Pom-Poms

I've been playing with pom-poms lately, and have added a few to previously completed hats.

Here's the completed pink-tailed elf hat:

 

Striped Elf Hat

I was testing some pattern concepts, so these are actually toy-sized hats (for a stuffed animal).

Materials:
Everyday (100% Acrylic) soft worsted by Deborah Norville - Really Red

Everyday (100% Acrylic) soft worsted by Deborah Norville - Snow White

Baby elf hat with tail

Crocheted baby elf hat with tail, with swirling colors. Don't mind the yarn strands hanging off the tail, I haven't bothered to tuck in the ends yet! I was thinking of attaching a pom-pom to the end, but I'm still deciding...

Materials:
Red Heart SuperSaver (100% acrylic yarn), Shocking Pink

Red Heart SuperSaver (100% acrylic yarn), Baby Pink

Red Heart SuperSaver (100% acrylic yarn), White

Pattern:

Start with a magic circle (with all 3 strands of yarn) with 3 double-crochet (DC) stitches of two colors and 2 DC's of the third color. To change colors, just pick up the next color strand and continue crocheting, so there is no need to tie off and tuck in ends. The entire hat was crocheted in the round, so there aren't any "rows" - which eliminates the need for slip stitches and chain stitches.

Once the tail is sufficiently long, increase by 2 stitches each round (2 DC in one space, 3 DC, 2 DC in one space, 4 DC), and continue increasing by 2 stitches with each subsequent round (next round would have 2 DC in one space, 4 DC, 2 DC in one space, 5 DC, etc), with each increase being in the space between the increase from the previous round, until the hat is big enough to fit. Then, to end each color, 2 half-double crochet (HDC), 2 single crochet, and 1 slip stitch before tying off.

To create the ribbing, DC in each space, join round with slip stitch, then chain 2. For the next row, alternate stitches between front post & back post DC, joining each round with slip stitch and chain 2 for next round. Repeat two more times.