Heeler Hat 2: Crochet Oval Googly eyes and Eyebrows
OK, you’ve got your base hat made for the Heeler Hat, or maybe you have stumbled in here just looking to crochet some big oval googly eyes. Welcome!
IMPORTANT NOTE #1: I hate making things where I need end up with a pair of identical pieces or, heaven forbid, 3 or more identical pieces. I LOATHE it. I’m not saying that you do, too, but I do recommend making the above described pairs of pieces in once sitting to give yourself the best chance of them actually turning out identical. You don’t necessarily have to make all 4 pieces (2 eyes and 2 pupils) in one sitting, but I find that making both of the white ovals or both of the black pupils in one sitting makes it much more likely that the pair will match appropriately.
IMPORTANT NOTE #2: Do not sew the black pupils directly into the middle of the white ovals. If you do, you will come out with a very scary-looking version of the character. The pupils need to be sewn on closer to the side of white oval and you probably want them to both be on the inner side of the eye, next to where the snout will be. I know what you’re thinking, it sounds like it will look cross-eyed, but it won’t. Alternatively, you could sew them to the same bottom lower part of the oval and it will look like the character is giving a bit of side-eye, which is fine if that’s what you want.
HOOK
If you’re making the Heeler Hat, I recommend going down 1 hook size to make the googly eyes. I used my Tulip Etimo 4.0mm crochet hook.
For the eyebrows, I used my Tulip Etimo 5.0mm crochet hook.
YARN
For the eyes, I used Red Heart Super Saver White and Black, but as usual, whatever worsted weight yarn you’re using in colors that look right to you should be fine.
For the big sister’s eyebrows, I used Red Heart Super Saver in color Light Blue.
For the little sister’s eyebrows, I used Red Heart Super Saver in color Buff.
OTHER TOOLS
You’ll also need scissors or snips and yarn needle to weave in ends and sew pieces together and on to the hat.
STITCHES & SKILLS REQUIRED (US terms)
Magic ring
Ch: Chain stitch
SC: Single crochet
HDC: Half-double crochet
DC: Double crochet
INC: Increase (two stitches in one space)
Recommended but not required: Invisible join, chainless foundational DC
PATTERN for the white oval part of the eye (Make 2)
Round 1: With white yarn, chain 7. You’re going to crochet on both sides of this chain, but in the first 5 stitches, make sure you’re getting under 2 loops. DC in 2nd chain from hook, DC, DC, DC, 7 DC in same stitch, DC, DC, 5 DC in same stitch. Join with a sl st to the top of the first DC. NOTE: If it feels like the stitch where you’re putting the 7 DCs in the same stitch is getting “baggy” or opening up, you should be able to tighten it up by pulling the tail tight once you’ve got all your 7 stitches in there.
Round 2: Chain 2, DC in same stitch. DC, DC, DC, DC, DC, 3 DC in same stitch, 3 DC in next stitch, 3 DC in next stitch, DC, DC, DC, DC, DC, DC, 3 DC in same stitch, 3 DC in next stitch, 3 DC in next stitch. Join with invisible join or fasten off to your liking and leave a long tail to sew the eye onto the hat.
PATTERN for the black pupil of the eye (Make 2)
Round 1: With black yarn, make a magic ring. SC, HDC, DC, DC, HDC, SC, SC, HDC, DC, DC, HDC, SC. Join, fasten off with a long enough tail to sew it on to the large white oval eye, and pull as tight as you can to close the hole in the middle. It might take some effort!
I like to use and invisible join so the long tail ends up in the back and then once I pull the magic ring tail as tight as I can, tie the two tails together in a tight knot. I weave in the shorter tail (from the magic ring) a bit and then snip it. Use the long tail to sew it on to the white oval and once it’s sewn on, make sure the tail is at the back of the white oval and knot it tightly with the tail from the middle of the white oval and snip the two short so that when you sew the whole eye on to the hat, they won’t show.
Don’t forget to read Important Note #2 at the top of this post before you you attach the pupils to the white ovals!
PATTERN for the eyebrows
There are two ways to make the eyebrows, depending on your preference and please note that I recommend the 5.0mm sized hook for the eyebrows.
Method 1: I don’t enjoy trying to crochet into a chain, so I do a row of 7 chainless foundation double crochets by chaining 3, then working into the first chain until I have 7 standing stitches in addition to the starting chains. Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing this piece on later.
If you’re not sure how to do a chainless foundation for double crochets or single crochets, I highly recommend googling it. Plenty of other folks out there have explained and demonstrated it better than I can and it just might change your life.
Method 2: If standing double crochets is beyond your ability or patience at this point, that’s OK! You can chain 10, then starting in the 3rd chain from the hook, work double crochets into the chain you just made. Fasten off with a long tail.
Don’t forget to make 2 eyebrows! Set them aside along with the googly eyes to attach to the hat later.
All done? The next step will be to make the DC triangle puppy nose and snout!