Princess in Disguise Pattern

Growing up, our Halloween costumes were always homemade.  One of our favorites was a giant pair of monarch butterfly wings my dad made out of a refrigerator sized box and painted to look like the wing pattern of the migrating monarch. Another year, I went as a baker, wearing the apron and floppy chef's hat my dad made in his junior high boys home management class and carrying a cookie sheet with rows of paper cookies taped to it.

In the spirit of homemade costume ideas, I wanted to make a pattern for a crocheted crown headband.  I was inspired this morning to create a post on last-minute costume ideas, and cranked out this pattern in a couple hours. It's quick, it's simple, and if you have some crochet thread lying around, it may get you started on a quick costume for your little princess.

Note: This pattern is sized for a child... I'm holding the straps on my head in the picture, as they are a bit too short for an adult head.  In the pattern, the modifications to the straps to fit an adult head are italicized in parentheses.

Supplies: 

• Size E (3.5mm) crochet hook
• A partial skein of size 3 crochet thread (I used Red Heart Fashion Crochet Thread size 3 in Copper Mist) - I'm not sure the exact yardage as I was using up scraps in my stash...
• Scissors
• Any gems, beads or buttons you wish to add to give it a bit of sparkle...

Abbreviations: 

• ch - chain
• slst - slip stitch
• sc - single crochet
• dc - double crochet
• tr - treble crochet
• st(s) - stitch(es)
• dc 5 tog - double crochet 5 together (explanation below)

To begin: ch 159 - child (199 - adult), turn

Row 1: skip 1st ch, slst in next 60(80)sts, ch2, skip 2 sts, 5 dc in next st, *skip 3 sts, 5 dc in next st,* repeat * * 8 times (for a total of 9 shells), skip 2 sts, dc in next st, turn

Row 2: ch 3, dc 5 tog (makes 1 diamond), *ch 5, dc 5 tog*, repeat * * 8 times (for a total of 9 diamonds), tr to top of ch 2 of previous row, turn

Row 3: ch 1, *3 sc in next ch 5 space, ch 3, 3 sc in same ch 5 space,* repeat * * in next ch 5 space, 7 sc in next ch 5 space, [2 sc, 2 dc, 1 tr, 2 dc, 2 sc] in next ch 5 space, [2 sc, 2 dc, 1 tr, 2 dc, 2 sc] in next ch 5 space, 3 sc in next ch 5 space, turn

Row 4: ch 6, sc in tr of previous row, ch 7, sc in next tr of previous row, ch 6, sc in 4th sc of 7 sc from previous row, turn

Row 5: 4 sc around ch 6, ch 3, 4 sc around same ch 6, 5 sc around ch 7, ch 5, 5 sc around same ch 7, 4 sc around next ch 6, ch 3, 4 sc around same ch 6, 4 sc in partial ch 5 from row 3, *3 sc around next ch 5, ch 3, 3 sc around same ch 5,* repeat * * in next ch 5 space, 3 slst around tr from row 2, 2 slst around ch 2 from row 1, slst in next 60(80) sts

Finishing Row: ch 1, turn your project to work along the "bottom edge" of the crown (rotate it upside down from how you have been working the crown) with the right side facing you, slst in the next 60(80) sts along the straps, *4 sc around the skipped 3 ch from Row 1*, repeat * * 8 times (9 total), slst in the 1st ch of the strap, slst in the next 59(79) sts, tie off, weave in ends

Add any gems, beads, or buttons you desire to give it some sparkle.  Block if you have time - although your princess may not be able to wait! :)

How to dc 5 together: 
yarn over (yo), insert hook into next stitch, yo, pull yarn through stitch (3 loops on hook), yo, pull yarn through 1st two loops on hook, pause (you should have 2 loops left on your hook);

yo, insert hook into next stitch, yo, pull yarn through stitch (4 loops on hook), you, pull yarn through 1st two loops on hook, pause (you should have 3 loops left on your hook

Repeat this until you have completed five partial dc (I like to think of it as the “bottom half” of the stitches)

At this point, you should have 6 loops on your hook, yo, pull yarn through all six loops, you can “lock it” in place with a sc… or in this pattern, just move on to the next ch 5…


Princess in Disguise by Emily Bittel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.