Link's Hat

I will take any excuse to dress up as Link. The Legend of Zelda : Symphony of the Goddesses Master Quest performance is probably one of my better reasons for dressing as Link.

The music was SO GOOD. I wish people would've saved clapping and cheering for in between songs, as I was there to HEAR the music. Lots of nostalgia washed over me as I listened. Particularly, I remember when my older brother was about to beat Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. My entire family sat down on the couch and ate popcorn and cheered him on. It was a family event to play Legend of Zelda! So I always have good memories when I listen to that music. Ahhhhh...

Anyways, before I ramble too much, here's what I made.

This pattern is super flexible--I literally was winging it the entire time--so this pattern is more of a guide rather than a perfected pattern to making your own. I was working with stash yarn, so I made mine shorter than most Link hats. This is more Link to the Past looking.

Measure your head beforehand to get an idea of how many stitches your final length needs to be. I have a large head for a girl, and I needed 72 stitches in the end. 

Note that I made this with HDC stitches. You can either work in a spiral like me, or use a tutorial on how to get a straighter seam while using HDC. Crochet Ever After has a good one.

**If you want the tail longer, do 2 of every HDC around row. It'll get adult Link cap size.**

H hook in green yarn

Round 1: 6 hdc in mc (6)
Round 2: *HDC, inc* x 3 (9)
Round 3: HDC around (9)
Round 4: *2 HDC, inc* x 3 (12)
Round 5: HDC around (12)
Round 6: *3 HDC, inc* x 3 (15)
Round 7: HDC around (15)
Round 8: *4 HDC, inc* x 3 (18)
Round 9: HDC around (18)
Round 10: *5 HDC, inc* x 3 (21)
Round 11: HDC around (21)
Round 12: *6 HDC, inc* x 3 (24)
Round 13: HDC around (24)
Round 14: *7 HDC, inc* x 3 (27)
Round 15: HDC around (27)
Round 16: *8 HDC, inc* x 3 (30)
Round 17: HDC around (30)
Round 18: *9 HDC, inc* x 3 (33)
Round 19: HDC around (33)
Round 20: *10 HDC, inc* x 3 (36)
Round 21: HDC around (36)

At this point I thought the “tail” of the hat was long enough and added more stitches helter-skelter to fit my actual head.

Round 22: *5 HDC, inc* (42)
Round 23: *6 HDC, inc* (48)
Round 24: *7 HDC, inc* (54)
Round 25: *8 HDC, inc* (60)
Round 26: *9 HDC, inc* (66)
Round 27: *10 HDC, inc* (72)

I wanted my hat to sit just behind my ears rather than snug over the top of my head, so at this point I added just enough rows to sit an inch away from my ears. The ribbing we add on will make up that last bit of length. Add more or less rows to your taste.

Round 28-33: HDC around (72)

Ribbing can be longer or shorter depending on your preference. I wish I had added one row of sc stitches before doing the ribbing for a cleaner look, but the image above does NOT include the row of sc.

Round 34: Sc around

Ribbing begins

Row 35: Chain 6 (or desired length of ribbing plus 1 ch). Turn and sc into the second ch from your hook. Continue down the chain (back loops only) (5)
Row 36: Sc the next two stitches (on the hat, not on your ribbing) together. Turn without a chain and sc back up the ribbing ONLY in the back loops. (5)
Row 37: Ch 1, turn, and sc down the ribbing again only in the back loops. The last stitch tries to hide itself, so make sure you end up with 5 sc each time.

Repeat rows 36-37 until you have covered the entire brim of your hat. You can fasten off and sew the edges together, or hold both ribbed edges together and sc through them. 

Good luck in making your own. It sure was fun to be one of the many Links in the audience. :)