How to Crochet a Baby Hat Step-By-Step

By Kathryn Vercillo

Crocheted baby hat

Having a solid baby hat pattern is a must: you can turn to it again and again, knowing you’ll always have something adorable to bring to the baby shower. Just think of this tutorial about how to crochet a baby hat as a recipe — add in whatever yarn you want and crochet at whichever gauge makes you happy. There’s always room to adapt and make the hat entirely your own.

Crochet Baby Hat

Level: Easy

What You Need

  • Yarn (approximately 60 yards, will vary based on size)
  • Crochet hook: pick a size suited to your yarn

Pro Tip: Choose a yarn that’s soft (like wool, if baby isn’t allergic), machine washable (new parents do not have time to hand wash) and fun to work with. We used Cloudborn Pima Cotton DK Yarn and a size G crochet hook.

Choose a Size

You need to know two measurements before you begin: the diameter and the length. For our example, which will be sized for a 6-month-old, we’ll use a diameter of 4½” and a length of 5½”. If you’re not sure what those measurements should be for the size you want to make, follow these suggestions:

  • Size: Premie (Diameter: 2¾”; Length: 4″)
  • Size: Newborn (Diameter: 3½”; Length: 5″)
  • Size: 0-3 Months (Diameter: 4″; Length: 6″)
  • Size: 3-6 Months (Diameter: 4½”; Length: 7″)
  • Size: 6-9 Months (Diameter: 5½”; Length: 7½”)
  • Size: 12 Months (Diameter: 6½”; Length: 8″)
  • Size: 24 Months-4T (Diameter: 6¾”; Length: 8½”)

Remember, it’s always better to err on the side of too big when it comes to hats for babies: they grow fast, and eventually that hat is going to fit.

Abbreviations

Instructions

Start With a Flat Circle

This hat is worked from the crown down, starting with a flat circle.

Pro Tip: You can crochet the circle using any stitches you want, working as many rounds as necessary to achieve the desired diameter. We used double crochet stitches in the example shown here.

crochet baby hat round 1

Round 1: Ch 3 and work 9 dc in third chain from hook. (Or crochet a magic ring or adjustable loop and make 10 dc inside it.) Join the last stitch to the top of the first stitch to close the ring. (Total of 10 dc st.)

crochet baby hat round 2

Round 2: Chain 3 (counts as first dc). 1 dc in same stitch as ch 3. 2 dc in each stitch around. Sl st to top of ch 3 to finish round. (Total of 20 dc st.)

crochet baby hat round 3

Round 3: Chain 3 (counts as first dc). 2 dc in next stitch. *1 dc, 2 dc. Repeat from * around. Sl st to top of ch 3 to finish round. (Total of 30 dc st.)

crochet baby hat round 4

Round 4: Chain 3 (counts as first dc). 1 dc, 2 dc. *1 dc, 1 dc, 2 dc. Repeat from * around. Sl st to top of ch 3 to finish round. (Total of 40 dc st.)

crochet baby hat round 5

Round 5: Chain 3 (counts as first dc). 1 dc, 1 dc, 2 dc. *1 dc, 1 dc, 1 dc, 2 dc. Repeat from * around. Sl st to top of ch 3 to finish round. (Total of 50 dc st.)

Remember to measure the diameter of your circle after each round to determine when you’ve reached the size that you want. In our example, we reached the 4½” diameter after five rounds of double crochet. You could continue with additional rounds until you reach your diameter, then it’s time to move onto the body of the hat.

Crochet the Body of the Hat

crochet baby hat in 10 rounds

You’ll create the hat’s body by continuing to create rounds but without any increasing. You’ll simply crochet one stitch in each stitch from the round below, adding rows until you reach the length (from crown to bottom row) that you desire.

Round 6: Chain 3 (counts as first dc). Dc in each stitch around. Sl st to top of ch 3 to finish round. (Total 50 dc st per round).

Repeat Round 6 until your hat reaches your desired length. For me, I reached the 5½” length after five rounds of the body of the hat (10 rounds total in the hat).

Add an Edging

Completed crocheted baby hat

Adding a crochet edging is totally optional, but definitely adds a bit of flair to an otherwise basic hat. Bear in mind that an edging will increase the overall length of your hat. If you’re concerned about an exact fit, add the edging into your calculations.

An edging doesn’t have to be fancy: we used a simple single crochet border by adding an 11th round to the baby hat by working ch 1 (counts as first sc), sc in each st around, sl st to ch 1 to close the round (for a total of 50 sc stitches).

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39 Responses to “How to Crochet a Baby Hat Step-By-Step”

  11. carole

    I love to crochet but over the years I seam to have forgotten most of it. Will definitely try again as it should come back to me….. thank you…gonna see if it works

    Reply
  13. Marlene Triana

    Not a beginner but could not find a pattern for baby hat. Thank you so much. Now I can fiddle around with edgings. Something to frill it up.

    Reply
  23. Susan A Anderson

    Thank you for the baby hat pattern, I have been looking for just like this. Do you have a baby sweater, booty, and blanket pattern. Your pattern is perfect. Thanks

    Reply
  24. Tj

    I’m very grateful for this crochet baby hat pattern. I usually have problems with rounds but this was not hard and the photos and simple instructions were easy to follow. Thank you very much.

    Reply
  26. Amy

    Thank you very much for providing the method of making hats, it is very helpful for me as a novice, thank you so much

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hello Dee,

      Thank you for contacting us. You can always save the article to a word document and then edit out the pictures before printing.

      Thanks!

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  33. Nancy

    Looks like a great explanation of the circle. And cap. Can I get a copy of directions sent to my email?

    Reply
      • Customer Service

        Hello Vickie,

        I am happy to hear you enjoy our content. You can simply copy and past the content to a word document to gain access to it later.

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        Reply