Hi there! For those of you who live in the colder climates, what recommendations can you give me for crocheting a nice, warm hat?
I work with a woman who is heading to New York in October to live and work. She was born in South Africa and then moved to Perth, Australia so she’s never seen snow or truly cold weather. He is really worried about the cold, so I thought I would crochet her a beanie.
We are in the tail end of a colder than usual (for us) winter where we got an average max of 19C (66F). So you can see why I need recommendations! I don’t know if my usual crochet hats will be anywhere near warm enough for her in New York.
What stitches work best for warm crochet fabric? What weight yarn is good? I generally use DK or light worsted weight and mostly double crochet when I have made hats.
Any hat lined with fleece. Honestly, crochet/knit on it’s own is never warm enough for our winters in Canada, the sharp, cold wind just blows right through. One thing I look for though is fleece that only lines the sides, not the top of the hat. That keeps ears & forehead warm without creating a head oven. Here’s a video tutorial I found with a quick search.
This way you can focus on creating her something in her style
Also real wool/animal fiber is good for low temperatures (especially if you line with fleece so you don’t have to worry about it feeling scratchy.) Never cotton, synthetic is variable.
Having lived in the “banana belt of the Rockies” part of Montana for 9 years I support all the advice given so far and want to add another vote for Magpie’s suggestion about the fleece lining not covering the the crown of the head.
It is so interesting how cold/heat are relative to what one is used to and it is probably a good thing that your coworker is preparing ahead of time and so thoughtful of you to consider the differences when making her a hat!
We decided to move from Oregon to Montana in spring and worked though the summer on preparing, so that was a great time to shop for Serious Winter Gear to get off-season deals. I ended up not buying things like snow pants, etc. before moving. And I am so glad I didn’t! The air is so dry here that the cold temps don’t feel nearly as cold as I expected. Dry heat gets all the attention, but a dry cold feeling warmer than a wet cold is a real thing! As with Magpie, it’s the wind that can make the difference so the rain pants I came with were all I needed almost all of the time!
Yes wet cold is for sure a huge game changer. My eldest son will wear shorts and a tshirt everyday if I let him, but he turned into a statue when he had to play football in low temp rain.
Thankyou everyone for all the tips! She is really excited about going to the US, but really worried about the cold.
I’m late to replying … the warmest hats I’ve crocheted were using 2 strands of worsted acrylic and double crochet. I didn’t line it with anything and my hubby wore them at -40C and stayed warm.
I make my husband one of these every year and they keep him warm and toasty here in Michigan.
The pattern is simple and thick since it’s crocheted in the back loops of every row creating a more dense fabric. You could easily add a cute pompom to the top to make it more feminine. And the bonus is that it’s a pretty quick hat to whip up to.
And the bonus is that it’s a pretty quick hat to whip up to.