It’s hard to be cheerful when the days are getting shorter and summer is over (at least where I live.) There are some things that never fail to cheer me up, no matter how gloomy the day is – things like cupcakes, unicorns, and Calico Critters in crochet outfits! I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a unicorn in real life, and you can only eat so many cupcakes. But, with me being in possession of both yarn and Calico Critters, the last one certainly works.

This pattern was inspired by the Mini Top Hats from Mamma That Makes, but this version is my own pattern. A Mini Mini Top Hat, if you like. 🙂

Materials

• F (3.75 MM) crochet hook
• C (1.75 MM) crochet hook
• Small amount of worsted-weight yarn in top hat color (Red Heart Eco Ways in Lichen for me)
• Two colors of size 10 crochet thread (pink and green for me, in Aunt Lydia’s crochet thread)
• Stitch marker (yarn scrap for me – you can try a paper clip, bobby pin, or a conventional stitch marker)

11/7/14: I’ve since made another of these top hats, and I’ve modified some things to make the joins and seams less visible. I changed the pattern to match.

Top Hat Pattern

Using worsted weight yarn and larger hook,

Rnd 1: 7 sc in a magic ring.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around.

Rnd 3: *Sc 1, inc* 7x. Sl st into next st to join. (Do this sl st loosely because you’ll be working into it on the next round.)

Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc in back loops around, starting in next st and making your last sc in the sl st from the previous round. Do not join, continue working in spiral rounds.

Rnd 5-8: Sc in each st around.

Rnd 9: Starting in next st *sc 1, sc2tog* around, sl st to 1st st to join. Pull this sl st tight.

Rnd 10: Ch 2, working in front loops only, 2 dc in each st around, starting in same st. Do not join.

Rnd 11: starting in next st *sc 1, inc* around. Sl st to 1st st to join (or use an Invisible Join – which is my preferred method.) Fasten off and weave in ends.

Top Hat Ruffle

Join crochet thread with smaller hook to back loop of any st. Make 5 sc in each st around, sl st to 1st st to join. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Flowers

I used pink for the first two rounds and green for the second two rounds, with crochet thread and the smaller hook. I used SkaMama’s Picot Flower which you can find here.

I made three flowers and sewed them side-by-side onto the top hat. Since they’re so big compared to the hat, this gave the over-the-top look I was going for. But if your Calico Critter would prefer a subdued look, feel free to substitute smaller flowers, or maybe none at all.

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I also tried this hat on my ‘snail’, Fred, and I have to say he looks rather spiffy. You can make this hat for whatever you like! It would also look good on Barbies, if a bit small – perhaps jauntily perched on the top of their head. 🙂

Fred in his hat