Crazy Hands

Simple Knit Hat Pattern on Circular Needles

simple knit hat pattern made in Swedish style (blue and yellow yarn color)

Before starting a new project, I went through my recent patterns and decided to add one more item to the wicker set that already includes mittens, cowl, and headband. You probably know already all the tips and tricks of wicker knitting style, so it’s going to be a real simple hat pattern for you :). This hat was knitted in Swedish national colors to celebrate the vivid memories of travelling around the country once and falling in love with it. Give a lovely touch to the things you craft as it always pays back by bringing those sweet memories from the past. I wish you to enjoy working on this simple knit hat or anything else you have in mind :).

Knitting materials and knitting tools:

<> Circular Knitting Needles 3.5 mm (US 4) and 4 mm (US 6);

<>  Gazzal (baby wool) 40% Lana Merino, 20% Cashmere Pa, 40% acrylic. Teal blue and yellow colors: 50 grams -100 m per skein – <1 ball – teal blue and <1.5 balls yellow;

Simple knit hat size: 

Adult 52-57 cm

Gauge: 19 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette

simple knit hat with yarn pom pom

Common abbreviations of knitting stitches:

k – knit

p – purl

k2tog – knit two together

inc – increase

Cable 3 Back (C3B): Slip 3 knit stitches to the extra needle and hold in back of the work, k3 from the left-hand needle, k3 from the extra needle.

cable 3 back (C3B) stitch - step one
cable 3 back (C3B) stitch - step two
cable 3 back (C3B) stitch - step three

Cable 3 Front (C3F): Slip 3 knit stitches to the extra needle and hold in front of the work, k3 from the left-hand needle, k3 from the extra needle.

cable 3 front (C3F) stitch - step one

cable 3 front (C3F) stitch - step two

cable 3 front (C3F) stitch - step three

Swedish-styled simple knit hat pattern

Knitting ribbing of the hat :

Using teal blue yarn and 3.5 mm circular needles cast on 100 stitches, place marker and join to work in the round. Be careful not to twist stitches. Knit k2, p2 ribbing until piece measures 5-6 cm.

ribbing of the simple hat knitted in Swedish colors

Knitting body of the hat:

In this round, we are going to increase. You can use any method you know or if you like my method please follow instructions. Change yarn color from teal blue to yellow and needle size from 3.5 to 4 mm.

How to increase on circular needles:

Take working yarn, and twist it clockwise.

how to increase from the previous round on circular needle - step one
how to increase from the previous round on circular needle - step two

Received loop put on the right needle.

how to increase from the previous round on circular needle - step three

Pull working yarn.

how to increase from the previous round on circular needle - step four

Here below I’m giving two different representation of the 1st round. I find representation of the first method a bit overwhelming and decided to simplify it for reading purpose by adding a variable. (Hope it helps a bit, if not – feel free to suggest your way – I’d be more than grateful for that)

Round 1: add 44 stitches to get in total 144 stitches (must be divisible by 6). In my case I did it next way –

[k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], k2, p2,
[k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], k2, p2,
[k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], k1, inc, k1, p2,
[k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], k1, inc, k1, p2,
[k1, inc, k1, inc, p2], [k1, inc, k1, inc, p2].

Representation with variable.

*- k1, inc, k1, inc, p2 – YMCA (variable)

YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, k2, p2,
YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, k2, p2,
YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, k1, inc, k1, p2,
YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, YMCA, k1, inc, k1, p2,
YMCA, YMCA.

 

Rounds 2-4: knit in stockinette stitch;

Round 5: [C3F] – 24 times;

Rounds 6-8: knit in stockinette stitch;

knitting body of the basic knit hat

Round 9: k3, [C3B]- 23 times, slip 3 knit stitches to the extra needle and hold them in the back of the work, k3 (it means that you start already knitting stitched from the Round 10), place marker.

round 9 of knitting hat's body - place marker - step one
round 9 of knitting hat's body - place marker - step two
round 9 of knitting hat's body - place marker - step three
round 9 of knitting hat's body - place marker - step four

Round 10: k3 from the extra needle and continue working in stockinette stitch;

Rounds 11-12: knit in stockinette stitch;

Repeat rounds 5-12 until hat measures 18-19 cm from the edge.

half-finished body of the simple knit hat

Shaping crown of the hat:

After you finished knitting the 12th round, you start decreasing the hat.

