Mandala Tam Re-release

August 2, 2023August 2, 2023 / reginaalexisweiss / 4 Comments

Or is it a re-re-release? Since I drafted the written pattern for this design in 2015 as a paid pattern, the Mandala Tam has been through several iterations and edits, but I’m so pleased with the latest version. Having offered it for free since 2017, it’s time this favorite design of mine returned to PDF availability!

You can grab the PDF crochet pattern for the Mandala Tam in my pattern stores via Ravelry, Etsy, or Ko-fi! There’s a special introductory price on my Ko-Fi platform exclusively, so head there to get $2 off the price until August 15. You can also get the same instructions for FREE by following this link to my original free pattern blog post. 🙂

[I’m pictured here wearing a pendant wire-wrapped by my good friend @paliquinn, check out his work on Instagram]

It’s the perfect time of year for it too, as I always return to this style of hat around late summer and early autumn – for good reason. Slouchy style hats are so perfect for tucking hair into to escape muggy, frizz-inducing heat or early morning chill on damp tresses, two primary features of the season. I also used to wear these kinds of hats often to classes when I was at college, since they were so practical and kept my hair out of the shoulder straps of my bags! Here’s the info on the latest update to this project:

The Mandala Tam pattern includes two different sizes of hat, a Small netted cap for those with less hair, and a Large mesh tam that can fit quite a lot of locks inside! This is an easy project with a quick finishing time that makes a really useful and pretty little accessory. The button & strap decoration is optional, if you leave it off you won’t need the 6.50 size hook listed in the materials.

Materials: 5.00 mm hook, 6.50 mm hook – (If not making the optional button & strap decoration at the brim, 6.5 mm hook is not needed)

Yarn: Any #4 weight yarn, around 200 yards –Recommended yarn is Red Heart Unforgettable (#4, 100 g / 270 yds, 100% acrylic). Lion Brand Landscapes is also an excellent choice!

Main Gauge: 3 ½” in diameter (edge to edge measured across the center) at the end of Rnd 3
Post Stitch Gauge: 6 sts = 2” in FPDC/BPDC pattern
Make sure to check your gauge and use hook size needed to obtain gauge listed.

Sizes & Finished Measurements:
This hat design has a Small size and a Large size! The brim size is the same, but the length of the back of the hat is different depending on how much hair you’d like to tuck in there
Small (Somewhat Slouchy): 22” brim, 8-9” depth, 8” diameter laid flat.
Large (Very slouchy): 22” brim, 11-12” depth, 10.5” diameter laid flat.

I have a number of other similar hat designs that are slouchy and generally tam or beret shaped – here’s a peek! First is the Leafy Tam, free or PDF <3

There’s the super-cute Mori Beret, paid PDF, with a bunch of foresty customization options <3

The Filigree Lace Cap is a really elegant mesh style cap with more delicate netting, featuring my popular Lotus Mandala for the center motif!

One of my most challenging themed hats, the Oak Sprite Acorn Cap, is available for FREE with full video instructions, or as a paid PDF!

If you’ve made it this far into my obligatory self-promotion, be rewarded with news of yet ANOTHER sale! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen me feature my Yggdrasil Poncho recently – the PDF for this unique design is currently (through the end of August) also $2 off exclusively on my Ko-Fi Shop platform!

I’ve been offering more sales via Ko-Fi as an encouragement to purchase through this great website, which allows me to pay a small reasonable annual fee in order to make sales of my patterns without paying commission fees to the website for each individual sale. This results in a better profit for me, which is great because as an online artist, just about everyone gets a cut and all those little fees add up fast 🙂

This is a great time to say another big THANK YOU to all the amazing fiber artists out there who work my designs and share their beautiful skill with the world! Keep tagging me on Insta, I love love love seeing all your amazing work and tagging me in your projects definitely helps keep sales and views up! <3

-MF

Filigree Lace Cap Update

April 1, 2022 / reginaalexisweiss / Leave a comment

Ah April! When the unpredictable (but sometimes actually nice) weather and the hope of longer, warmer days makes us all feel a little like fools, hopefully in a good way. For me, April usually marks the turning point of my business focus when I transition from winter projects to summer ones – and the first thing I needed this spring season was a stylish way to keep my hair out of my face without being too warm.

