This free unisex hat knitting pattern is quick and easy. It’s knit as a flat piece with straight knitting needles, and then seamed down the back to make a hat.
Need more sizes? Check out the newer version of this pattern with 8 hat sizes from baby to XL.
It’s a nice practical project for beginner knitters who have got the hang of knit and purl stitches. Most of this hat pattern is just basic stockinette stitch. There’s some rib stitch at the start for a good fit & simple k2tog decreases to shape the crown.
Want to knit a hat in the round that you can try on as you knit it with no fiddly seaming at the end? Try the circular needle version of this easy beanie pattern. Scared of circulars? See how easy it is with my circular knitting video tutorials.
Table of Contents
What You Need
- 120-150m (131-164 yds) approx of worsted or aran weight yarn (2 small 50g balls or 1 bigger ball).
I used about 120m/131 yds/60g of Rico Design essentials soft merino yarn (shade 71 Violet) - 5mm (us size 8) knitting needles. If your yarn recommends a different size knitting needle, you can use that instead.
- Tapestry needle for seaming
Sizing & Notes
- This hat pattern is one size to fit most adult heads. The sample hat pictured fits both my small woman’s head & a 6ft man’s head.
- Finished size: unstretched width: 10 inches (25.5cm) approx; height (adjustable): 9.5 inches (24 cm) for fitted hat & 11 inches (28 cm) for slouchy.
- Standard aran gauge of 18 stitches and 24 rounds to 4 inches (10 cm) is suggested. But exact gauge is not important (especially vertical row gauge) as the hat is quite stretchy. The hat is your swatch, there’s no need for test squares!
- The pattern includes options for a fitted (A), slouchy (B) and cuffed beanie (C) (where you turn the ribbing up).
New for 2025: Check out my free ribbed hat pattern in DK yarn for another easy knit hat project
Abbreviations
- k2tog: knit 2 stitches together (decrease 1 stitch)
- kx: knit next x stitches
- px: purl next x stitches
- () x n times: repeat the instructions inside () n times
Basic Beanie Hat Knitting Pattern for Straight Needles
Knit a beanie hat with straight needles using this easy free pattern
Cast on 90 stitches
I used the long tail cast on (tutorial here), which is quite stretchy and works well for rib, but you can use any cast on you like.
Knit brim of hat in rib stitch
Row 1: Knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch and repeat this pattern to the end of the row to do k1p1 ribbing.
Knit 8-9 rows in rib stitch (1.25-1.5 inches approx), or a few more rows if you want a deeper brim.
Folded cuff beanie (Option C) only: do 13-17 rounds of rib instead for a deeper brim.
Note: Finish your ribbing after a wrong side row. Depending on the cast on you used, you will knit either an even or odd number of rows:
If you used the long tail cast on, your first row is the wrong side of your knitting, so knit 9 rows of rib (or any odd number of rows) so that you end after a wrong side row.
If you used a different cast on where row 1 is the right side of your knitting, e.g. the knit cast on, knit 8 rows of rib (or any even number) so that you knit your last rib row on the wrong side.
Knit stockinette until desired length
Once you are happy with the height of your ribbing, switch to knitting stockinette stitch as follows:
Next row and every right side row: knit every stitch
Wrong side rows: purl every stitch
Fitted beanie (option A): knit until your piece is 5.5-6 inches tall including rib.
Slouchy beanie (option B): knit until your piece measures around 7.5 inches including rib, or your desired height.
Cuffed beanie (option C): knit 6 inches of stockinette for a fitted hat or 7.5 inches for a slouchy hat (or longer for extra slouch).
End with a wrong side row.
Initial decreases
K2, (K2tog, K20) x 4 times to decrease 4 stitches evenly around [86 stitches]
Do 3 rows of stockinette as follows: Purl 1 row, knit 1 row, purl 1 row
K2, (K2tog, K19) x 4 times to decrease another 4 stitches [82 stitches]
Do another 3 rows of stockinette as above.
Main crown decreases
K2, (K2tog, K6) x 10 times to decrease 10 stitches evenly around [72 stitches]
Purl 1 row
K2, (K2tog, K5) x 10 times [62 stitches]
Purl 1 row
K2, (K2tog, K4) x 10 times [52 stitches]
Purl 1 row
K2, (K2tog, K3) x 10 times [42 stitches]
Purl 1 row
K2, (K2tog, K2) x 10 times [32 stitches]
Purl 1 row
K2, (K2tog, K1) x 10 times [22 stitches]
Purl 1 row
K2tog x 11 [11 stitches]
Seam the back of your hat
Leaving a long tail for seaming, cut the yarn. Thread it through the 11 remaining stitches twice & gather to form the top point of the hat. See video tutorial here.
Next, working from the top point down, you need to join the left and right edges of your flat knitted piece together to turn it into a hat with a seam down the back. Use mattress stitch to make an invisible seam for a neat finish. Watch the 15 minute video below to see how to do this step by step:
How to Seam a Hat with Mattress Stitch
This 15 minute video explains exactly how to seam the hat in detail, but here’s a brief summary if you prefer:
To do mattress stitch, you work a stitch in from each side. It can be tricky to work out exactly where to put your needle with standard stockinette stitch.
Starting from the top point of your hat, stretch the left edge of your knitting and you will see a ladder of horizontal bars between your edge stitch column and your first stockinette stitch column.
Put your needle under the first 2 of these bars between the edge stitch and the next stitch column.
Now repeat on the right side. Stretch the right edge to see the horizontal bars between the edge stitch and stockinette stitch, put your needle under the first 2 bars, and loosely pull through.
Don’t tighten up the seam yet. Now go back to the left side, and put your needle through the next 2 horizontal bars. Pull through loosely and repeat on the right side.
Keep going and after a few more stitches, pull your seam tight. It should disappear like magic!
Continue mattress stitching, pulling your seam tight after every 4-5 stitches. Take a moment to check your seam at these points, stretching it to adjust if needed. Also make sure that you have an even amount left on both sides.
How to Seam the Bottom Ribbing
I’ve a full step by step guide to mattress stitching rib here, because it’s quite different to stockinette. Or watch the final part of the main hat seaming video (10:49 onwards).
Important: for a folded cuff beanie (Option C only): mattress stitch the ribbing working from the inside (wrong side), so that the seam will be hidden on the inside when you turn up the ribbed cuff.
Once you reach the bottom of your hat, weave in the cast on and cast off tails into the rib stitches (video tutorial available) at the bottom to finish.
I hope you enjoy making this easy knit beanie hat. It’s a nice beginner friendly knitting project to make something practical you can wear everyday or give as a special gift. Got any questions or feedback on this pattern? Just leave a comment below.
This free pattern is for personal, non-commercial use only. It may not be copied, sold, translated or distributed in any way, nor any finished items made using it sold, without permission.
