How to Crochet a Baby Hat - Easy Free Pattern

Learn how to crochet a baby hat with any yarn! A crochet baby hat is an ideal garment for a beginner crocheter. It is one of the easiest things you can make, and it is super quick to make because it is so small! Whether you are creating the hat for your own baby, or whether it will be a gift for another baby in your life, you will get a lot of satisfaction from creating a baby beanie!

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How to Crochet a Baby Hat - Free Pattern for Beginners

Aside from making the baby in question look super cute, hats are also essential for babies. Because their heads are larger relative to their bodies than adults, they can lose heat a lot faster than adults do. They need to have their little heads insulated so that they don’t lose too much warmth via heat transfer.  For these reasons, (plus the fun of creating them!) you will want to make a whole wardrobe of hats for any baby during the winter months.

Materials

• Soft, warm baby yarn - This baby hat pattern uses measurements so you can use any weight yarn. Choose a yarn that won't be scratchy or itchy. I used worsted weight yarn. Most sizes will just use one skein.
• Crochet hook size suitable for the thickness of your yarn. The label of your yarn should give you a recommendation for the hook size.
• Tapestry needle to weave in the ends

Easy Crochet Baby Hat Abbreviations

We will be working with USA terminology for this pattern.

• st - stitch
• ch - chain stitch
• dc - double crochet stitch
• sl st - slip stitch crochet
• sc - single crochet stitches
• sp - space
• Fpdc - front post double crochet

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Crochet Beanie Sizing

This table is a guide to creating the correct size of hat for the baby. Keep in mind, however, that babies vary greatly in size for their age! I know of many crocheters who have made adorable, teeny newborn hats as a gift, only to find that the hat never fits the baby! Rather make the hat a little large, as babies grow rapidly, and at least it will grow into its cute hat!

Age	Hat Circumference	Crown Diameter	Length of Hat
0-3m	14”(35.5cm)	4-4.5”(10-11.5cm)	6”(15cm)
3-6m	15”(38.1cm)	5”(12.7cm)	6.25”(16cm)
6-12m	16”(40.6cm)	5.25”(13.4cm)	6.5”(16.5cm)
18m	17”(43.2cm)	6“(15cm)	6.75”(17cm)

How To Crochet a Baby Hat - Step by Step Instructions

You will make this hat by crocheting in the round and will start with a flat circle. For this example, we will use double crochet, but it can just as easily be made using single crochet, or any crochet stitch of your choice.

Round 1:

• Make a magic ring (magic circle), work 10 dc into the ring and pull tight. (Equal to 10 dc.)(OR: Ch3, work 9 dc into the 3^rd ch from the hook.)
• Slip stitch to close the circle.

Round 2:

• Ch3 (Counts as first dc. )
• 1 dc into same stitch.
• 2 dc into each remaining stitch around.
• Sl st into top of ch3 to close. (This is 20 dc.)

Round 3:

• Ch 3 (1^st dc)
• 2 dc into next st.
• * 1dc into next st, 2 dc into following st.
• Repeat from * around. (Here you are working 1 dc, then increasing 1 dc by working 2dc into the next st.)
• Sl st to close round. (This is 30 dc.)

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Round 4:

• Ch3 (1^st dc)
• 1 dc into same st.
• *1 dc into each of next 2 sts, 2 dc into following st. (So now you are working dc2, inc 1 all around.)
• Repeat from * all the way around.
• Close with a sl st. (This is 45 dc)

Measure:

You can see in this picture that I have reached the 4” (10cm) diameter of the crown needed for a newborn hat. I can stop increasing now if I am making a newborn-size hat. If making a larger hat, continue increasing until you have the correct diameter of the crown, as per the table above.

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Round 5+:

• Ch3 (1^st dc)
• 1 dc into same st.
• * 1 dc into each of next 3 sts, 2 dc into following st. (This is the same as dc 3 increase 1, all around.)
• Close round with a sl st. (50 sts)

Continue:

• You will see the pattern for increasing here. Row 6 would be dc 4, inc 1. Row 7 would be dc5, inc 1, and so on.
• Continue working rounds like this until you have reached the required crown diameter (see table above) for the size hat you are making.
• Once you have reached this measurement, you will continue to crochet in rounds without any increases. (So simply work 1 dc into each st as you go around. You will see a cup shape forming.)
• Repeat this round until the hat reaches the required length. (See table above.)
• You can simply stop here, end off your yarn and weave in your tails. You will have a basic baby beanie.

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Easy Embellishments for Crochet Baby Hats

You may want to make this hat a little more elaborate. Here are some easy ideas for doing this.

Simple Edging

You can simply crochet one more round in a different stitch. So for the hat explained above, you could add 1 row of sc. If you change the color for this row it will show the edging up nicely.

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Fancy Edging

This one looks a bit like a rib edging. You will need to do a front post stitch to make it. Please don’t stop reading, in a panic as soon as you read ‘post stitches’! Post stitches are used to make raised patterns. They are similar to traditional crochet stitches; you just work the stitch around the post of the stitch in the previous row rather than in the top of the stitch. The post is the long vertical part of your crochet stitch or the part which gives the stitch its height. So where you would normally work into the top two loops of the stitch below, when working a post stitch you work into the ‘post’ or the tall vertical part of the stitch in the previous row. It really is easy once you give it a try!

• Dc in 1^st st, Fpdc in next. Continue around the border.
• Every alternate stitch is just a conventional dc. You can see the rib-like texture forming.

Adding Ears

To make each ear:

• Ch 3, 2 sc in 2^nd ch from hook, 2 sc into next ch. (4 sc)
• Ch1, turn. 2 sc into each of the 4 sts. This will make a half circle shape.
• Repeat for a larger ear.
• Leave a long tail for sewing, end yarn off.
• Thread a yarn needle with that long tail, make a line of running stitch along the base of the ear.
• Pull tight to gather the ear. Using the same yarn, sew the ear onto the top of the hat.
• Make another ear in the same way.
• Cute! A teddy bear hat!

Add Crochet Flowers

Add a simple flower, stitched into place. See my tutorial on crochet flowers for several different types. I crocheted style 1 which is a simple flower made with hdc and dc stitches.

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Add a Pompom

Pom poms are a classic look for crochet hats for all ages. Learn how to make a pom-pom using several methods.

Add Stripes

While crocheting change colors every row or second row to create a lovely bright stripey hat. Learn how to change yarn colors easily.

How to Crochet a Baby Hat - In Conclusion

These are all very easy modifications to change up the look of your baby beanie. You can use these precious little hats you have made for adorable photo shoots, or to keep the baby warm, safe, and comfortable in winter. The baby’s head grows rapidly, so you will need to make up a variety of different sizes! A crochet baby hat also makes a wonderful gift for a new mom, especially if you haven’t had the time or inclination to make a baby blanket! Using this same basic pattern, you can mix up the colors and embellishments, and enjoy experimenting with various crochet baby hats!