How to Knit a Hat

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Categories: Crafts | How Tos

  • Knitting a hat may seem hard, but there really isn't much to it. In fact, you only need to know one stitch to knit a fabulous, personalized hat! If you love to be stylish and warm, there's no time like the present to learn how to knit a hat!

  • How to Knit a Hat Tips

    1. Use a stretchy cast-on for your hat
    2. Change yarn colors periodically while knitting the hat to make colorful stripes
    3. When using double-pointed needles, always keep the working needles closest to you to ensure that you are not knitting your hat inside-out
    4. Use a bulky-weight yarn and large needles
    5. Many charities accept knitted hats for chemotherapy patients and others in need. Check out The Daily Knitter for a list of charitiesThe Daily Knitter: Knitting for Charity

  • Introduction

    • Contrary to popular belief, knitting a hat is easy! When you knit your own hat, you can control the fiber, color, and size to make a truly one-of-a-kind item. Read on to learn how to knit a hat!

  • Before You Begin

    • Before you can begin knitting your hat, you should know:
    1. How to make a slip knot and cast onKnittingHelp.com: Casting On Stitches
    2. How to make a knit stitch
    3. How to knit two stitches togetherAbout.com: Knit Two Together
    4. How to read a basic knitting patternPurple Kitty Yarns: Knitting Pattern Abbreviations
    • Though it will be helpful to know how to knit in the round before beginning your hat, this tutorial also covers the basics of knitting in the round.
    • After you've knitted a basic hat, you may want to incorporate more complex designs. See KnittingHelp.com for help learning other types of stitches.KnittingHelp.com: Learn How to Knit

  • What You'll Need

    1. Yarn
      • Generally, bulky weight yarn will knit up faster than a lightweight fingering yarn.
    2. Needles
    3. Scissors
    4. Tapestry needle
    5. Tape measure

  • Step One: Knit a Gauge Swatch

    • You should knit a gauge swatch for two reasons:Earth Guild: Understanding Knitting Gauge
      1. It helps determine that you are using the correct size needles and that you are knitting up a fabric density you like.
      2. It helps determine the number of stitches you will cast on to knit your hat.
    • Knit your gauge swatch in the round, since you will be knitting your hat in the round. You should always swatch the same way you will knit the entire project. See About.com for help knitting a circular gauge swatch.About.com: Knitting a Circular Gauge Swatch
      1. Cast on 10-20 stitches.
      2. Knit in stockinette stitch (or, if you are not knitting a stockinette stitch hat, in whatever stitch pattern you will be using) for 10-20 rows.About.com: Stockinette Stitch
        • Stockinette stitch is typically alternating rows of knits and purls. However, when you knit in the round, a stockinette stitch is created simply by knitting.
      3. Bind off.
      4. Use your tape measure to measure how many stitches you are getting to an inch of knitted fabric.
        • In stockinette stitch, each little V is a stitch.

  • Step Two: Calculate the Number of Stitches

    1. Using your tape measure, measure the circumference of the head of the person who will be wearing this hat. If you can't measure the head of the recipient, measure the head of someone similar.
      • For example, measure an adult man's head for an adult man's hat; measure a toddler's head for a toddler's hat.
    2. Multiply your gauge (the number of stitches in an inch) by the circumference of the head in inches.
      • For example, if your gauge swatch shows that you get 4 stitches to an inch, and your head measures 23 inches in circumference, 4 x 23 = 92 stitches.
    3. The answer you get (92 in the above example) is the number of stitches you should cast on.
      • Make sure the number of cast-on stitches is an easily divisible number.
      • Technically, any number that is divisible by another number will do; however, if your cast-on number is easily divisible by 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12, decreasing for the crown of the hat will be easier.

  • Step Three: Cast On and Join in the Round

    1. Decide whether you will use DPNs or a circular needle.
      • Many knitters find circular needles much easier to work with, especially for their first hat.CrazyAuntPurl: May the circle be unbroken However, when you begin to decrease for the top of the hat, the number of stitches on your needles will begin to shrink, and eventually you'll have to work the very end of your hat on DPNs. Circular needles are great for large-circumference round knitting; DPNs are necessary for small-circumference knitting.
      • There are other methods for knitting small-diameter pieces, the most popular being Magic Loop. See KnitWiki for help with Magic Loop knitting.KnitWiki: Magic Loop
    2. Cast on.
      • If you are using DPNs, divide your stitches as evenly as possible across three or four of the needles.
    3. Join in the round.
      • Every knitter has his or her own method for joining in the round. The most popular and easiest is to turn all your stitches inward to make sure there are no twists. Hold the needle with the working yarn in your right hand and simply knit into the stitch on the left needle.YouTube: Join in the round (Time: 2:54)
      • Pull the first one or two stitches after the join tight so you don't create a ladder of loose stitches.Knitty: Double-pointed needles...friend or foe?

  • Step Four: Knit the Body of the Hat

    1. If you want a hat with a brim that rolls up, knit the entire body of the hat in stockinette stitch.
    2. If you want the brim of your hat to lie flat against the head, knit an inch or so of ribbing before beginning to knit in stockinette stitch.HowStuffWorks: Knitting Stitch Patterns
      • 1 x 1 (knit 1, purl 1) or 2 x 2 (knit 2, purl 2) ribbing works best for this.

  • Step Five: Decrease for the Crown of the Hat

    • Here's why it's important to make your cast-on number easily divisible: Decreasing.
      • Example: Let's say you cast on 90 stitches for your hat. 90 is easily divisible by 10. So for this example, think of your hat as 9 sections of 10 stitches. To decrease, you will knit 2 stitches together (k2tog). So in each section of 10 stitches, you will knit 8, k2tog. (This equals 10 stitches worked in each section.)
    1. Knit one round of decreases.
      • In our example, this means to knit 8, k2tog, to the end of the round.
    2. Knit one round.
      • You will only knit each stitch on this round. Do not decrease.
    3. Knit the next round of decreases.
      • As you continue decreasing, the number of stitches in each section will be smaller by one. In our example, on Round 3 you will knit 7, k2tog, for the entire round.
    4. Knit one round.
    • Continue on, alternating the decrease rounds with a round of plain knitting.
    • If you are using a circular needle, you will eventually have too few stitches on the needles to continue working comfortably. At this point, you will need to switch your knitting to DPNs. Crazy Aunt Purl has a humorous, but helpful, take on this.Crazy Aunt Purl: Easy Roll-Brim Knit Hat Recipe

  • Step Six: Finishing

    • When you have decreased to the point where your decrease round is k2tog around, it's time to finish!
    1. Clip the working yarn from the ball, leaving 6 inches.
    2. Thread tapestry needle.
    3. Weave yarn through the stitches that remain on the needles, slipping them off the needles as you go.
    4. Pull the yarn through the hole in the top of the hat and pull tight from the inside of the hat. Your hat should be closed up with no hole in the top.
    5. Weave in the ends.
      • One of knitting's cardinal rules is "no knots!" However, it's okay to secure a tiny knot on the inside of your hat. Nobody will ever know!

  • Model Your Finished Hat


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