Round 1: *Slip 3 knit stitches to the extra needle and hold in front of work, k2tog, k1 from the left-hand needle, twist next stitch, k2tog, k1 from the extra needle – repeat from* to end of round.

Round 2-4: knit in stockinette stitch;

Round 5: k2, [slip 2 knit stitches to the extra needle and hold in back of work, twist next stitch, k2tog from the left hand needle, twist stitch, k2tog from the extra needle] – 23 times, slip 2 knit stitches to the extra needle and hold in back of work, k2tog (it means that you start already knitting stitches from the Round 6), place marker.

Round 6: k2tog from the extra needle and continue working in stockinette stitch;

Round 7-8: knit in stockinette stitch;

Round 9: *k2tog- repeat from* to end of round.

Round 10: knit in stockinette stitch.

Cut the tail and thread it through remaining stitches. Pull tight and weave in ends. You are almost done – attach a pom pom made from teal blue yearns or ready-made fur pom pom and voila :).

Send you my warmest smile dear knitters and waiting for your comments, questions and suggestions.

Hej då!

Ann

basic yellow & blue knit hat with yarn pom pom and decor button

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46 comments

Barbara Ann Berry 3rd December 2016 at 17:16

Hello Ann, Could you please explain what YMCA means? I’ve never seen this before and it has me stumped. Thanks in advance. Barb

Reply
Crazyhands 4th December 2016 at 00:17

Hi dear Barbara, so sorry to confuse you, I wanted to simplify the representation of round 1 and, instead complicated everything 🙂 I’ll try to explain it here one more time and if didn’t work – I’ll remove those lines from the post. So “YMCA” is a variable, not an abbreviation or something else. “YMCA” is the same as “[k1, inc, k1, inc, p2]”. In each line I have the same number of “YMCA” as “[k1, inc, k1, inc, p2]”.
Please let me know whether my explanations helps a bit or not 🙂

Reply
Marie 5th December 2016 at 00:33

Hello Ann, Love this pattern. I am a beginner Knitter so this will be a stretch for me but can’t wait to try it. Can you tell me the length of the circular needle needed? You only mention the size of the needle but not the length. Also, is this for a mens hat or a womens? I would like to make one for my husband but not sure if this size will fit. You mention it is an “adult” size just not sure which adult. Thanks so much. And I will be sure to send you a picture regardless how crooked it turns out 🙂

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annanitato_175 5th December 2016 at 10:09

Hello Marie,
I am so excited you like this pattern because I also enjoy it a lot and soon I will post matching mittens pattern :).
The length of needles I used is 16″ (about 40 cm). This hat is unisex style and can be knit for men and women. I believe it is going to be great if you knit one for yourself and one for your husband – real Family Look ;).
This hat has a circumference of 52-57 cm which should be all right for both of you. But of course check yours circumferences. In case you have bigger circumference than 57 cm, I would suggest to take heavier yarns and bigger size of needles without changing any other parameters.
Can’t wait to see your creations! Good Luck!
Ann

Reply
Gunjan 17th December 2016 at 06:02

Hello Ann,

Love this pattern! Very well explained too. I am making this hat for myself and am shaping the crown. Little confused about which needle I should be twisting the stitch from while shaping the crown (Round 1, Round 5 while shaping crown). Thanks!

Reply
annanitato_175 17th December 2016 at 08:44

Hello Gunjan,
In Round 1 I slip 3 knit stitches to the extra needle and hold in front of the work, in Round 5 as I decreased before I slip not 3 but 2 stitches to the extra needle and hold in back of work. So it means in Round 1 you twist to the left and in Round 5 to the right. Please let me know if I got your question correctly otherwise I will explain one more time. Please follow me on FB or Instagram and share your work 🙂

Reply
Adele 7th February 2017 at 21:03

I love this hat. I have been knitting since I was 8 years old and am 86 years now.
I have these colors in ” Red Heart with Love” yarn and hope I converted the amount if stitches needed as the gauge is 16 stitches =4 in. I cast on 84 stitches and added 36 stitches after the 2k 2p. I haven’t figured out if I will be able to use the 1k inc 1k inc 2p and come out with the 36 stitch inc at the end but I will try. My math only goes so far. Thanks much

Reply
annanitato_175 8th February 2017 at 08:53

Dear Adele, you made my day brighter today. I am 28 years old and I do really appreciate that such advanced knitter as you knit my hats.
Regarding your hat – try to redistribute increases as equal as possible. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Reply
Adele 8th February 2017 at 22:02

Thank you for your reply. After reading the suggestions for increasing I realized that it can be done in different ways so I have figured out how I will do it. Thanks again.

