Two crochet options that bring a lot of easy pizzaz to any project are the technique of crocheting into the black loop only and the use of scraps to make a truly scraptastic project.

One pattern that combines both is Jenna Wingate’s Scrap Buster Hat.

I made my first scrap confection back in November of 2013. I had been working on a cookie poncho for the granddaughter of a friend:

and I thought that if the weather were cold enough to require a poncho, it probably also required a hat. I was in a hurry as I wanted to get the poncho in the mail and to it’s intended recipient, and while I was in that hurry, I stumbled on Jenna’s scraptastic pattern.

Using the colors in the cookie poncho as a guide, I got to work, and in just one afternoon of ignoring all of the housework that needed doing I was able to make the hat:

Having set myself the goal of making 2020 the year of the hat and using some of the still prodigious yarn stash that is helping to keep my garage insulated from the elements, I decided to go back Jenna Wingate’s scrap busting pattern to transform the yarn I have into something that can be used.

To that end, I began work on two scrap buster hats for children in the 7-10 age range. I worked the foundation of one hat using Red Heart Super Saver grenadine, and I worked the foundation of the other hat using Red Heart With Love Holly Berry.

While it took me a half an hour or so to find my back loop only groove, eventually, I did, and in short order, the foundations of the hats were done:

All that’s left to be done is to crochet some scrappy stripes, add an awesome braid or two, and then two new, scraptastic hats, will be ready for adventure.