How to Knit a Beanie

How to Knit a Beanie

Designing a knitted hat: size guidelines













































Size Beanie Circumference To beginning of crown
preemie 11-12 inches 4 inches
infant 13-15 inches 4.5 inches
baby/toddler 14-16 inches 4.5 inches
child 15-17 inches 5 inches
adult small or kid large 17-19 inches 5 inches
adult medium 18-20 inches 5 inches
adult large 21-23 inches 5.5 inches

 

Update January 31, 2012: If you want to go beyond the basics, I just found a great, very detailed, head sizing chart at Tottoppers. You can also buy Kate Oates's Math for Hats pdf booklet.

 

Simplest Knitted Beanie Recipe


Multiply your gauge (stitches per 1 inch) by the desired circumference of the beanie. Round off the number of stitches to a multiple of 4. Cast on that number of stitches. Use a set of double pointed needles, 2 circular needles, or 1 short circular needle, and join in the round. Work about 1 1/2 inches of K2, P2 rib, then switch to stocking stitch. On the first row after the ribbing, increase or decrease a few stitches so that your total number of stitches is a multiple of 5. Knit without shaping to beginning of crown (see above measurement list for height of the hat to crown).

Decreasing for the crown:

Row 1: *Knit ((total number of sts/5) - 2), k2tog. Repeat from * to end of row.

for example, if you have 80 sts, you would [K14, k2tog] five times, and then have 75 sts.

Row 2: Knit

Row 3: *Knit ((new total number of sts/5) - 2), k2tog. Repeat from * to end of row.

Row 4: Knit

Continue decreasing like this (switching to dpn's if you started with a circular needle) until you have about 1/3 of your original stitch count. Then decrease every row, instead of every other row, until you have 10 stitches left. Then break your yarn, and thread the tail through the remaining stitches.

Looking for knitting books with hat patterns?



Back to blog