Crazy for crochet

I joined Ravelry last week as I think this crochet thing might just stick. I really wanted to do a hat and I found this one that I downloaded for a small fee from Ravlery, but you can also see it at this Etsy shop. A very nice design I think you'll agree. Kinda different from what I ended up with, but more about that later.

Being new to crochet I don't really understand how you check gauge etc, so I just used the hook the designer used and have ended up with a tiny hat that barely fits Jemima. So funny. I will finish it up though and give it to a baby friend, or adorn the hat of a dolly that lives here as a reminder to always check the gauge before beginning a new project. 

Obviously I figured the gauge thing out, though I had trouble with the brim of this hat. If you went and checked out the pattern you will see that the brim (turned down) has stitches that seem to be running in a different direction from the crown. In my hat they all run the same. Which is why I turned up the brim, to give the hat some interest. I think the problem lies in the direction: "work back loops only". I seem to do all my crochet that way- working in the back loops, so the stitch was indeed the same for the brim and crown in my case. Or perhaps I wasn't working the brim in "rows" as opposed to "spirals" as you do for the crown... Anyway, I am determined to get to the bottom of it so I can make this hat as designed. Anyone out there got any ideas? I am going to find some helpful person on Ravelry and bombard them with questions. 

But I quite like my blue hat despite all that. The wool is from my mum's stash and the blue button was from mine, so a pretty economical little project too.