How to Crochet a Wool Hat for Beginners

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Whether you are looking for a way to save money on accessories or you want to make a gift yourself to give to friends, knitting hats is a great idea. If you are a beginner, knitting a complete hat will be quite difficult. However, it’s easier than you think. With a few instructions and a little time, you can crochet a pretty, unique beanie.

Table of Contents

Design your hat

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Determine the size of the hat. Before you start crocheting your hat, you need to determine if you will be crocheting a large or small hat. There are two options: you can use the general guide to choose your size, or take measurements for more specific measurements. Both ways are good, but you won’t be able to get exact measurements for the hat you want to make for someone else. Head circumference (from forehead to back) and height (from ear to crown) need to be measured, but here are the average sizes:

Premature babies: head circumference = 31 cm, height = 11 cm
Newborn: head circumference = 36 cm, height = 13 cm
Young children (from 6 months old): head circumference = 41 cm, height = 15 cm
Children and adolescents: head circumference = 51 cm, height = 19 cm
Adult: head circumference = 56 cm, height = 21 cm
Large people: head circumference = 61 cm, height = 24 cm ^{[1] X Research source}

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Choose a wool type. To crochet a basic beanie, you can use any type of wool. However, it will be easier for beginners to choose a wool with good elasticity, not too ruffled and not too thick. You should choose a wool that consists of 4 small strands together (called 4-ply) made from acrylic or fleece.

Color doesn’t matter, but dark colors make it hard to see and count rows, so it’s a good idea to use light-colored wool for your first hat.

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Selection of crochet hook. The size of the crochet needle depends on the size of the wool you use. For soft 4-strand wool blends (recommended), you will need an aluminum H/8 crochet needle. This size is a good choice for beginners, as it will fit many wool sizes and is very comfortable to hold. In addition, you should make sure that you are holding the crochet hook correctly. There are two common ways: ^{[2] X Research Source}

How to hold a knife (holding a hook is similar to when you hold a knife to cut something).
How to hold the pen (hold the needle similar to when you are about to write something).

Basic nose hook

Create knots. The knot is the starting point of the crochet process – the knot will help keep the thread in place. To create a knot: ^{[3] X Research Source}

Holding the end of the yarn in the palm of your hand, wrap the yarn around the tip of your index finger and under your middle finger.
Wrap the yarn around the tip of your index finger, below the first circle.
Pull the yarn in the center, and tuck it in the center of the large circle you created around your finger.
Thread the needle through the small circle you just made, and pull the end of the yarn to tighten it.

Knife toe hook. The crochet stitch is the first row of the crochet stitch. Since you’re crocheting the hat, the row of stitches shouldn’t be too long – about 5 stitches should suffice.

To crochet the first crochet stitch, hold the end of the knot and slide the crochet needle forward so that a space is created at the tip of the needle. Wrap the yarn over the tip of the needle once, and then, pull the needle back through the first knot. You have completed the first crochet stitch! Repeat five times to create a row of pins. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Crochet the stitch to complete the first row of stitches you create. This will finish off your row of pins, by attaching it to the circle. Pass the tip of the crochet needle through the center of the first stitch, and crochet one stitch (as usual). ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Mark the starting point. When crocheting, you need to count the number of stitches. To do this, you must know the starting point of the crochet row. ^{[6] X Research Source} There are two common methods for marking a starting point: wrap a yarn around the first crochet point of the second row, or insert a bobby pin over the crochet point. As you crochet to this mark of each row, you’ll know you’ve completed one row of crochet.

Crochet hat from basic nose

Hook in a circle shape. To crochet a hat from a basic stitch, you’ll need to crochet in a circle. This means you will be crocheting a small circle – the base of the hat (the top of the hat). As you thread the tip of the needle through, you need to start the second row of hooks adjacent to the first row in a spiral. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

When crocheting your hat, you should make sure that you continue to crochet in a spiral. Do not change direction at any point.

Crochet second row with double crochet stitch . From now on, you’ll be using a double stitch to crochet the hat. This will help you glue the new rows of hooks together in a spiral in the middle, so you don’t create a loose row of hooks.

To make a double stitch, start with a crochet needle that has a circle on top.
Thread the crochet needle through the circle and into the stitch below/next to it (attached to the spiral). You should now have two circles on the top of the crochet needle.
Finish with a regular crochet stitch; Wrap the yarn around the crochet needle, pulling the yarn through the two circles on the crochet needle. You will always end up with a single circle on the tip of the needle when completing a double stitch. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Modify the template. Once you’ve completed the base, you can change the crochet pattern a bit to enhance the body of the hat. For each row of crochet stitches, you’ll start with a double stitch, progressing to a single stitch, double stitch, and so on until a row is complete. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Count the number of stitches. The first few rows should be pretty easy, but as you get more crochet you’ll need to count the number of stitches. ^{[10] X Research Source} Double stitch counts as 2 crochet stitches, and single stitch as 1. For example, if you were crocheting a row of 5 stitches, it would be 1 double, 1 single, 1 double – completed. Here is the number of stitches for each row that you need to crochet:

First row: 5 stitches
Second row: 10 stitches
Third row: 30 stitches
Fourth row: 45 stitches
Fifth row: 60 stitches
Sixth row: 75 stitches
Seventh row: 90 stitches

Continue to crochet the single stitch after the seventh row. To complete the hat, you’ll need to crochet a few more rows of single stitches. This method will increase the length of the hat, instead of continuing to make it wider and wider. You should start crocheting the single stitch once the head circumference has reached the size you want. To complete the product, you will need to make a knot and hide the excess yarn tails by braiding them inside the hat with a crochet needle.

To hide the excess wool of the hat, you can braid it inside the hat. Leave about 15cm behind once you’ve made the knot and then use an embroidery needle to braid the excess yarn over the brim and into the inside of the hat. Then, tie the tail of the yarn after you have braided a few centimeters to the inside of the hat. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Advice

If this is your first hat making, you’ll need to practice before crocheting the hat you’re planning to wear or give away.

Things you need

crochet needle
Wool
Drag
Embroidery needle (optional)

Steps

Design your hat

Basic nose hook

Crochet hat from basic nose

Advice

Things you need

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