Want to make your own cozy, slouchy crochet beanie? All you need to know are some basic crochet stitches! Read on for a free crochet pattern that shows you step-by-step how to create a super slouchy beanie — with enough tips and extra info along the way so that you can adapt the design to suit your style.
Photos by Kathryn Vercillo of Crochet Concupiscence
Crochet slouchy beanie vs. basic beanie
It’s helpful to understand what makes a slouchy hat different from a basic beanie like this one.
The basic beanie
A basic crochet beanie is made by crocheting a circle sized to the right diameter and then crocheting the rest of the body without increases, making a very simply shaped hat.
You can get to know more about a basic beanie pattern with this tutorial. You’ll notice that the first six steps of these patterns are virtually identical to the first six rounds of this slouchy beanie crochet pattern!
The slouchy beanie
The slouchy beanie is made almost the same way as the basic beanie, but of course it is less fitted to the head. There are two major changes that you can make to create the “slouch”:
- Crochet the circle to a larger diameter. This makes the top portion of the hat slouchier, requiring that you make some decreases at the brim of the hat so that it properly hugs the head.
- Increase the length of the body of the beanie. In other words, you’d crochet extra rounds without increases to make a longer hat, adding slouch. This method means that you won’t necessarily have to decrease at the brim because it’s already sized to fit the head.
Both of these modifications will be made in this slouchy beanie crochet hat pattern.
What you need
Use a size J crochet hook with worsted weight yarn.
How to crochet a slouchy beanie
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The top of the hat
The top portion of the slouchy crochet beanie is the same as the top portion of any basic crochet beanie. Essentially, you’ll crochet a flat circle with proportional increases. However, for this hat, you’ll make the circle larger than the circumference of the head.
Round 1:
Chain 3 (counts as first double crochet here and throughout pattern), 9 dc into first ch, join with sl st to top of first ch 3 to close round. Total of 10 dc stitches.
Round 2:
Ch 3, dc in same st as joining, 2 dc in each st around, join with sl st to first ch 3 to close round. Total of 20 dc stitches.
Round 3:
Ch 3, 2 dc in next st,*dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, repeat from * to end, join with sl st to first ch 3 to close round. Total of 30 dc stitches.
Round 4:
Ch 3, 1 dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, *1 dc in each of next 2 st, 2 dc in next st, repeat from * to end, join with sl st to first ch 3 to close round. Total of 40 dc stitches.
Round 5:
Ch 3, 1 dc in each of next 2 st, 2 dc in next st, *1 dc in each of next 3 st, 2 dc in next st, repeat from * to end, join with sl st to first ch 3 to close round. Total of 50 dc stitches.
Round 6:
Ch 3, 1 dc in each of next 3 st, 2 dc in next st, *1 dc in each of next 4 st, 2 dc in next st, repeat from * to end, join with sl st to first ch 3 to close round. Total of 60 dc stitches.
Round 7:
Ch 3, 1 dc in each of next 4 st, 2 dc in next st, *1 dc in each of next 5 st, 2 dc in next st, repeat from * to end, join with sl st to first ch 3 to close round. Total of 70 dc stitches.
Round 8:
Ch 3, 1 dc in each of next 5 st, 2 dc in next st, *1 dc in each of next 6 st, 2 dc in next st, repeat from * to end, join with sl st to first ch 3 to close round. Total of 80 dc stitches.
Tip: Crocheting to eight rounds of double crochet with a large size J hook makes a crochet hat that’s extra slouchy. For a hat with a bit less slouch, you can either crochet fewer rounds (5-7 total) or you can work with a smaller crochet hook.
The body of the beanie
The body of the slouchy crochet beanie is more or less the same as the body of a basic crochet beanie in that you will continue adding rounds without increases to grow the height of the crochet hat. For this crochet beanie, add 8 additional rounds. Here are the instructions:
Rounds 9 – 16:
Ch 3, 1 dc in each st around, join with sl st to first ch 3 to close round. Total of 80 dc stitches per round.
Tip: If you want a hat with a subtler slouch, you can crochet a shorter body by adding fewer than 8 rows of double crochet.
Crocheting the hat’s brim
Because a basic beanie is sized to your head throughout the body, you can simply end off after the body or add an edging as the final row. But that’s not the case for slouchy beanies.
To get the hat to fit your head, you’ll need to crochet a tighter brim. There are two ways to do this:
- Switch to a smaller hook size.
- Decrease in the rounds.
Switch to smaller crochet hook
Remove the size J crochet hook from the work. Insert a size H crochet hook into the working loop to begin next round.
Decreasing the rounds
Round 17 – 18:
Ch 1 (counts as first single crochet here and throughout pattern), sc in each st around. Total of 80 sc stitches.
Round 19:
Ch 1, sc in each of next 6 st, sc2tog, *1 sc in each of next 7 st, sc2tog, repeat from * to end, join with sl st to ch 1 to close round. Total of 72 sc stitches.
Round 20:
Ch 1 , sc in each st around. Total of 72 sc stitches.
Round 21:
Ch 1, sc in each of next 5 st, sc2tog, *1 sc in each of next 6 st, sc2tog, repeat from * to end, join with sl st to ch 1 to close round. Total of 64 sc stitches.
Round 22:
Ch 1, sc in each st around. Total of 64 sc stitches.
Round 23:
Ch 1, sc in each of next 5 st, sc2tog, *1 sc in each of next 6 st, sc2tog, repeat from * to end, join with sl st to ch 1 to close round. Total of 56 sc stitches.
Round 24:
Ch 1, sc in each st around. Total of 56 sc stitches.
Tip: The brim of the hat should be tight enough to fit comfortably around your forehead so that the hat stays on your head. Test the fit after each round. If it fits properly before Round 24, end off there or continue without any additional decreases. If it is still loose after round 24, continue adding rounds with decreases until you get a proper fit.
Edging on the slouchy beanie
While a special edging is optional, it certainly adds a nice touch to the crochet beanie. Add a final round to the crochet hat to create a more finished look. This pattern uses a crab stitch edging, but there are many more you could choose from.
Round 25:
Ch 1, reverse single crochet in each st, join with sl st to first ch 3 to close round. Finish off and weave in ends.
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