How to Crochet a Basic Hat

Crocheting a hat is a great way to learn many different techniques of crochet: sc, hdc, dc stitches, how to crochet in the round, how to calculate the size of a hat, & more.

Head & Hat Measurements

Lets start with a chart. This chart has basic Head Circumference measurements for each age of person & what the Hat Circumference & Hat Height should be for the specific age of the person.

• Circumference of the Head is measured in a circle starting at the forehead, around the back of the head, & ending at the same spot from where you began on the forehead.
  
• Typically, Circumference of the Hat is 1"-2" smaller than the Circumference of the Head, so that the hat fits snug & does not fall off of the head. But this can be changed if needed.
  
• Hat Height is measured in a straight line starting at the forehead (typically where the wearer likes the brim of the hat to lay, ie above the eyebrows) straight back to the center top (Crown) of head.
  

**Tip: when making any crochet item that involves sizing, it is ALWAYS better to get exact measurements of the person than to assume what size to make.

So now that you have an idea of head & hat sizes, lets begin choosing what stitch we want to use.

• Sc (Single Crochet) is the smallest in height of all stitches. Sc will make a firm feeling fabric, with no movement between the stitches. Since the sc is the smallest st, more rounds will have to be made in order to obtain the desired length of the hat. Sc will also produce a hat that has very minimal stretch.
• Hdc (Half Double Crochet) is slightly taller than Sc. Hdc will make a firm feeling fabric, but will have a bit more movement between the stitches than Sc due to the fact that Hdc is a bit taller than Sc. Hdc will produce a hat that has a bit of stretch.
• Dc (Double Crochet) is the tallest of the 3 sts mentioned here. It is double the height of Sc, so in theory how ever many rounds you make in Sc will be half in Dc & vice versa. Dc will make a very moveable fabric that will be slightly holey or lacy due to the normal spaces that are created when working a taller stitch. Dc will also produce a hat that has a good amount of stretch.

These are the basic steps in making a hat (which will be detail below):

1. Starting at the Crown, you will start with a basic number of sts & evenly increase stitches in each round to make a flat circle.
2. You will keep evenly increasing the stitches on each round of the flat circle until that circle equals the circumference you need for the size of the hat.
3. You will then stop increasing stitches & work rounds until the desired length is reached.

In order to determine how many stitches to start with for your first round, the rule of thumb for each stitch is this:

• Sc - 6 stitches
  
• Hdc - 8 stitches
  
• Dc - 10 stitches

**The reason the total number of stitches to start with is different for each stitch is because of the tallness of each stitch. The Sc will produce a smaller circle, so it needs less stitches to make a complete circle. And so the Dc will produce a larger circle, so therefore needs more stitches to make a complete circle.

In order to properly increase stitches in each round to make a flat circle, the rule of thumb is you must increase the number of stitches you began with for each round. Example, if you started with 6 stitches, then the next round will have 12 stitches, & the next round will have 18 stitches, and so on. This sounds more difficult that what it actually is. but here is a great way to remember it & this works no matter what number of stitches you start with:

• Rnd 1 - Starting number of stitches. Ex, 6 (Rnd 1 = 1 stitch in each repeat)
• Rnd 2 - 2 stitches in each stitch. Ex, 12 (Rnd 2 = 2 stitches in each repeat)
• Rnd 3 - (2 stitches in next stitch, 1 stitch in next stitch) repeat. Ex, 18 (Rnd 3 = 3 stitches in each repeat)
• Rnd 4 - (2 stitches in next stitch, stitch in next 2 stitches) repeat. Ex, 24 (Rnd 4 = 4 stitches in each repeat)
• Rnd 5 - (2 stitches in next stitch, stitch in next 3 stitches) repeat. Ex, 30 (Rnd 5 = 5 stitches in each repeat)
• Rnd 6 - (2 stitches in next stitch, stitch in next 4 stitches) repeat. Ex 36 (Rnd 6 = 6 stitches in each repeat)

So you can see, this is structured like a very basic Algebraic equation: each round increases in the same number of stitches, the Rnd number will always equal the number of stitches that are repeated, & the number of stitches made after the initial increase in the repeat will always increase by 1 for each round. Also, the number of stitches you started with will be how many repeats are in each round.

So let's start to crochet!
In this example, we will make a hat for an Adult Woman that has a 22" head circumference. She would like her hat to fit snug with just a bit of stretch, so we will make the had with Hdc stitches.
Worsted Weight #4 yarn & a 5.5mm hook.

Rnd 1) Ch 2, 8 hdc in 2nd ch from hook (skipped chain does not count as a st), join with a sl st to 1st hdc. {8 hdc}

Rnd 2) Ch 1 (does NOT count as a st, now & throughout), 2 hdc in same st as join & in each st around, join with a sl st to 1st hdc. {16 hdc}

Rnd 3) Ch 1, 2 hdc in same st as join, hdc in next st, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next st) repeat around, join with a sl st to 1st hdc. {24 hdc}

Rnd 4) Ch 1, 2 hdc in same st as join, hdc in next 2 sts, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 2 sts) repeat around, join with a sl st to 1st hdc. {32 hdc}

Rnd 5) Ch 1, 2 hdc in same st as join, hdc in next 3 sts, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 3 sts) repeat around, join with a sl st to 1st hdc. {40 hdc}

Rnd 6) Ch 1, 2 hdc in same st as join, hdc in next 4 sts, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 4 sts) repeat around, join with a sl st to 1st hdc. {48 hdc}

Rnd 7) Ch 1, 2 hdc in same st as join, hdc in next 5 sts, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 5 sts) repeat around, join with a sl st to 1st hdc. {56 hdc}

Rnd 8) Ch 1, 2 hdc in same st as join, hdc in next 5 sts, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 5 sts) repeat around, join with a sl st to 1st hdc. {64 hdc}

How to Calculate 
the Circumference of your Hat

At any time when making the increased flat circle, you can measure the hat to make sure the Circumference of the hat will be accurate. Here is the formula:

Diameter of Circle in inches X 3.14 (Pi) = Circumference of Hat

• At this point, our hat measures 7" across the diameter of the circle. I multiply that by 3.14 & get 21.98. So, when you round the number to the nearest whole number, the Circumference at this point will be 22"

So now, you have achieved the Circumference of the hat & you will stop increasing. You will work 1 hdc in each st (no longer putting 2 hdc in a st) to achieve the Length you need for the hat.

• To measure for Length - you can follow the chart at the top of the page. For a Woman's 22" hat - the height should be 7"-8". You will measure from the Center of the circle to one edge (the Radius of the circle). At this point, our hat length is 3.5" (or half of the 7" Diameter measurement you measured above for the Circumference).