Coco Bucket Hat – Crochet Pattern Review

This is a crochet pattern review of the Coco Bucket Hat designed by Sarah-Jayne Fragola of Bella Coco. Reviewed by Carrie of Mountain Momma Crochet for Cre8tion Crochet.

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Find the crochet pattern review below, or click here to purchase the pattern from Bella Coco!

In a hurry? Pin this for later when you have more time.

Carrie from Mountain Momma Crochet here! I appreciate you checking out the assessment of the Coco Bucket Hat.

To not be a fan of cotton yarn, I sure do use it a lot.

Bucket hats are a HAWT item for summer 2023. Anyone who’s watching their social media feed is sure to see this designer, that designer, all designers, sharing some type of photo with a bucket hat this season. Free patterns, cheap patterns, expensive patterns, patterns with videos, and patterns pinned on Pinterest. Really, how many ways do we have to find what we need nowadays? Our great-great-grandmothers who loved to knit and crochet would be so jelly.

Insert Bella Coco. She takes me back to a time when I was first learning to crochet. As a newbie, my gauge was SUPER tight. I mean, lock tight. And so began the search for YouTube influencers with easy-to-follow videos in order to ‘loosen’ up a bit. I’m a sucker for an accent and love how easy she breaks things down. The only thing to keep in mind is that she uses UK terms. For those of us in the US, it takes a little getting used to when following a written pattern. But I’m proof it can be done.

Double Crochet (DC) is actually a Single Crochet (SC), Treble Crochet (TC) is actually a Double Crochet (DC). I think you can see where I’m going with this. This pattern was my first attempt at using one of the written patterns designed by Bella Coco. As soon as I had this pattern in my library, I did what any responsible hooker would do. I started right away without reading the pattern first. Insert sarcasm here. It’s okay, I don’t mind to admit it. I was using DC when I should have been using SC, since I’m used to ‘US terms’. A little frogging and I stopped and read the pattern from start to finish. Using my iPad, I made a few notes on the pattern so I wouldn’t make that mistake again.

What Supplies Do I Need to Crochet a Bucket Hat?

• Worsted Weight Cotton Yarn – approximately 186 years of each color.
• Size G6/4mm Crochet Hook
• Needle for weaving in ends
• Stitch markers – the pattern calls for 12 stitch markers
• Scissors
• Coco Bucket Hat, Paid Crochet Pattern from Bella Coco

Material Notes:

The original pattern uses Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton (100% mercerized cotton). I had ILT Cotton by Hobby Lobby on hand, long story for another blog. I chose colors that go with my brand, gold (14) and navy, otherwise called dark denim (306). Cue Country Roads by John Denver. Each skein of yarn has approximately 180 yards per color, so I was really risking not having enough, given the pattern states 186 yards per color. Given that the secondary color (middle of the granny square) would use much less yarn, I think you could safely say 90 yards or so for the secondary color would be enough.

The average person would wear this hat comfortably. My daughter, pictured in the previous post with the Terrazzo Tank blog post, found this hat to be a little big on her. If you read that article you know, she’s a size small, often extra small in most things. As for me, it worked fine. There’s a second Coco Bucket Hat in the making using an E4/3.5 mm hook, which I think will fit her nicely.

How Long Does it Take to Crochet a Bucket Hat?

You can block if you want to. I sincerely hope there’s a reader out there who just heard the ‘Safety Dance’ song. If so, I have found my people.

Back to the time to make it. If you choose to block your squares, consider giving yourself a little time for that activity according to your preferences on blocking. Goodness knows there are so many ways to do it. Some hookers use 24 hours, some far less time, given the state of the item before it is pinned down.

If you’ve read my posts before, you’ll predict this coming. The time to make the hat is dependent on the time you have to devote to the make. If you are headed to the beach next week, get started now, because as we all know, life happens. However, this project is very portable. Throw it in a bag and crochet while you ride along in a car, work it up during a conference call at work, or while the baby naps. Give or take, 6-8 hours max if you work on it steadily. So, approximately 2-3 Harry Potter movies, 1-2 Lord of the Ring movies, a season of your favorite show on Netflix, or a few trips here and there when you are a passenger princess.

Gauge/Measurement:

The crown diameter is measured at 8 inches, approximately. The squares should be 3.5 x 3.5 inches. The total circumference of the hat once complete is around 22.5 inches, with a 2.5 depth for the brim. I was able to meet the gauge when using both hook sizes I mention in this article. Using the E4/3.5 mm hook gave me a smaller crown for the hat, so I’m hoping this works for the tiny miss in my life.

Pattern Notes:

I don’t think it’s a bad thing for me to repeat – the pattern is in UK terms. Make notes on the pattern before you begin to keep it straight. The pattern is worked in rounds. I love that about this make as I have not yet perfected an invisible join. It’s invisible to most, but as they say, we are our own worst critics.

This hat is worked up in three pieces. The crown is presented first in the instructions, which is where you’ll use the dozen stitch markers. In the pattern, they are used on the crown to help you know where to place the increases. The crown works up fairly quickly, other than having to move the stitch markers up. The squares aren’t time-consuming at all once you get the repeat down. As always, weaving in ends (squares) takes the most time, unless you have a process you use to work them in as you make the square. You’ll have to join the crown and the squares before you can start the brim, but you can work up the squares and brim separately if you choose to take your yarn with you and play wherever you go.

One thing to note from the pattern. When fastening off the yarn for the crown, it states to leave a 45-inch tail. This wasn’t enough for me, for some reason. I measured it out and gave myself 6-7 inches extra and I still ended up needing more. If you can afford to be gracious in your measurement at this stage, I encourage you to give yourself around 60-62 inches. Nothing worse than having to ‘join’ the yarn while connecting the brim and squares. Ask me how I know (wink wink).

The pattern does not instruct what method to use to join the squares together. I relied on YouTube to provide a few options or you can go with your favorite join method. As I said above, Bella Coco has some tutorials on YouTube. I also added a round of crab stitch to give the brim a little razzle-dazzle. It adds a nice little bit of texture and gives the brim some stability, otherwise, it can be a tad floppy. Could be contributed to the difference between Lion Brand Cotton and ILT Cotton.

If you are curious about the second hat on my hook, check out my Instagram in the coming weeks. I’ll be posting the completed make, hopefully on the pretty model I’ve been talking about in this post. This one will be made with ILT Cotton in Pewter (308) and Aqua (68). I must say it looks lovely!

Happy Hooking!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my thoughts about this pattern. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok (mountainmommacrochet). Feel free to check me out and give me a follow.

I’d like to thank Cre8tion Crochet for the opportunity to reach out to a larger audience and for the experience of getting to place some thoughts onto digital paper.

Happy hooking!

Carrie of Mountain Momma Crochet

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