Make your own cozy Freestyle Beanie with flexible sizing and yarn choices. This pattern shows a simple rectangular method using back-loop HDC rows to create a stretchy ribbed fabric you can seam into a hat. You can adapt yarn weight, add pom-poms, flowers, studs, or embroidery to make each hat uniquely yours. Clear step-by-step instructions and helpful notes guide you through measuring, shaping, decreasing and finishing.
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— Overview & Notes :
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Making a beanie without a pattern is super simple! It can be very freeing to create something without having to follow someone else's directions to the T. Basic beanies make excellent gifts and have so much potential for personalization! Be sure to watch the live event for a full tutorial!
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For this project, you can make a beanie in whichever yarn weight you like. Choose a hook that will give you a fairly firm gauge so that you do not have large holes between your stitches. Just to give you a frame of reference, I often use a worsted weight yarn (this is a #4) with a G/6 (4.0mm) hook, or a bulky yarn (#5) with an I/9 (5.5mm) hook or a super bulky weight (#6) with a K (6.5mm) or L (8.0mm) hook.
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Yarn usage is dependent on the thickness and type of yarn that you choose as well as the size of the beanie, how far the bottom of the hat is folded up, and gauge. Just for a ballpark idea of how much yarn is needed, I've listed my averages here for different yarn weights for a medium adult sized hat. You will need extra for a larger hat, less for a smaller hat, etc.
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Worsted weight (#4): approximately 290 yds. Bulky weight (#5): approximately 225 yds. Super Bulky weight (#6): 190 yds.
— Determine Size and Beginning Chain :
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Next, determine how tall you would like your hat to be. You can use a beanie that you already own and measure it from the top to bottom, or you can use your head to determine this measurement. To use your head, use a measuring tape to measure where the bottom edge of the hat should be and measure up to where you imagine the center top of the hat should be. If you plan the hat to have a folded brim like the sample shown, you will need to add the height of the brim to the projected height of the hat. For instance, I wanted my rust colored hat to measure about 8" [20.5cm] tall and I wanted the brim to measure about 3" [7.5cm] up from the folded edge. So the total height of my hat should be 11" [28cm]. (The rust colored sample was made to fit a child, with a bit of extra height to the hat).
Round 1 :
Make a beginning chain that is just slightly longer than the desired beanie height by about 1" [2.5cm], then add 1 more stitch (this will count as a turning chain). In the worsted weight, rust colored sample I started with 49 chains.
— Foundation Row & Working Rows :
Round 2 :
Beginning with the second chain from hook and working into the bottom of the chain, make a HDC in each stitch across. Continue until the piece is as long as your targeted height measurement. If there are extra chains leftover, these can be unraveled.
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Note: Alternatively, you can begin with a SC row instead of a HDC row. I like to do this because then the first row + the foundation chain add up to be about the same height as 1 row of HDC. This means that this first row will blend in a bit better when we seam the hat together at the end.
Round 3 :
Next, *make a ch-2 for a turning chain (this will not count as a stitch—you will never work into these turning chains), turn your work and make 1 HDC in the back loop of each stitch across. Repeat from * until your hat is the desired circumference. You will need to measure across the long sides of the rectangle, or you can pin the shorter ends to each other and try it on.
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The long side of the rectangle should measure 1-3" [2.5-7.5cm] smaller than the head circumference so that it has to stretch a bit to fit. Make sure you work an even amount of rows; the working loop should be opposite where the beginning yarn tail is when you are finished. In my rust colored sample I worked 50 rows.
— Rotate & Shape Top Edge :
Round 4 :
Rotate the piece in order to work along the top edge of hat, into the row-ends. Make SC decreases (SC2tog) as shown, across the top edge to help shape the top edge.
Round 5 :
To make the decreases across the top edge, **insert hook into the next ridge (see photo), YO, and pull up loop; insert hook into following ridge, YO and pull up loop; YO and pull through all 3 loops on hook (this makes an SC2tog decrease).
Round 6 :
Repeat from ** across until all ridges have been worked. If one ridge remains at the end, work one SC into the last ridge.
— Close Top & Finish :
Round 7 :
Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing. Using a yarn needle, weave yarn tail through each of the SC that were worked along top edge of hat and pull tight to close the top of the hat.
Round 8 :
Continue to use the yarn tail to whip stitch the seam in hat. To make your seam blend in really well, insert needle under just the top loop of the last row worked, but under both loops of the foundation edge as shown in the photos.
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Weave in ends. Block.
— Embellishments & Variations :
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For cactus spine embroidery: use 2 strands of a sock-weight yarn held together and a yarn needle to make long whip-stitches along each ridge, adding spines on the WS so they show on the outside when folded up. For the flower: follow a 3-D flower pattern, starting with a foundation chain of 19 instead of 9; add [ch-2, sl st in first ch] picot between center 2 DC in each petal in last row to give petals points. Coil the flower base and stitch to itself, then to the beanie using the yarn tails.
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For stud/button/brim details: sew faux leather buttons through both layers of the folded brim using needle and thread; for studs, add a square of fabric under the brim to secure studs through both layers and bend prongs inward; safety pins can hold folded edge in place or use matching yarn to tack fold down if preferred.
— Inspiration & Sample Yarn Info :
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Classic, no-frills sample yarn: Kelbourne Woolens Germantown (worsted weight #4), 100% North American Wool; 220 yds [201m]/100g; Medium Gray Heather #030.
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Pompom sample yarn: Buttercream Luxe Craft Alpaca Solid (super bulky #6), 80% Acrylic/20% Alpaca; 130 yds [119m]/6 oz [170g]; Light Blue #BCMA-421.
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Cactus hat yarn: We Crochet Brava Bulky (bulky weight #5), 100% Acrylic; 136 yds/100g; Peapod #633894 and Rouge #28353 for the flower. Scraps used for spines and flower center: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4-ply fingering (#1), 75% Wool/25% Nylon; 437 yds [400m].
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WeCrochet Wool of the Andes (worsted weight #4) shown for accent projects; Happy Sheep Woolpower (heavy worsted) shown for turquoise sample.
This Freestyle Beanie pattern is your passport to endless cozy creativity — mix yarns, swap weights, and add fun details to make it yours. Whether you prefer a sleek, classic beanie or a playful pom-pom topper, these instructions give you the confidence to customize and experiment. Make one for yourself, a friend, or a loved one and enjoy the satisfaction of a handmade hat. 🧶🧵
