How to Make a Beanie From Yarn

Work a few extra rows, add a decorative band, and your beanie becomes a cloche.

A beanie, because it fits snugly to the head, is one of the easiest and most adaptable hat styles to make. Crochet is the easiest yarn craft for working in tight rounds. Crochet is also the easiest way to work with fuzzy wool yarn, which makes a beanie you can work up quickly into a favorite warm accessory.

Things You'll Need

• 1 skein bulky yarn
• Size M (9 mm) crochet hook

Instructions

1. 

   Start at the crown and work in rounds.

   Make a starter chain of four stitches. Join them with a slip stitch to form a ring. Work 8 single crochet into the middle of the ring to complete the first round.

2. Work two half-double-crochet stitches in each of the single-crochet stitches, for 16 stitches in the second round. A half-double crochet is made by wrapping the yarn around the hook and drawing up a third loop through the earlier round, as if for a double crochet. Catch another loop and draw it through all three loops on the hook at once.

3. Work two half-double crochets in the first stitch of the third round and just one half-double crochet in the second stitch; complete the round making this kind of increase in the odd-number stitches and working the even-numbered stitches evenly. Finish the round with 24 stitches.

4. Continue for six more rounds, increasing eight stitches in each round by working two half-double crochets in the first stitch and each of the increase stitches of the preceding round. Work even for three stitches between increases in the fourth round, four stitches between increases in the fifth round, and so on. The ninth round should have 72 stitches total, and this crown for the beanie should be slightly cupped.

5. Work in all-even half-double crochets for 10 rounds. Slip stitch to the first stitch of the last round. Break off the yarn and pull the end through the last loop. Knot the yarn on that last loop and use the hook to draw the end into several stitches along the edge.

Tips & Warnings

• Crochet a beanie with two or three more increase rows in all-wool yarn recommended for felting, and process it by shrinking and distressing the fabric into a dense and even warmer mat.

• Use a lighter, cotton yarn and work only five even rows to make a Juliette cap. Make it even sweeter by threading crystal beads or pearls on the yarn before you begin and draw them up into a stitch every here and there.

• Add any kind of applique or embroidery, a bill or earflaps to make your beanie special.

• Make a smaller size by using lighter yarn and the crochet hook size recommended on the yarn label.

References

• Craft Yarn Council: How to Make a Chain Stitch