How to Knit a Hat: the Basics

It's hat season!

Nov 01, 2023

It’s hat season! The weather is getting colder in the Northern Hemisphere, and the mornings are crisp.

Hats are perfect projects for every knitter out there. If you are a new knitter, you can learn a lot while finishing a project quickly, and if you are an experienced knitter, hats can be a challenge, depending on the pattern. They sure are satisfactory for everybody. But how do you knit a hat?

Generally, hats consist of three distinct parts: the brim, the body, and the crown.

a green hat over a wooden table with arrows pointing to the brim, body and crown.

Knitting a hat step by step

The most common way to knit a hat is by knitting it in the round, starting at the brim, with a smaller needle to make it snug. After knitting a ribbing (either knit 1, purl 1, or knit 2, purl 2), you will switch to a needle one or two sizes larger for the body of the hat. The easiest way to knit the body is in plain stockinette, as it only consists of knit stitches.

Once you have reached a specific height, you need to knit the crown of the hat. There are several ways to do that. Basically, you need to decrease stitches to only a handful so you can close the hat easily. Once it’s closed up, your hat is done. Yay!

Hat patterns

Hats are one of the most versatile knitting projects out there. Not only can you knit them in all possible directions (brim up, crown down, sideways), but they come in all kinds of patterns. The advanced search on Ravelry for hats has over 153,000 hits! From cables to colorwork to all the way ribbed or lined for extra warmth, you will definitely be able to find the perfect pattern for your needs.

Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure

Toddler boy outside wearing a striped knit hat and wearing a red, buffalo plaid jacket.

The Sockhead Slouch Hat is a free pattern with seven sizes. It's made with one skein of fingering-weight yarn. For this project, you just need to know how to knit, purl, and make decreases.

Kane by Theresia Lew

on the left, a black hat with grey brim; on the right, colorful hats

Kane is a top-down hat that can be knitted with any yarn and any gauge. It's available in 12 sizes, and the pattern contains a table to help you knit the right one.

The Essential Beanie by Andrea Gaughan

on the left, hand holding yellow hat; on the right, person wearing yellow hat

The Essential Beanie is a classic fitted rib beanie with an interesting crown design. It can be made with a single-fold or double-fold brim. The pattern is available in four sizes and six different yarn weights.

Bruna's Beanie by Meret Bützberger

blond woman wearing knitted hat and black glasses

Bruna's Beanie by Meret Bützberger is an intermediate-level pattern knitted from the bottom up. The brim is knitted in a classic two-colored brioche pattern, and the body is in a different brioche stitch pattern that gives it a woven look.

On November 8th, Meret will give away a printed copy of the pattern and two skeins of Zealana Rimu yarn (one in each color). Check out the designer's Instagram account to participate. You just have to follow her, like the photo, and comment on your favorite color combo for Bruna's Beanie.

Tips for choosing yarn for hats

One of the best things about hats is that they are very portable, and you usually can get away with just a single skein of yarn. Speaking of yarn: When knitting a hat, you should keep the fiber content of your yarn in mind. We recommend using yarns with at least 50% wool, as wool will ensure your hat will fit for a long time. When you wash wool, it will shrink back to its original state. If you were to use something like 100% alpaca, your hat would stretch out and stay that way, as alpaca has no elasticity. The same goes for other camelid fibers like yak or baby camel, plant fibers like cotton or linen, silk, and acrylic yarns.

We hope you enjoy knitting hats as much as we do!

—written by Theresia Lew

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