures.  I think a cotton thread would work for the "cape" part, as long as it is not too heavy.  Cotton absorbs water and therefore would become a heavy, soggy mess should it rain.

At any rate, I do not believe it can possibly be done in 2 weeks.  With any luck, I'll have it figured out by Father's Day 2012.