'Tis the season #1: Granny in a Flap Hat tutorial

50 days left until Christmas! Time to concentrate on giving, methinks. In the upcoming weeks I plan on sharing some of the things that I'll be giving as gifts this year and I also want to share a few gifts with you, such as a couple of tutorials etc. I won't get all ambitious, as I do have 3 and a half rooms to paint in the upcoming weeks, so keep your expectations low...

First up, do you remember this hat?
I've been meaning to write up the pattern for it since, um, last April. I was noting down the pattern as I was teaching a friend how to crochet it. We worked on it while we were at the park with our kids each week. Then her lad inconsiderately knocked his head badly and was barred from the park for a couple of months. He's fine, but my pattern writing ground to a halt.
With winter rapidly approaching, I thought that it might be time to finish it. So I made another hat. Meanwhile the temperature soared to 100 degrees. In November. Can it really be a coincidence that every time I make this hat we have a heat wave?Sunglasses indoors = cover for the awful dark circles under my eyes. These hats do look less daft when worn with winter clothes...I am a slow crocheter and I can make one of these in an evening, so they are quick work.
To make a child size hat, use smaller hooks as follows: I instead of J, J instead of K, K instead of L). Ravelry link here.
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YOU WILL NEED:
scraps of yarn: worsted or bulky
US size J 10 hook (6.00mm)
US size K 10.5 hook (6.50mm)
US size L 11 hook (8.00mm)
Yarn needle to weave in any loose ends
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ABBREVIATIONS USED (nb. I'm using the American stitch terms):
ch = chain
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
cl = cluster
sp = space
yo = yarn over
rep = repeat
join = join with slip stitch
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PATTERN STITCHES:
beg cl = first cluster stitch of a row: ch 2, then, keeping last loop of each dc on hook, 2 dc in sp, yo and draw through all loops on hook to make cluster
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cl = keeping last loop of each dc on hook, 3dc in sp, yo and draw through all loops on hook to make cluster

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THE PATTERN:
Using hook J
Ch 6, join to form ring (I use magic adjustable ring for this)
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Round 1. In ring: beg cl, *ch 3, cl, rep from *5 times, ch 3, join in top beg cl [6 clusters]
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Round 2. In ch 3 sp of previous round: beg cl, ch 3, cl, ch 3, *in next sp cl, ch 3, cl, ch 3, rep from * 5 times, join in top beg cl [12 clusters]
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Round 3. In ch 3 sp: beg cl, ch 3, cl, ch 3, *in next sp cl, ch3; in next sp cl, ch 3; in next sp cl, ch 3, cl, ch 3, rep from * until end of round and join in top beg cl =16 clusters
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Round 4. In ch 3 sp: ch 2, 2 dc, ch 1, *in next sp 3 dc, ch 1, rep from * 15 times
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Change to K hook
Round 5. In ch 1 sp: ch 2, 2 dc, 1 ch, * 3 dc, 1 ch, rep from * 15 times
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Rounds 6 - 8. rep round 5
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Change to L hook
Rounds 9 - 14. rep round 5
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EAR FLAP (worked back and forth in rows):
Row 1: ch 2, 2 dc in sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next sp, turn
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Row 2: ch 3, 3 dc in sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next sp, ch 1, 1 dc in last dc of previous row, turn
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Row 3: ch 3, 3dc in middle sp, ch 1, 1 dc in last dc of previous row
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2nd EAR FLAP:
Join yarn 5 sp along brim from 1st ear flap and make in same way as 1st ear flap
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EDGING:
sc around edge of hat, including along the edges of the ear flaps. When reach tip of ear flaps: ch 2, 2 dc in sp, ch 1, 2 dc in next sp, ch 2 and rejoin edge, continue to sc around rest of hat
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BRAIDS:
Cut 6 1 yard strips of yarn, thread them through the base of the ear flaps and braid together, securing the ends with a knot.
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Repeat on other side. Done.
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Let me know if I've made any mistakes. I haven't been getting enough sleep and it's been a while since I've followed a crochet pattern, so I'm a little rusty on the abbreviations.
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No translation of the day today: it's past my bedtime...