Reply
Mandy 9th February 2017 at 08:38

Thank you so much for pattern. I am currently on the crown and do not understand what you mea by twisting stitch. Am I adding a stitch or just twisting a stitch and slipping it without knitting it? Thanks for your help!!!

Reply
annanitato_175 10th February 2017 at 09:47

Hi Mandy,
I’ve turned stitch from the extra needle (slip, turn and put it back) and then k2tog. On the crown part you never add stitches, only decrease. Let me know if it is still unclear

Reply
Alanna 24th September 2017 at 06:09

Hi there wondering if you have this pattern but worked flat.. I find I am dense when it comes to knitting in the round!

Reply
mary 16th October 2017 at 17:32

any ideas about how to make this for a child? Thanks – love the look of your hat.

Reply
editor 6th November 2017 at 10:25

Hi Mary,
You can simply cast on the smaller amount of stitches. Don’t forget that total number of stitches after increasing round must be divisible by 6. Later on I am planning to write pattern for kids.

Reply
Agata 23rd October 2017 at 13:50

Hello Ann,
I also have some troubles with decreasing, especially with 1st round. After I slip 3 stitches to the extra needle, should I k2tog stitches from this extra neeedle or from left-handed needle? You only mentioned about k1 from the extra needle at the of the reapeat section, what about the 2 other stitches on the extra needle?

Reply
Agata 26th October 2017 at 22:16

Hello Ann,
I have some trouble with decreasing. At first round I should k2tog stitches from extra needle or from lef-handed needle or else what to do with two stitches from extra needle. Thank you for your help 🙂

Reply
editor 6th November 2017 at 10:12

Agata, I have finally found your comment. I hope everything is clear now after my comment on ravelry 🙂

Reply
Marlene Stifelman 1st November 2017 at 15:18

I dislike using a circular needle. I love the hat. How can I use two regular needles to make it rather than the circular? Thanks.

Reply
editor 5th November 2017 at 23:07

Hello Marlene. Add 2 selvage stitches to the main pattern (in my case 100+2=102 stitches). Follow the pattern and at the very end sew 2 selvage stitches of each row together. The biggest difference will be in wrong side rows that you have to change.
Selvage stitches – (always slip the first stitch purlwise, work to the last stitch, purl the last stitch)

Reply
Jena 12th November 2017 at 20:16

Hi , I love this pattern but would love to do this in color work. So as to alternate the colors having a bit of trouble at the next round suggestions?

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editor 13th November 2017 at 12:06

Hi Jena? what problems do you see? small holes or something else?

Reply
Ivana 2nd January 2018 at 12:03

Hi, would you say that I can use same needle size if using 2-3 threads to make that ombre effect? or should I increase? if yes will the final size of a hat be much bigger? thanks a lot

Reply
Crazy Hands Knitting Editor 2nd January 2018 at 13:24

If 2-3 threads give same or almost the same gauge as mentioned in the pattern, then yes you can use the same needle size. Ivana could you please share picture when you finish I do really wonder how this hat looks with ombre effect.

Reply
Kass 28th January 2018 at 04:42

I love this hat pattern however I would like to use heavier weight yarn is there any way to modify this pattern to do it with less stitches?

Reply
Crazy Hands Knitting Editor 29th January 2018 at 15:21

Hi,
Yes you can simply modify it. There main part of the pattern after ribbing part have to be divisible by 6. Check your gauge and do calculations for you head circumference. Let me know if you have other questions.

Reply
Carly 10th February 2018 at 21:47

Can you modify this for a 12mo old?

Reply
Crazy Hands Knitting Editor 13th February 2018 at 02:16

Hi, you can do it easily by yourself if you know your gauge and what kind of yarns you are going to use.

Reply
Molly 26th March 2018 at 02:33

Hi Ann,

I have the same question as Agata about round 1 of decreasing and do not know how to find your reply on ravelry. Would you mind posting it here?