A mesh style hat is perfect for that, and I have a few designs already that are inspired by the “snood” style medieval fashion of keeping the hair gathered in intricate lace nets at the back of the head. The more casual of these two designs is the Mandala Tam, a free pattern you can find here. The fancier style is one of my older written crochet pattern PDFs, the Filigree Lace Cap, and that’s the one we’re updating today!

You can get the newly checked and updated PDF crochet pattern in my Etsy or Ravelry stores as usual, but I’m also offering this design on SALE for only $5 through my new Ko-Fi Shop for the entire month of April 🙂 Unlike Etsy, Ko-Fi doesn’t charge me a transaction fee, so I’m offering this discounted price to encourage people to check out the new shop front because I have fun plans for it in the future 🙂 Don’t worry though, all the same designs will remain available through Etsy and Ravelry too. Read on for more details about the pattern…

The Filigree Lace Cap is the only member of the “Lotus Mandala” family of designs that doesn’t bear the Lotus name in the title – but that’s whats at the center of this intricate-looking lace cap, glittering prettily in Vanna’s Choice Glamor, the yarn it was originally designed with. I’m pretty sure that yarn is not available anymore, but I happened to find two whole skeins of it in a de-stash of yarn that was gifted to me by a friend. I knew when I saw it I had to make another Filigree Cap with it. The yarn is #2 weight with a strand of glittery tinsel running through for just the right amount of sparkle in the finished yarn. Unfortunately you can’t see the sparkle too well because of how bright and sunny it was, but it’s there.

The great thing about updating this pattern PDF file was that since the central motif is the first 9 rounds of the Lotus Mandala, I was able to link the how-to videos for the Duster so that there are extra resources available for those who haven’t worked the other Lotus designs and need tutorial examples. The other great thing about this design is that if you HAVE worked the Lotus Mandala before, this hat is a cinch to make 😉

Filigree Lace Cap

An elegant, feminine cap perfect for gathering wayward locks away from one’s face in warm weather; or work it in fine wool to keep damp hair covered during freezing temperatures.

This pattern uses 1 skein of Lion Brand Vanna’s Glamour, a #2 weight acrylic yarn, to create a dainty floral-motif lace hat that can be worn as a renaissance-style snood (for covering hair) or as a perfect slouchy beanie for summer. This unique hat is versatile, useful, and so darn cute!

Hook Size: 3.25 mm
Yarn Weight: #2
Yardage: About 150 yds (less than 1 skein LB Vanna’s Glamour)
Pattern written in US terminology.
Language: ENGLISH

I have a lot of special things going on for this photoshoot so I want to cover that with some links! The vintage prairie dress I am wearing comes from the Etsy seller Sage Thyme Vintage – I have a growing collection of dresses from her shop and she’s an amazing seller with excellent customer service 🙂 The macrame moon earrings are from Etsy seller Adida Handmade (BEAUTIFUL quality jewelry) and the crescent moon pendant is from Cosmic Joke Jewelry on Etsy. My body artwork (tattoo and septum piercing) are done by the artists at Fox & Crow Evansville

The boots are vintage thrifted, still part of my photoshoots after a decade of service, bless them.

That’s about it for this little project! One funny thing I always face in my artwork is the fact that in order to prepare for the NEXT season coming, I’m usually battling the elements to get my photoshoots in. And by that I mean – wearing thick heavy coats and sweaters out to photograph them on 85 degree days (plus humidity), or as in the case of this Filigree Cap, wearing veil-thin cotton sleeveless dresses outside when it’s BELOW FREEZING 😀 Nothing’s sure in life but death, taxes, and trading in comfort for the pursuit of your passion 😉

-MF

P.S – If you look closely at my arms you can see the goosebumps from HOW COLD I AM

Mandala Tam Free Pattern

March 8, 2019August 2, 2023 / reginaalexisweiss / 17 Comments

The free pattern I’m offering today is a rework of a design I’ve been using for ages! I started making these netted caps way back when I had white girl dreads, to keep my hair out of my way while traveling. After I got rid of the locks, I kept using this style of hat as a pretty way to keep damp hair out of the cold or just when I didn’t feel like messing with the tresses at all 😛 (which is always… I always feel like not messing with it lol)

