Here’s a hat for the discerning archaeologist that features a band of grinning skulls. It’s perfect for keeping your head warm while excavating a medieval cemetery or keeping the sun off while taking a break from trowelling Roman postholes. When not needed, it can be shoved into your pocket or bag. Pull it out, give it a shake and it’s ready to wear again. The hats are slightly stretchy so the size is a bit adjustable.

Of course you don’t have to be an archaeologist to enjoy the hat! Anyone with an appreciation for bones would get a kick out of this hat (My chiropractor loves this sort of thing). It’s perfect for work or travel since it is lightweight and can be scrunched up in a bag, but is ready to go whenever you pull it out. It keeps the sun and rain off and the openwork around the skulls even provides a bit of circulation.

Need to know: basic crochet stitches in addition to crab and backpost stitches.

Materials and supplies

4 mm hook (US G / 6)

One 50 gr ball (110 m/120 yards) Drops Cotton Merino Uni Colour superwash yarn (http://www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php?cid=17&id=103) colour 03 for the beige hat (or as I prefer to call it, Old Bone Beige). For the blue hat I used 08 Navy with the skulls and the stripe around the brim done in beige.

darning needle

row counter

Stitches
Bpsc: Back post single crochet
Bphdc: Back post half-double crochet
Bpslst: Back post slip stitch
Ch: Chain
Dc: Double crochet
Sc: Single crochet
Slst: Slip stitch
sts: Stitches

The pattern is written for size Small (54 cm/19 inches) Medium (56 cm/22 inches) and Large (58 cm/23 inches). Other adjustments to size can be made using different hooks or yarn weight. The brim is about 6 cm / 3 ½ inches with a rolled edge. Gauge 6 sts/inch or 2 ½ per cm.