Customer Reviews

Cool Crocheted Hats: 40 Contemporary Designs

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sure, you'd never in a million years crochet the Mr. Wander's Top Hat, let alone wear it, but there are quite a few designs in this book that make it worth a look.

First off, the picture on the front doesn't really do that particular hat justice. In this picture, it looks goofy, but in the other picture, where the brim is straight, you see just how nice it looks. The pictures on the front and back of the book made me almost not pick up the book. However, if you look through all the patterns, and I mean ALL, you'll find some great designs and even more inspiration. It's surprising. Like the other reviewer, I'm glad I looked through this book a second time.

I hate berets, so those were immediately dismissed, but here are a few I feel are worth mentioning, but mostly because I like them. ;)

Simple Cloche - yup, it's simple, but there is also a cute little buttoned tab on top that gives you a little more inspiration than the typical flower pin that most cloche designs harbor.

Sunshiny Day Bucket - a lovely, loose little design in basic WW yarn, that's just so darned cute, it's sinful.

Widow's Peak Hat - now, I'm not so sure about the peak, but it gives you a nice variation on the simple straight brim, plus it's made in a nice chunky weight thick & thin yarn with cute little earflaps.

Shells - they have a few of those in this book. We've all seen shells before, and these are no different, but they do give you some variation from other ones you may have patterns for. I especially like the Confetti Shell, with it's solid and open alternating structure. I'm sure it looks 50x better on the model than it will on me, but I'm going to slap that sucker on my head anyway. :)

Square Cloche - way cute. Basically made with 5 squares connected together and a band crocheted around them. I love it!

Paillettes Beanie - paillettes are apparently those little flat shiny sequin-ish disks with the hole on the top. Who knew those would look good on any piece of clothing, let alone a hat? But this design makes it work and work well.

As for the "what were they thinking" designs, they include a rasta hat, square hat, big floppy blue hat, a hideous pillbox ripple hat (ewwww), a chapka, the trellis cap (nice in concept, questionable in execution - should have made the crown fit to the head), and, berets (but some people like berets, so this one is more of a "me" thing).

As for the specific elements of the book:
Pictures - wonderful. Clear, non-buffed out pictures showing multiple views of almost every single hat in the book (maybe two or three with only one). The pictures show the fronts, and sometimes the sides, back, top, or just folded differently. It's fantastic, and one of the best I've seen that gives you a good picture of the hat you are crocheting. Also, cute models, flaws and all. Refreshing.

Skill Level - gives skill level for all hats in standards: beginner, easy, etc.

Size - most are sized for adults, no children's hats. Some are gender size specific, but most are just one-size-fits-all adult.

Yarn Requirements - they give generic yarn weight and type (ie, bulky flat ribbon yarn) and the yardage needed. Also, after the directions, specific yarn is given for what was used on the model. It's nice that they didn't shove that in the front of the pattern. It would have been a little better if they had used the standard pictoral 1-6 identifiers for yarn weight.

They also have Stitches Used (to give you an idea of what you should know before proceeding, and include detailed definitions for sc2tog and such at the beginning of each pattern that contains the stitch) and Gauge.

Patterns are well written with clear instructions. I can't say for sure about accuracy at this point, as I've only worked up one so far.

There are no charts for those of you who use charts. I don't, so it didn't bother me, but for those who do, they aren't included in this book. There are a few graphs related to positioning the appliques and such.

Overall, a great little book, just don't let the pictures on the front and back cover fool you into thinking it's just all about weird, in-your-face designs. There are a lot of gems in here you would miss out on.

On first glance, I did not like this book. The more fashion forward designs overwhelmed me, and while they may work for some, I knew I'd never make them.

Just as I was about to return it, however, I sat down, and took a second look.

This time, many lovely hats jumped out at me. I grabbed my hook, and made three hats in the past week, the first two in one day!

So while there are a few hats that aren't my speed, I really like the designs in the book. It's well designed, colorful, and attractive will good directions.

I still have more I want to make too.

I'm glad I took a second look.

This is a great book for the crocheter who wants to step up to the next level in making fabulous and funky hats! The designs are imaginative and the directions clear. Excellent photography of each hat shows the project to its full advantage. These aren't your normal plain vanilla hat designs, but are for the adventurous crocheter who wants to display their funky, free-spirited personality! A great addition to your collection of crochet/knitting books!

I agree that at least half of these hats are SO ridiculous that NO one in their right mind would wear them! However there are quite a few good ones in here. I went to make one of the ones (of which there are many in the book) designed by Dot Matthews. Well, when I got to round 6 the count was COMPLETELY wrong! Thought I had made the mistake, but when I figured it all out with pencil and paper I discovered the PATTERN was screwed up! I have plans to make the Rasta hat for a friend in Africa, but it is also by D. Matthews. I am hoping the pattern has no mistakes. You do NOT expect that a book that costs this much would have any mistakes at all. It should NOT. Each pattern should have been checked from the BOOK'S pages before publishing. I DID finally figure out how to get to rnd 6 on my own with my OWN method, and am up to 13. Hope the rest is okay.

This book had some of the most ridiculous hats I've ever seen...I'm so glad I got this from the library. There are 2 maybe 3 hats I would actually wear. The 'Cool' title is somewhat misleading...the hats seemed more funky than cool, they seemed like what a grandmother would think was cool for her grandkids. I was, however amused by some of the designs and by imagining what the models must be thinking modeling them!

I liked this book for its clear, precise instructions, interesting designs, and the fact that the patterns say what weight yarn to use, unlike other knitting and crochet books that tell you specifically what brand of yarn they used, but not the weight.
Of the forty hats featured, admittedly about half of them are too strange to wear in public (most notably Mr. Wander's Top Hat), but there are quite a few gems among the remaining 20, including "Seaman's Watchcap", "Divine Simplicity", "Solange Striped Boarder Cap", and the "Sunshiny Day Bucket".
The more fashionably daring of crocheters will love this book; the more conservative will hate its guts.

I chose this book because I had reviewed a friend's. I have completed several of these hats and have found only minor mistakes in the patterns.

These hats are very fashion-forward, but the designs are unusual, which is great. I think I'll make a few eliminating the huge tassels, or allover embroidery, and that will bring them into wearability. Not just like every other book, and a useful book to have on the shelf.

Nice variety of hats with difficulty rated. Several I will definitely try but a few are really out there and rather "arty." However, I've never seen anyone else offering these instructions so I loved this book. Designs are original, instructions and expectations clearly set forth. I liked the way projects were set up, emphasizing key points, providing tips, and demonstrating versatility of some styles.

These styles are not merely repeats you would find in just any crochet offerings. Amazon provides a chance to add to your collection of styles worth keeping.

The book has great illustrations, and even the truly wacky designs are inspiring. The patterns however leave a little to be desired. There are some very unclear or even incorrect instructions which makes following the pattern difficult at times.