Jochet Works

In December of 2019, I had the honor of receiving my Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry. For the graduation ceremony, we were allowed to decorate our caps. Now, knowing what you know about me, you know I was not going to let that opportunity go by.

I debated being artsy with mine and trying to use construction paper and glue and pretend like I’m good at the fine arts (I’m kidding. I’m not terrible, I just pretend that I am). But, in the end, I decided to do something that meant more to me personally that I would be able to use and keep out to remind me of how hard I worked to get where I am today. So, I decided that it must be crochet.

I looked at several doily patterns, trying to find one that was able to compensate for the button at the center where the tassel would attach. In the end, I actually tried three or four different ones.

I had originally wanted to do a real doily with thread. I have done doilies with thread before. It would be a piece of cake, right? Wrong. I made, remade, remade again, and finally gave up on making the doily with thread. I had the right tension the first time, but I messed up something in the pattern because I was working from a diagram rather than a written pattern. The second and third times, I just couldn’t find the right tension again.

In the end, I used white yarn and a size F crochet hook. I made the same crochet pattern I had been trying to use, but I only made the first six rows of the pattern instead of going out the full ten. As you can see, if I had made the doily any larger, it would have come off the edges of the cap. Plus, this way the doily went from looking like a flower, to looking like a snowflake. I liked that, because I like snow.

When I attached the doily, I was able to press the center ring down around the button and everything stayed in place without any other glue, stitching, or what have you. I was so happy with how it turned out.

After graduation, it snowed for the next two days. And my doily became the centerpiece for my coffee table. It’s actually still sitting there three weeks later. And every time I see it, I remember how amazing it felt to finally walk across that stage and receive the diploma I worked so hard for.

Any comments, questions, concerns? Let me know!

Thanks for reading. – Jo