How To Knit a Hat for Beginners

Knitting a hat might be your next goal if you’re done with scarves and potholders for the foreseeable future. You’ve mastered flat knitting, so how do you move into the round? And what do you need to do to learn how to knit a hat perfectly from brim to crown?

Here’s How To Knit a Hat, Step By Step

As you may or may not know, I specialize in knit hats. Today, I’m going to share my trade secrets with you. Although my hats are precious to me, I want to spread the love and help everyone else figure out how to knit a hat too. Consider this the ultimate guide — below, I’m going to walk you through every step.

You might already get some of these sections. If that’s the case, feel free to skip down to the information you’re looking for:

• The Basics of Knitting in The Round
• Casting on Stitches
• Knitting the Brim
• (Optional) Knitting a Pattern
• Knitting the Body of the Hat
• How to Decrease a Knit Hat
• Finishing Up Your Hat

1. The Basics of Knitting in The Round

Knitting in the round requires double-pointed needles (DPNs) or round needles. I only ever knit with round needles because I like how much quicker it is. If you’re looking to buy round needles for a hat, however, you will have to make sure you choose 9” needles.

The most commonly available size is 16”, which is perfect for cowls and blankets but is much too big for the limited amount of stitches a hat requires. You don’t want your stitches to be stretched out and tense!

Interested in DPNs? When you’re done reading this guide, you might want to check out a resource like this to learn more. Sorry DPN fans, but I’m a round needle girl through and through.

The size will really depend on the kind of yarn you’d like to knit with. I usually knit with worsted weight yarn, so sizes US 5-8 are my go-tos. However, if you’re a jumbo yarn fan, you’ll want to aim for needles sized US 11 or above.

Now that you have the right tools, what’s the difference between knitting in the round and knitting flat?

How Does Knitting in the Round Work?

Your hat is going to be knit in a spiral instead of the typical x-amount of discrete rows. This happens because you’re knitting the hat continuously, so each new row rises up a bit at the start. This will make the “seam” at the start of each new row look a little uneven with many colorwork designs, so if you’re doing stripes, make sure you look up techniques for fixing jogs.

I always use a stitch marker before the first stitch so I remember where the hat starts. This is helpful for both colorwork — so you know where the chart begins — and decreasing, so I would highly recommend following my lead. If you don’t have a stitch marker, creating a little loop with some cut scrap yarn in a different color always works for me.

Twisted Stitches

Since you have to join your knitting in the round — connecting the last stitch in the first row with the first stitch of the second row to create a full circle — twisted stitches can force you to start over. Check that all of your stitches are upright after you cast on and be aware of the problem as you knit your first row.

What happens if you get a stitch twisted the wrong way? The entire brim of the hat will have a big twist in it, almost like an infinity sign. It’s impossible to continue making a knit hat this way. You’ll have to frog the project and start over.

2. Casting on Stitches

You’ve got the concept down and you’re finally ready to start knitting your hat — right? Well, you’re very close. First, you have to figure out how wide your brim has to be so the patterned hat you knit actually fits a human head.

The best way to figure this out is to knit a swatch with your round needles and desired yarn. I know, swatches are a pain. Nobody has time for that. But if you really want to learn how to knit a hat perfectly, you need to know how many stitches you’re going to knit per inch.

Here’s a standard sizing chart adapted from Lion Brand:

Using the chart, multiply your swatch’s stitches per inch times the circumference. That’s how many stitches you need to cast on.

Once you start knitting a lot of hats, you can avoid swatches as long as you use a consistent needle size and type of yarn.

Personally, I almost always knit with size 6 or 7 needles and worsted weight yarn. My tension makes it so 88 stitches is just about right for an adult head, although I’ll also cast on 84 or 90 depending on the pattern I choose.

Here are some extra tips for managing stitch counts:

• Choose a multiple of 4. This will help you knit the brim and decrease evenly.
• If possible, measure the head circumference of the person your hat is intended for. You can generally trust the standard, but some people vary from the mean.

3. Knitting the Brim

You have the correct amount of stitches cast on. The next step in learning how to knit a hat is the brim. Hat brims are almost always knit in rib stitch. I like to knit in a 1×1 rib stitch, alternating knits and purls for each row. I find this creates a tighter rib for a brim with better grip.

Now, you can also knit a 2×2 rib stitch (2 knits, 2 purls) or forego the brim altogether. If you don’t create a rib stitch brim, your hat is going to roll up at the bottom. This is usually great for newborn hats or for certain patterns you may be knitting from. It all depends on the look you’re going for!