This pattern is also available as a portable, printable, ad-free PDF in my pattern shops! Find it on Ravelry, Etsy, or Ko-fi, or keep scrolling to get the totally FREE instructions right here 🙂 Direct sales of PDFs are my primary income source so THANK YOU if you can & choose to support me this way <3 The next best thing is sharing my designs that you’ve made and tagging me on socials @MoraleFiber <3 <3

This pattern is remaining free on my blog, but I am also offering it now as a paid PDF with all the same features, including two different sizes (a large size for people with more hair to trap), fun and easy written instructions, and a quick finishing time to get a really useful and pretty little accessory!

Materials:

5.00 mm hook, 6.50 mm hook – (If not making the optional button & strap decoration at the brim, 6.5 mm hook is not needed)

Yarn: Any #4 weight yarn, around 200 yards –Recommended yarn is Red Heart Unforgettable (#4, 100 g / 270 yds, 100% acrylic). Lion Brand Landscapes is also an excellent choice!

Main Gauge: 3 ½” in diameter (edge to edge measured across the center) at the end of Rnd 3

Post Stitch Gauge: 6 sts = 2” in FPDC/BPDC pattern
Make sure to check your gauge and use hook size needed to obtain gauge listed.

Sizes & Finished Measurements:
This hat design has a Small size and a Large size! The brim size is the same, but the length of the back of the hat is different depending on how much hair you’d like to tuck in there 😊

Small (Somewhat Slouchy): 22” brim, 8-9” depth, 8” diameter laid flat.
Large (Very slouchy): 22” brim, 11-12” depth, 10.5” diameter laid flat.

Stitch and row counts are written with the changes for Large following the counts for Small as follows : small count/row [large count/row]. Sometimes instructions are specified for only one size as in “[Large ONLY]”
Where no changes are specified, counts and instructions apply to all sizes.

Techniques:

Chain (ch)
Double Crochet (dc)
Single Crochet (sc)
Half Double crochet (hdc)
Post Stitches: See my tutorial here.
Chain and stitch join: A technique that uses a combination of chain stitches and regular crochet stitches to form the last loop of a mesh round – more detailed instructions are available in my tutorial here.

Sizes & Finished Measurements:
This hat design has a Small size and a Large size! The brim size is the same, but the length of the back of the hat is different depending on how much hair you’d like to tuck in there 😊

Small (Slouchy): 22” brim, 8-9” depth
Large (Slouchier): 22” brim, 11-12″ depth

Instructions:

With 5.0 mm hook, Ch 5 (counts as initial chain, plus dc + ch 1)

Rnd 1: (Dc, ch 1) 11 times into the 5th ch from the hook. Join with a sl stitch in to the 3rd ch of beginning ch4. – 12 dc, 12 ch-1 sps

Rnd 2: (Sc into the next ch-1 space, ch 4) 11 times. Sc into the next ch-1 space, ch 2. Hdc into the first sc of the round. This creates a ch-4 sized loop with your hook positioned at the middle of the space. (For more instructions on how to do this type of join, check out my Chain and Stitch Join Tutorial) – 12 loops

(Pictured above: Ch-2 and final hdc form the final chain-4 sized loop of the round, leaving your hook positioned at the top of the final “loop”)

Rnd 3: Sc in the same space, ch 4. (Sc in the next ch-4 space, ch 4) 10 times. Sc in the next ch-4 space, ch 2. Hdc in the first sc of the round. – 12 loops

Rnd 4: Ch 3 (counts as first dc). Dc in the same space, ch 4. (2 dc in the next ch-4 space, ch 4) 10 times. 2 dc in the next ch-4 space, ch 2, hdc in the 3rd chain of beg ch-3. – 24 dc, 12 ch-4 sps

Rnd 5 [Large Size ONLY]: Ch 3 (counts as first dc). Dc in the same space 2 times, ch 4. (3 dc in the next ch-4 space, ch 4) 10 times. 3 dc in the next ch-4 space, ch 1, dc in the 3^rd ch of beg ch-3. – 36 dc, 12 ch-4 spaces.

