A drum hat is mostly just a large flat circle, to keep the skin of a drum warm and dry. I had this beautiful wool with a gradually changing colour which I wanted to use. I started by crocheting a very simple spiral, which can be seen at the bottom of this post. But I decided I didn’t like the way some of the colours sat beside each other, and that I wanted a pattern which changed colour radially. I searched all over the internets and couldn’t find anything, so designed my own. The pattern is very dependent on the weight of the wool you are using (since the height of the stitch needed at each distance from the centre is related to the imaginary circumference at that distance, and the stitch needed for that height is determined by the weight of the wool and hook you are using). Details of how I calculated the stitches needed are in the PDF, and if you’re really keen (read: geeky) I will be happy to share the spreadsheet of calculations if you contact me.
Top-down view of crocheted drum hat, with radial pattern of gradually changing colour wool
Side-on view of crocheted drum hat, with radial pattern of gradually changing colour wool
Drum hat pattern – crocheting radially
Worsted weight wool, 4.5mm hook.
Full pattern (see PDF for more information)
Row 1: ch 29, ss in 6th ch from hook to form circle (23 ch remaining)
Row 2: ch 1, sc in 2nd ch from circle, ch 1, sc in 4th ch from circle, 3 hdc in next 3 ch, 3 dc in 3 ch, 3 htc in 3 ch, 3 tc in 3 ch, 3 hqc in 3 ch, 3 qc in 3 ch, 1 h5c in final ch.
Row 3: ch 4, skip st at base of chain, qc in next st, 2 qc in next 2, 3 hqc in next 3, 3 tc in 3, 3 htc in 3, 3 dc in 3, 3 hdc in 3, ch 1 in 3, sc, ch 1, sc, sc into circle.
Row 4: ch 1, sc in 1st ch from circle, ch 1, sc in 2nd ch from circle, 3 hdc in 3 hdc, 3 dc in 3 dc, 3 htc in 3 htc, 3 tc in 3 tc, 3 hqc in 3 hqc, 3 qc in 3 qc, 1 h5c in h5c.
Rows 5 – 42: Repeat rounds 3 and 4. Sew together or ss along join. (You may need more/less rows to make a flat circle, it’s a judgement call).
Spiral drum hat with gradually changing colour wool
