Cupcake Confection.... Zero Calories

The day start with me starting on a new hat on my bus ride into work.  To be honest I got distracted by the sky out the window. I mean really would you be able to ignore this?



And then it  moved into this,,,



 I mean WOW! what a morning to be awake.

Once I got into my work building, I just felt that sense of inner calm the day was going to be totally AWESOME. I was right. During my lunch and work breaks I use up some leftover miscellaneous yarns to create the top of the Repeat Crafter Me Cupcake Hat (0-3 month).

I have found over time, I usually cannot follow any recipe without adding my own spice, flavor or flair. Well since this is a cupcake, that is exactly what happened to my version of the Repeat Crafter Me Cupcake Hat .

I followed the instructions for rows one through eight, but this is where my frosting top ended.
My creation was this interesting blue with white speckled frosting top, which looked great (I need to work on taking more photos of my work in progress!).

I got home from work and dug through my yarn collection. I found this super soft microfiber yarn in a hot pink/ pinkish red. It had to be the morning sky that inspired me to even try this color as the cupcake wrapper.

Since my top ended at row eight, I had to do a little pattern rework to find a new place to attach the cupcake wrapper, but still allow for the cute frosting overhang (without scallops).

Here is what I did...

I followed the instructions for "Round 11", but instead attached it to "Round 6" on the inside as the instructions show. I then I followed the instructions for "Round 12-14". Instead of ending after three rows like the instructions say, I added an additional three rows to compensate for attaching at row 6 instead of at "Round 9" as in the original instructions. This allowed for the hat to be just as tall as the original instructions.

The ear-flaps I did some modifications as well.

I followed the instructions for rows 1, 2, 4, 6,  and 8. For row nine I did one single crochet decreased, and then chained 12 to create a tie string. fastening off in the last chain and leaving a long string hanging... the size of the sting was more for an adults BIG fingers than for the child.

For the place meant of the second ear-flap I counted over ten stitched from the first stitch of the first ear-flap on the back of the hat. Then I worked from back to front, following the instructions for "Earflap 1"  rows 1, 2, 4, 6,  and 8. and to finish I did the same as above for row nine.

If you thought the tweaks above was flair.... nope. That was just interchanging some spices, like cardamom for cinnamon which I do 80% of the time with recipes.

Here is where I really deviate from tthe Repeat Crafter Me Cupcake Hat .

I just didn't like the look of the cherry on top of the cupcake, it made me think ice cream instead of cupcake.

After some brainstorming and day-dreaming of cupcakes.... Mmmmmmm, Cupcakes!

I remembered many stores use a really big starburst tip, twisting the frosting to create almost a spiral.

Back to digging in my yarn collection looking for that perfect "frosting" color yarn to create a perfect cupcake confection's spiral. I came up with some left over homespun greenish-blue, and light pink specked.

Mmmmmmm, Cupcakes!

I added the greenish-blue (g-b) first working my way around (starting from the back) single crocheting attaching periodically to the hat a stitch here and there. Since the yarn was so thick it was about every  3 to 4 stitches. around in a circle spiraling to the center.

After the first spiral was placed, I added the pink starting in the front to one side to allow for some blue and white of the original "frosting" to show through.  Again I attached ever 3 to 4 stitches spiraling to the center.

At the top middle, I created an alternating chain of color. I stitched 2 g-b stitches then 2 pink, 2 g-b, 2 pink. I  tied off the chain with two tail sticking out (one of g-b and one of pink).

I twisted the chain to finish the spiral on top creating that "frosting" top look.

To secure the chain, I uses some leftover yarn and a tapestry needle to sew the twist in place keeping the two yarn "frosting" sprouts in the center to stick up. I fasten off the yarn, used to sew the swirl in place, and weave in any extra to hide the tails.


Cupcake confection perfection!

Front view

Front-side view