I feel your crochet pain! I am catching up on all my internet groups and lists and just now saw your question. I made the YeeHaw Hat in orange Lion Brand yarn and it turned out crazy gi-normous!

I didn't realize that there was a correction to the cluster stitch in errata, so I skipped the clusters altogether when I saw they were causing an increase.

I plan to try it again with organic cotton yarn, but would love to hear if you've continued and/or completed your project in hemp. I was hoping that organic, unbleached cotton would give me the option of dying it after completion, but I want to get the pattern completed in gauge before I use expensive materials.

Good Luck, and if you've already finished, congratulations!

Sorry, I have yet to frog my hat and start over, but if you don't follow the corrected instructions in errata, you'll have the same trouble I had. I still plan to crochet another one, but I've been trying to finish some knitting WIPs. Good luck. Please post anything you encounter that might be helpful to all us YeeHaw Ladies!

errata?  I didn't know there was an errata!

I've just finished the clusters and started on the brim, so I tried the hat on and you could fit two heads in there!  I thought it was down to me playing fast and loose with yarn weight and tension.  Ah well, I'm enjoying it so much I don't mind frogging a bit.

FINISHED!

I frogged it all the way back to the brim, and started again with a 4.5mm needle instead of a 6mm one, and it fits perfect...

Voil?!

I made 6 so far used size h hook. didn't have a problem. I used a different stitch to hide wire.