Are you thinking of knitting a hat? The project might sound easy but far from it, knitting hats are a challenge, especially for beginners in the knitting world. But, once you are in love with the craft, there is no stopping. Given the right set of knitting needles, you can knit hats easily.

Circular knitting is a great way to make a hat and to avoid seaming. Over the centuries knitters came up with quite a few ways to work in the round using four or five needles. But, one way of working in the round became an instant hit, called “the magic loop”. This technique requires circular knitting needles.

So, before you start the knitting hat project without any particular pattern, here is all you need:

Before we move forward with our hat knitting guide, let me shine some light on the needle material, sizes and yarn.

Needle materials to knit a hat

Every knitter has one’s own favourite or favourites when it comes to the needle material. The same applies when taking up the project of knitting a hat. Some knitters find metal or stainless steel comfortable, others are fond of wood or bamboo. Acrylic and carbon is also popular choice for their benefits. There is no right and wrong to the choice of the material of a knitting needle for hats.

Knitting Needle length

In terms of length, circular needles of 16″ (40 cm) will be ideal for most hats. If you are knitting a tiny little hat for a baby 12″ (30 cm) circular needles are the perfect fit. The length of double-pointed needles for knitting a hat is 8″ (15 cm) to 10″ (20 cm) for adults. For the small size hats, 4″ or 6″ inches knitting needles will suffice. For knitting hats, whether you use circulars or double-pointed, take a smaller size needle for cast-on the project while for the rest of the project knit with the recommended size.

Yarn to knit a hat

When it comes to knitting, yarn is the most important thing. For knitting hats, the style, the season and even the person who shall wear the hat also are deciding factors when choosing yarn.

While many knitters prefer to use wool and acrylic blends to knit warm hats, there are many other options. Cotton yarn is preferred for babies and summer wear. For yarn weight, we recommend either worsted or bulky weight yarn. Super bulky yarn is also an option but stay away from jumbo yarn as it will be too chunky for such a small project. Appropriate-sized knitting needles for each weight make the perfect hat.

Figuring out the stitches of the Hat Knitting Project

As we are planning to knit a hat without a pattern, it’s best that start with a small gauge with either your circular needles or double pointed ones. The knitted gauge must be blocked properly to understand and calculate the number of stitches. In order to figure out how many stitches to cast on, follow these steps:

Measure the circumference of the head the hat is intended for with a tape measure.
Multiply the head circumference by the number of stitches you got per inch of your knitted gauge.
Consider negative ease of knitting, therefore multiply the number by 85% and not 100%.
Round to the closest multiple that suits the ribbing of your choice (1x1 or 2x2 ribs, etc.).
Before you cast on, calculate the decrease of the crown of the hat with stitches in multiples of either 7, 8, 9 or 10.

So, now that you have all information, let’s move on with how to knit a hat.

With Circular Knitting Needles

Circular needles are the perfect tool for knitting in the round. Circular knitting needles make knitting in the round more comfortable. Firstly, there is no seaming to be done later like one needs to do after flat knitting. Secondly, circular needles distribute the weight of the knitting project on the cable. This ensures less hand fatigue and therefore effortless knitting for longer periods of time hence timely completion. In addition, the ergonomic design of short needles of circulars ensures that your hands and arms are positioned in a way that does not stress your shoulders and back.

There are two types of circular knitting needles. The first variety is fixed circular needles. This means both knitting needles are firmly connected by a cable. The needles are available in different sizes in different materials and come with fixed cables of different lengths and different flexible materials.

Interchangeable circular knitting needles form the second type. These needles are different in a way that the cables can be changed as per the needs of your knitting projects. This needle set can be assembled easily as per convenience. The set has knitting needles of different lengths and materials that can be mounted on cables of different lengths. The set comes with cord connectors and cable keys for proper fixing of the cables to the needles.

So, here is how to start knitting hats with circular needles:

Step 1 - Cast on stitches on your fixed or interchangeable circular needles using the long-tail cast-on method. Place a stitch marker and carefully align the stitches in the same direction, and join to knit in the round.

Step 2 - Place a stitch marker for the beginning of the round. Knit four rounds. This will allow the knitting to curl to form the roll-up brim.

Step 3 - Switch to knit one stitch, Purl one ribbing, and knit round rounds in ribbing.

Step 4 - Work a knit on knitting together to decrease one stitch. Then work on the pattern stitch for seven inches or to the desired height.

Step 5 - Knit one round, then begin decreasing. Continue for a few more rounds. At this point, you can carefully try on the hat to see if you would like to add more length before beginning the decreases. If you need more height to the hat, add a few more rounds of pattern stitch before continuing.

Step 6- Cut yarn leaving about several inches of tail. Draw the tail through the remaining stitches and fasten off. Weave in yarn ends.

Step 7 – The hat is complete, add a pompom or a bow.

With Double Pointed Needles

Knitters love their double-pointed needles (DPNs) and they have reasons to do so. These needles have been the oldest tools of knitting. Experience crafters can easily have a hat or any project growing from the set. But we know that some of you are worried about balancing four or five needles at once. So here is a step-by-step guide to knitting a hat on double pointed knitting needles.

Step 1 - Start by casting on stitches using your preferred cast-on method onto one needle.

Step 2 - Divide the stitches evenly over three needles so that each needle has about the same number of stitches.

Step 3 - The cast-on stitches are now evenly divided between three needles. They look funny, and that’s okay.

Step 4 - Arrange the needles so that the needle with the working yarn is positioned on the right side.

Step 5 - Arrange DPNs in a pyramid so that the needle with the working yarn is on right. Needle 4 has no stitches.

Step 6 - Use Needle 4 (the unused needle) to push into the first stitch on Needle 1, as if to knit.

Step 7 - Use the working yarn from Needle 3 and wrap it around Needle 4.

Step 8 - Continue wrapping the working yarn around Needle 4 as if to knit.

Step 9 - Knit into the first stitch on Needle 1.

Step 10 - After knitting into the first stitch from Needle 1, pull it off the needle. You have just joined in the round!

Step 11 - Using Needle 4, knit into the second stitch from Needle 1, using the working yarn from Needle 3.

Step 12 - Continue knitting from Needle 1 using Needle 4. All 4 DPNs are connected together forming one mix.

Step 13 - After knitting from Needle 1, turn the needle pyramid so the needle with working yarn is on the right.

Step 14 - Continue to knit around the needle pyramid, using Needle 4 to knit into Needle 1, repeating steps 6-14.

Step 15 - After knitting all 3 needles of the needle pyramid, you’ve completed one round. Continue knitting!

Step 16– Once you have the tube knitting grow, keep measuring till you have achieved the length you desire.

Now, that you have all information needed to knit a hat, all you need are knitting needles, yarn and tools. Check out our KnitPro blog to know more about knitting with circular needles as well as double-pointed knitting needles. Learn everything you need to know about knitting in the round with the magic loop.