Thank you so much!

Reply
Crazy Hands Knitting Editor 26th March 2018 at 13:44

Molly, I have sent an answer on Ravelry

Reply
CMac 30th April 2018 at 22:45

I do not see the answer anywhere on Ravelry, do you have a link? I’m having trouble understanding the decrease as well

Reply
Crazy Hands Knitting Editor 30th April 2018 at 23:37

Hi, What kind of problem do you have?

Here is my answer to Molly:
Round 1: Slip 3 knit stitches to the extra needle and hold in front of work, k2tog, k1 from the left-hand needle, twist next stitch, k2tog, k1 from the extra needle – repeat from to end of round.

Yes. you slip 3 stitches, then make k2tog, k1 from the left-hand needle and after the same from the extra needle. It means that you decrease from 6 stitches to 4.

Reply
CMac 1st May 2018 at 01:33

Do you actually twist a stitch or does twist mean to then knit from the extra needle?

Crazy Hands Knitting Editor 2nd May 2018 at 16:02

Hi. Yes I twist stitch or turn it, to make next k2tog more accurate. You can skip it and just k2tog

CMac 2nd May 2018 at 21:49

Thank you! It’s such a beautiful pattern, I love the look of this hat!

Reply
Danielle 17th August 2018 at 20:13

hi
i just love this pattern. i would like to make it for my daughter how would i do that. how many stitches

Reply
Crazy Hands Knitting Editor 20th August 2018 at 00:28

Hi, I need to know your gauge and head circumference. Then I can help you

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Andrea 12th October 2018 at 19:21

Hi, love this pattern. May i ask what cast on method did you use?

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Knitting Guru 16th October 2018 at 00:27

Hi Andrea, It does not matter what kind of cast on method you are going to use. I used long tail cast on method.

Reply
Marie 6th March 2019 at 19:11

To all those that have had questions on the decrease rounds. I came up with all the same questions as many of you. I LOVE this pattern and just completed the beanie for the first time. It turned out OK not great has the decrease rounds were not clear. In the next few weeks I will update my post with how I completed the decrease rounds.

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Knitting Guru 7th March 2019 at 17:56

Looking forward Marie

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Julie FOLIO 12th December 2019 at 18:29

I’m incredibly lost with the decreasing part as well…
Like, it doesn’t make sens to me at all…, you sleep 3 sts on the extra needle, K2tog from the left needle (?), K1 from the left needle, twist next stitch (is there a difference between “twist next stitch” and “twist stitch” ?)(also not sure what that means and from which needle), next K2tog from which needle? SSOO LOOOOSSSTT !

Reply
Knitting Guru 15th December 2019 at 00:28

Hi Julie. Well I see your problem. Just skip that part of “twist next sts” or “twist stitch”. Round 1: *Slip 3 knit stitches to the extra needle and hold in front of work, [k2tog, k1] from the left-hand needle, [k2tog, k1] from the extra needle – repeat from* to end of round. Work in the same way all other rounds. By twisting I meant just to change stitches’ direction to make decreases look more smooth.

Reply
Sharpee 14th October 2022 at 06:59

Hi just wanted to say you have the wrong nr. of increases when adding the new color. You say it needs to be 144, but you increase by 42 (21X ymca). Just throwing it out there so others don’t have to reknit as I did.
Other than that, absolutely beautiful pattern, than you!

Reply
Ann 15th October 2022 at 00:34

Hi Sharpee. I am happy you like the pattern. I double checked it and there are no mistakes. 21 ymca is correct, but there are 2 increases (k1, inc, k1, p2), that are not as variable ymca. So I wrote them without abbreviation. Anyway thank you for your feedback!

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Alis Hobbs 26th December 2022 at 03:44

I’ve loved knitting this hat twice, but I always seem to lose concentration towards the end so I end up with snakes rather than cables!!! But it’s still cosy and warm and a man in a galloping horse will never notice., I think I’m going to put markers at every 24 stitches next time – then It’s quicker to check if it starts going out of kilter!!
Now my son wants one in these colours because it looks like the Simpsons! Well.. I love these colours too, so I might make myself one too!

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Ann 30th December 2022 at 19:56

Good idea to place markers this way. I suggest such method for those who finishes knitting with one extra stitch always)

Reply

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