Pinwheel Stripes Hat

A few months ago I made a pair of gloves for a colleague to replace one she had lost.  I was left with a couple of half-used balls of a super soft merino wool, which I used to make this hat (which is available at my etsy store).  I also made a version with larger squares in blue and black for my little sister's 13th birthday (along with a pair of matching gloves).  Instructions for both are given below.

Hat

The main pattern below is for the purple and pink hat, which has smaller squares and more stripes.  The pattern in square brackets is for the blue and black hat.  The pattern is worked in a series of cluster stitches:

Stitches

9 st cluster:  *yarn over, insert hook in next stitch, yarn over, draw yarn through the stitch, draw through first 2 loops on hook*, repeat * * 8 more times (10 loops on hook).  Yarn over, draw through all 10 loops, ch1.

5 st cluster: *yarn over, insert hook in next stitch, yarn over, draw yarn through the stitch, draw through first 2 loops on hook*, repeat * * 4 more times (6 loops on hook).  Yarn over, draw through all 6 loops, ch1.

4 st cluster: *yarn over, insert hook in next stitch, yarn over, draw yarn through the stitch, draw through first 2 loops on hook*, repeat * * 3 more times (5 loops on hook).  Yarn over, draw through all 5 loops, ch1.

cluster dec: 4 dc into centre of next cluster, tr into sc, 4 dc into centre of next cluster.

If unfamiliar with making cluster stitches (which is basically like making a series of half-finished dc,  drawing a loop through them to join them together and closing with a ch st), you can find some good pictorial examples here and here, and a video here.

Pattern 

Using a 5.5 [7] mm crochet hook and 8 ply yarn.

r1  119 [95] Foundation sc in purple [black], sl st to join bottom of last stitch with the bottom of the first stitch to close the ring, sc, join at top of first st. ch1, don't turn

r2  sc,  *skip next 3 st, 9 dc in next st, skip next 3 st, sc*, repeat * * to end. Change to dark pink [blue]. Join with a sl st, ch2, turn. 15 [12] clusters 

r3  4 st cluster, ch3, sc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * 13 [10] more times, ch3, 5 st cluster. Join with a sl st, ch3, turn.  15 [12] clusters

r4  4 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc. *9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc*, repeat * * 13 [10] more times. 5 dc into central stitch of joining cluster.  Change to light pink [black]. Join with a sl st, ch1, turn.  15 [12] clusters

r5  sc in last dc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * to end.  Join with a sl st, ch1, turn.  15 [12] clusters 

r6  sc.  *9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc*, repeat * * to end.  Change to white [blue].  

Join with a sl st, ch2, turn.  15 [12] clusters

r7  4 st cluster, ch3, sc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * 13 [10] more times, ch3, 5 st cluster. Join with a sl st, ch3, turn.  15 [12] clusters

r8  4 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc. *9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc*, repeat * * 13 [10] more times. 5 dc into central stitch of joining cluster.  Change to purple [black]. Join with a sl st, ch1, turn.  15 [12] clusters

Decreasing

 These instructions are for the pink and purple hat only.

r9  sc in last dc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * to end.  Join with a sl st, ch1, turn.  15 clusters

r10  sc.  *9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc*, repeat * * 4 more times, cluster dec, sc. *9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc*, repeat * * 4 more times, cluster dec, sc. Change to dark pink.  

Join with a sl st, ch2, turn.  12 clusters

r11  4 st cluster, ch3, sc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * 10 more times, ch3, 5 st cluster. Join with a sl st, ch3, turn.  12 clusters

r12  4 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc. *9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc, 

 cluster dec, sc into sc, 9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc*, repeat * *. 9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc, cluster dec, 5 dc into central stitch of joining cluster. Change to light pink. Join with a sl st, ch1, turn. 9 clusters

r13  sc in last dc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * to end.  Join with a sl st, ch1, turn.  9 clusters

r14  *sc into sc, 9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc, cluster dec*, repeat * * 2 more times. Change to white. Join with a sl st, ch2, turn.  6 clusters

r15  4 st cluster, ch3, sc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * 4 more times, ch3, 5 st cluster. Join with a sl st, ch3, turn.  6 clusters

r16 4 dc into central stich of cluster, sc into sc, cluster dec, sc into sc, 9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc, cluster dec, 5 dc into central stitch of joining cluster.  Change to purple. Join with a sl st, ch1, turn.  4 clusters

r17  sc in last dc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * to end.  Join with a sl st, ch1, turn.  4 clusters

r18  *sc into sc, cluster dec*, repeat.  Join with a sl st. 2 clusters.  Tie off, leaving a long tail.  Thread the tail of yarn through the top loops of all of the stitches of the last row.  Pull tight to close the hole.  Tuck in threads from colour changes.

 These instructions are for the blue and black hat only.

r9  sc in last dc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * to end.  Join with a sl st, ch1, turn.  [12] clusters

r10  *sc into sc, 9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc, 9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc, cluster dec*, repeat * * [2] more times.  Change to [blue].  Join with a sl st, ch2, turn. [9] clusters

r11  4 st cluster, ch3, sc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * [7] more times, ch3, 5 st cluster. Join with a sl st, ch3, turn.  [9] clusters

r12  4 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc. *cluster dec, sc into sc, 9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc*, repeat * *.  cluster dec, 5 dc into central stitch of joining cluster.  Change to [black]. Join with a sl st, ch1, turn.  [6] clusters

r13  sc in last dc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * to end.  Join with a sl st, ch1, turn.  [6] clusters

r14  *sc into sc, 9 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc, cluster dec*, repeat * *. Change to [blue]. Join with a sl st, ch2, turn. [4] clusters

r15  4 st cluster, ch3, sc.  *ch3, 9 st cluster, ch3, sc*, repeat * * [2] more times, ch3, 5 st cluster. Join with a sl st, ch3, turn.  [2] clusters

r16  4 dc into central stitch of cluster, sc into sc, cluster dec, sc into sc, 4 dc into central stitch of next cluster, tr in sc.  Join with a sl st.  [2] clusters.  Tie off, leaving a long tail.  Thread the tail of yarn through the top loops of all of the stitches of the last row.  Pull tight to close the hole.  Tuck in threads from colour changes.Tie off, leaving a long tail.  Thread the tail of yarn through the top loops of all of the stitches of the last row.  Pull tight to close the hole.  Tuck in threads from colour changes.