The brim height also depends on your preferences. I typically knit about 2 inches of brim before starting the main part of the hat, but it’s also popular to knit an extra long brim that can fold over. If you’d like a folded brim, knit it to be about 5-6 inches long.

4. (Optional) Knitting a Patterned Hat

Okay, so the brim was pretty easy. Now you’re ready to move on to the best part of the hat (in my opinion): the main body and design. If you’re not knitting with colorwork, you can go ahead and skip to the next section. For the rest of you, read on.

For a step-by-step tutorial on fair isle knitting, including reading charts, head on over to my newbie’s guide to fair isle knitting.

Working from a chart or design without a detailed pattern attached? I always make sure it’s edited slightly so that the design fits the amount of stitches in my hat. If I have an 88-stitch hat, it’s ideal to have a 22-stitch chart that I can repeat 4 times around.

The best way to fiddle with your design is to use a tool like StitchFiddle, which is my lifeline. You can use this to create your own pattern if you’re feeling bold, or see what other knitters have created and shared. The tool makes it very easy to add or delete columns and rows, change colors and move designs around.

5. Knitting the Body of Your Hat

How long (or tall) does the body of your hat have to be? Learning how to knit a patterned hat means mastering the length of it, not just the circumference. This measurement affects the ultimate fit of your hat. Some people want a slouchier one, while others are looking for a beanie.

You can use the size guide referenced above for a rough idea of how many inches the length needs to be. Again, swatch your heart out to figure out how many rows that will require. I need about 26 rows of the body to make an adult-sized hat. Sometimes, I might do more if I want a slouchy hat.

6. How to Decrease a Knit Hat

You’re ready to work on the crown once your body hits the ideal length. Before you decrease, separate your stitches into multiples of 8-10. If I have 88 stitches, I count them as 8 groups of 11. Insert stitch markers between these groups the first few times you try this.

For your setup round, you’ll knit straight across, placing a stitch marker after the last stitch in each group. Now, you’re ready to start decreasing.

Which Decrease Stitch Should I Use?

Learning how to knit a hat also forces you to learn a few new stitches. Different patterns call for different styles, so here I’ll walk you through the main two: knit2tog and ssk.

For a visual understanding of the effect these create, check out this great video explanation.

My hats are all decreased using ssk. I tend to like the left-leaning slope. Knit2tog is a little simpler, however, so I would recommend using it the first time you learn how to knit a patterned hat. Functionally, they’ll be fairly similar and it won’t matter for your hat’s crown.

Start knitting. Every time you reach the last two stitches of a group, knit them together. Continue until you reach the end of the first decrease row.

From here on out, you will alternate decreasing a row and knitting it straight. It’s important to knit every other row all the way through to create a natural crown.

Decrease Example

• Row 1: Knit 9, Knit2tog
• Row 2: Knit
• Row 3: Knit 8, Knit2tog
• Row 4: Knit
• Row 5: Knit 7, Knit2tog
• Row 6: Knit
• Row 7: Knit 6, Knit2tog
• Row 8: Knit
• Row 9: Knit 5, Knit2tog
• Row 10: Knit
• Row 11: Knit 4, Knit2tog
• Row 12: Knit
• Row 13: Knit 3, Knit2tog
• Row 14: Knit
• Row 15: Knit 2, Knit2tog
• Row 16: Knit
• Row 17: Knit 1, Knit2tog

Once you’re knitting 1, knit2tog, this will be your last row. You’ve basically mastered how to knit a hat – let’s finish this up!

8. Finishing up Your Hat

When you’re done with your last decrease row, cut the end of your working yarn so that you have enough left to weave in the ends. Use a yarn needle to pull the end of the yarn through all the remaining stitches so they close up when tightened. Pay attention to the direction you pull your yarn through the stitches in – it has to be right to left.

With your top puckered close, pull the end down through the middle to tighten the hat and weave in the remaining yarn on the inside (where it can’t be seen). If you had been knitting with multiple colors, you’re going to need to weave in all of the other strands hanging loose as well. Hats are nice because the wrong side will hide all the floats and woven ends nicely.

Lastly, weave in that tail carefully. That’s it. You’ve done it. You learned how to knit a hat for the first time. It wasn’t so bad, was it?

Do you have any more tips and tricks for knitting a hat? Want to share your final result? Let me know below!