Balanced Rock Hat Crochet Pattern

February 24, 2023 • balanced rock • colorado springs • free crochet pattern • hat crochet pattern

Last month my husband had a business trip to Colorado Springs, and he asked me if I would like to go with him. I quickly googled "local yarn shop Colorado Springs" and found Ewe & Me Yarn Boutique, so of course I decided to go with him.

On our first day, it was cold with a light snow falling. I'm a Texas girl, and I don't enjoy the cold weather! The next day was still cold but a beautiful sunny day, so I got out to explore.

The desk clerk suggested that I visit Garden of the Gods. I had visited it on a family trip as a teenager, but my memories were vague.

The three main features of the park are Steamboat Rock, the Three Graces, and Balanced Rock. They were formed by sedimentary beds of red, pink and white sandstone and limestone that were deposited horizontally but have now been tilted vertically by the mountain building forces caused by the uplift of the Rocky Mountains and Pikes Peak. The following Pleistocene Ice Age resulted in erosion and glaciation of the rock, creating the present rock formations. Mother Nature is truly amazing!!

Our Colorado Springs Trip

Next stop - Ewe & Me, A Yarn Boutique on Garden of the Gods Road. It's a fiber artist paradise! So many beautiful colors and textures! This shop has everything a crocheter or knitter could ever want. I explained that I was looking for a locally made yarn, and I was ushered to a wall of beautiful hand-dyed Aran yarn by Haus of Ewe. What luck! There's a reddish-brown colorway called Balanced Rock. I had to have it! My only regret is that I only brought one suitcase, so I had to leave behind so many of the beautiful colorways.

After we got back home, I started playing with the yarn to find out what shape it wanted to take. I'm very pleased with the results. I hope you will be too.

PDF download: https://www.myfingersfly.com/products/balanced-rock-hat-crochet-pattern

Balanced Rock Hat

Materials:

160 [170] yards worsted weight yarn

Crochet hook sizes H (5.0 mm) & I (5.50 mm)

Yarn needle

Pompom (optional)

Ladies’ size given with Mens’ size in [ ].

Gauge with I hook: 8 dc = 2"

Special Stitches:

Stacked sc: Work sc in st, insert hook into side of sc and work another sc. This will give you a taller sc st (instead of ch-3).

Triple cluster: Yo twice, *insert hook around post of tr, yo, pull through, yo, pull through 2 lps, yo* 3 times, pull through last 5 lps on hook.

Triple Cluster Tutorial: https://youtu.be/dIFpTIQS-kA

Popcorn st: Work 5 dc in the same st. Pull up lp in 5^th dc slightly and remove hook. Insert hook into top of first dc and pull up lp from 5^th dc. Pull through to tighten.

Ultimate Finish: Fasten off yarn leaving 6” length. Thread length through yarn needle and pick up outer lp of each st around. Pull tight to close.

Ultimate Finish tutorial: https://youtu.be/jVpTr8mId3I

Directions:

Row 1: With H hook, leave 9” length of yarn and ch 11, sc in 2^nd ch, sc in next 9 ch (10 dc).

Row 2: Ch 1, turn, working in BLO, sc in each st.

Repeat Row 2 until you have 72 [78] rows. (This will give you 12 [13] repeats of the balanced rock pattern.) Ribbing will measure approximately 18” [19.5”].

Fold ribbing end to end and sew tog with 9” length left at beginning.

Turn ribbing to work along edges with I hook.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, sc in first st and each st around (72 [78] sc).

Rnds 2-3: Ch 1, stacked sc in first st (counts as first dc), dc in each st around. Join with sl st in top of stacked sc.

Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc in first st, *sk 2 sts, 5 dc (shell) in next st, sk 2 sts, sc in next st,* repeat around. Join with sl st in top of first sc.

Rnd 5: Ch 3 (counts as dc), 4 dc in first st, *sk 2 sts, sc in BLO of center dc of shell, sk 2 sts, shell in sc between shells,* repeat around. Join with sl st in BLO of top of ch-3.

Rnd 6: Working in BLO, ch 1, stacked sc in ch-3 of first shell, dc in next 4 sts of shell, *dc in sc, dc in 5 dc of shell,* repeat around. Join with sl st in stacked st.

Rnd 7: Ch 1, stacked sc in first st (counts as first dc), dc in each st around. Join with sl st in top of stacked sc.

Rnd 8: Ch 1, stacked sc, dc in next 2 sts, *tr bp 3 times, dc 3 times,* repeat around. Join with sl st in top of stacked sc.

Rnd 9: Ch 1, stacked sc in first st, dc in next 2 sts, *ch 1, triple cluster, ch 1, dc in next 3 sts,*, repeat around. Join with sl st in top of stacked sc.

Rnd 10: Ch 1, stacked sc, dc in next 2 sts, *dc in ch-1 (not around ch-1), dc in top of triple cluster, popcorn in ch-1, dc in next 3 dc,* repeat around. Join with sl st in top of stacked sc.

Rnd 11: Ch 1, stacked sc, dc in each st (72 [78] dc). Join with sl st.

Rnd 12: Ch 1, stacked sc, dc in next 6 sts, *dec over next 2 sts, dc in next 7 sts,* repeat around (64 [70] dc).

Rnd 13: Ch 1, stacked sc, dc in next 5 sts, *dec over next 2 sts, dc in next 6 sts,* repeat around (56 [62] dc).

Rnd 14: Ch 1, stacked sc, dc in next 4 sts, *dec over next 2 sts, dc in next 5 sts,* repeat around (48 [54] dc).

Rnd 15: Ch 1, stacked sc, dc in next 3 sts, *dec over next 2 sts, dc in next 4 sts,* repeat around (40 [46] dc).

Rnd 16: Ch 1, stacked sc, dc in next 2 sts, *dec over next 2 sts, dc in next 3 sts,* repeat around (32 [38] dc).

Rnd 17: Ch 1, stacked sc, dc in next st, *dec over next 2 sts, dc in next 2 sts,* repeat around (24 [30] dc).

Close with Ultimate Finish technique.

Weave in all ends. Attach pompom to top of hat.

Fold brim up for beanie. Leave brim unfolded for slouchie hat.

Balanced Rock Cowl Crochet Pattern

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Balanced Rock Hat

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