I worked the hat pattern almost as written; I omitted the line of trim and added shell trim on the bottom.

The hat is actually 2 layers: the crocheted hat on top that I made, and a purchased hat underneath. The braid is attached to the purchased hat.

The tricky (non-crochet) part was the braid. It wasn’t really hard, but it was seriously tedious. To make the braid, I took the skein of Sunseeker and cut it where it was tied. Then I took 2 strands at a time and with a yarn needle, threaded them through the strands in the purchased hat. Once I had them all threaded I braided them to the desired length and cut off the extra.