Starburst Crochet Beret....Completely Ignoring Patterns

I'm sorry to have to report that I went through this winter without a hat. I know, I know, what a tragic tale. It is of course only now that I find a crochet pattern for a beret which I like the look of:

www.bhookedcrochet.com/2015/02/22/crochet-beret-pattern

It's a beautiful hat I'm sure you'll agree. However, I wasn't loving the ribbed brim she had going on, or the fact that the way the pattern is written out is a little hard to follow (not that I could have done any better....also I shouldn't really complain as it was posted online totally free...). So instead of following the pattern or watching the youtube video of how to make it, I followed the stitch diagram that was provided for the first couple of rows:

 And then, well, sort of just made it up as I went along until I had a hat:

Helpful, right? I must say I am rather fond of the starburst stitch, though you do find yourself in situations like this:

That's right, 9 hoops on my hook. 9!!! I feel like I can pretend I'm a knitter now. In fact I am so chuffed with the actual making process of this one that I may even crochet a matching scarf. Thank goodness for pinterest:

tinashandicraft.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/scarves.html?m=1