Rnd 5 [6]: Sc in the same space, ch 5. (Sc in the next ch-4 space, ch 5, sc in the same space, ch 5. Sc in the next ch-4 space, ch 5) 5 times. Sc in the next ch-4 space, ch 5, sc in the same space, ch 2. Dc in the first sc of the round. – 18 ch-5 loops

Rnd 6 [7]: Sc in the same space, ch 5. (Sc in the next ch-5 space, ch 5) 16 times. Sc in the next ch-5 space, ch 2. Dc in the first sc of the round. – 18 ch-5 loops

Rnd 7-9 [Small ONLY]: Rpt Rnd 6. – 18 ch loops

Rnd 8 [Large ONLY]: Sc in the same space, ch 5. (Sc in the next ch-5 space, ch 5, sc in the same space, ch 5. Sc in the next ch-5 space, ch 5) 8 times. Sc in the next ch-5 space, ch 5, sc in the same space, ch 2. Dc in the first sc of the round. – 27 ch-5 loops

Rnds 9-11 [Large ONLY]: Sc in the same space, ch 5. (Sc in the next ch-5 space, ch 5) 25 times. Sc in the next ch-5 space, ch 2. Dc in the first sc of the round. – 27 ch loops

At the end of Rnd 8, the diameter should be about 8” for small and 9” for large.

Rnd 10 [12]: Sc in the same space, ch 4. (Sc in the next chain space, ch 4) 16 [25] times. Sc in the next chain space, ch 1, dc in the first sc of the round. – 18 [27] ch-4 loops

Rnd 11-13 [13-15]: Rpt Rnd 10 [12].

Rnd 14 [16]: Sc in the same space, ch 3. (Sc in the next chain space, ch 3) 16 [25] times. Sc in the next chain space, ch 1, hdc in the first sc of the round. – 18 [27] ch-3 loops

Rnd 15 [17]: Rpt round 14 [16].

Rnd 16 [Smalls Only]: Ch 3 (counts as first dc). Dc in the same sp. (Dc in the next sc, 3 dc in the next ch-3 space) 17 times. Dc in the next sc, 1 dc in the next chain space. Join with a sl stitch to the 3rd ch of beg ch-3. – 72 Dc

Rnd 18 [Larges Only]: Ch 3 (counts as first dc). Dc in the same sp. (3 dc in the next ch space, 2 dc in the next ch space) 13 times. 1 dc in the next ch space, the first space of the round. – 68 Dc

(See tutorial on post stitches located at the link in the Pattern Techniques for instructions on FPDC and BPDC)

Rnd 17 [19]: Ch 2 (does not count as first dc), FPDC in the same stitch. 1 FPDC in ea of the next 2 sts. (1 BPDC in ea of the next 3 sts, 1 FPDC in ea of the next 3 sts) 11 times.
[Smalls ONLY: 1 BPDC in ea of the next 3 sts.]
[Larges ONLY: 1 FPDC in ea of the next 2 sts.]
Join with a sl st in the top of the first FPDC of the round.

Rnd 18 [20]: Rpt round 17 [19].

Rnd 19 [21]: Sc in each stitch around.
Note: If the hat brim is too loose, substitute a slip stitch in place of the single crochet, or sl st as an additional row after the sc row is complete.
Cut yarn and tie off, leaving a long tail for sewing if you’re adding a button.

If making button & strap accent:
Position the button over the join stitches where the beginning and end of the last round meets and sew on using the yarn tail. Weave in all ends.

Strap:

With a 6.50 mm hook

Row 1: Join new yarn into the side of the post stitches 15 stitches away from the button. 2 dc in the side of the first stitch, 1 dc in the side of the next st, 1 dc in the side of the next st.

Rows 2-4: Ch 3, turn. Dc in the next 4 stitches.

Row 5: Ch 3, turn. Dc3tog over the next 3 sts. Dc in the last st.

Row 6: Turn without chaining, slip st in the next 2 sts.
Cut yarn and tie off. Weave in all ends.

Use the spaces between the double crochet stitches on the strap to slip over your button and tighten the hat as necessary.

Pictured above/below is a modified Large size, with extra rounds of chain loop stitching to accommodate all of my friend’s long dreaded hair!