Crafty crochet hat pattern

by Bethany

Crochet how-to: First, we'll teach you how to crochet (slip knot, chain stitch, knit stitch, double crochet). Then we'll teach you how to crochet a hat. A beanie hat. BOOM.

Winter is upon us! It's time to trawl the shops for a decent pair of gloves and a nice woolly hat. But what if you could make your own? And for a pittance! I'm going to teach you to crochet your own stylish, unique and, best of all, cheap beanie. So get to your local yarn shop, gather up some supplies and lets knock up a fancy, one-of-a-kind head warmer! Or if you're sorted in the head gear department, make your friends a little early Christmas present to keep their ears toasty. They'll be thankful for your thoughtful thriftiness.

You will need:

• a pencil and some paper.
• a 6-8mm crochet hook – the bigger the hook the bigger your stitches and the less time it will take.
• 1 ball of chunky yarn.
• Something to mark your stitches with – I use a safety pin but you can use a scrap of contrasting coloured yarn, string, ribbon. Use whatever you have to hand.
• Buttons, felt, beads, ribbon, thread, sewing needles, etc. Things that you can use to embellish your hat when you're done.

Once you've collected these things together it's time to learn how to make a few different stitches. Fear not, reader, they are all pretty straightforward.

Know your crochet stitches: HOW TO MAKE A SLIP KNOT

First you need to know how to make a slip knot. Anything you crochet will start this way, to give you a loop to begin with. They are easy-peasy and you only have to make them once!

In your left hand (or right if you are a leftie) hold the end of your yarn between your little finger and ring finger; a few inches in from the end to be exact. Hold the yarn a little nearer to the ball in the other hand and loop it around the back of your left thumb. Cross it over itself and under, through the loop around your thumb. Take the loop off and pull it tight. Voila! One slip knot. Put this on your hook and pull the long side of yarn to tighten. Don't pull too tight or you won't be able to fit your hook through it later.

HOW TO MAKE A CROCHET CHAIN STITCH (abbreviation: ch)

Another easy one! Hold the hook with the slip knot on it in your preferred hand and the long side of the yarn in the other (as shown in the picture). Now, put the hook in front of the yarn, then under and behind so the string is draped over the hook. This is called a “yarn over” (abbreviated to “yo” in most patterns). Hook this yarn over and pull it through the loop on your hook. Congratulations! You've made a chain stitch.

HOW TO MAKE A CROCHET SLIP STITCH (abbreviation: sl st)

This one is used to join stitches together, so make a string of chain stitches first. Then take the hook and put it through the top loop of the very first stitch. Yarn over. Pull the yarn through both loops on the hook. The two ends have joined!

HOW TO MAKE A DOUBLE CROCHET (abbreviation: dc)

In American patterns this is known as a single crochet (abbreviation: sc) but we'll do this the finicky British way. To start, make 9 or so chain stitches. Put the hook in the top loop of the second stitch from the hook. Yarn over. Pull the yarn through the first loop on the hook. Yarn over again. Pull the yarn through both loops on the hook. And you've made a double crochet!

Practice these stitches a few times. If you need more visual instruction you can find videos for all of these stitches on the internet.

Let's make a hat!

Step-by-step: How to crotchet a beanie hat

Step 1: Sketch

It's always a good idea to know how you want the final hat to look. I drew a picture to show how I wanted mine to look. It doesn't have to be high art, just visualise the end product and sketch it out.

Step 2: Starting off

The way to start this hat is by utilising something known as “the magic circle”. Contrary to it's title, there is nothing supernatural about it. Here is what to do:

Make 5 chain stitches and join them together with a slip stitch. You now have a circle. Put the hook through the middle of this circle and make a double crochet. Make five more in the same way. Slip stitch. Make sure to put the hook through both loops of the double crochet when making your sl st. What you have there is a magic circle! Isn't it disappointing? Let's continue.

Step 3: Increasing

Now we need to make this thing bigger so it'll fit our heads. There are six stitches on the magic circle. Dc twice in each of these stitches to bring the total stitches up to twelve. Make a sl st in the first to join the row together and chain one to begin the next row. It would be a good idea to begin marking the first stitch of each row in some way so you don't lose your place.

Again we will increase. This time dc once into the first stitch and dc twice into the next. Repeat this all the way around until you have 18 stitches. Join with a sl st and chain one.

For the next row dc once into the next two stitches and dc twice into the next. Do this until you have 24 stitches. Join and chain 1.

Next, dc once in the next three stitches and dc twice into the next. Do this until you have 30 stitches. Join and chain 1.

Keep increasing in this fashion until the circle you've made fits nicely on your crown.

Step 4: Shaping up

Now your hat is wide enough to fit your head. Stop increasing and simply dc in every stitch, joining each row together. This will begin to make a tube. Continue until the hat brim reaches your eyebrows when you try it on.

Step 5: Tightening

So your hat doesn't fly off at inappropriate moments you'll want to tighten the brim a little. It's simple really! Just make a slip stitch in every dc and join once more at the end of the row. Cut the yarn about 6 inches from the last stitch and bring this tail through the loop on the hook to fasten off. Neaten this up by weaving this end into the stitches of the hat. You can do this for the tail at the top as well. Then cut the excess tail off.

Step 6: Finishing touches.

Now it's time to embellish your hat! I crocheted a flower and sewed that on with a button for the middle. You don't have to though! You could use a flower from an old hair accessory, weave ribbon in and out of the stitches (if the ribbon isn't stretchy make sure you can still get your head in the hat!), cut out felt hearts (or any shape you want) and sew them on. Another way to make your hat a bit more interesting it to use more than one colour of yarn. Just tie the two colours together where you want the stripe to start. You can also buy yarns that are multicoloured and produce stripes without you having to change to a different ball. The choices are endless. Have fun, experiment and be creative!

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