{"title":"How to Knit a Hat","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/knitting/how-to-knit-a-hat","category":{"slug":"knitting","name":"Knitting"},"creator":{"name":"B.Hooked Knitting","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugz5tgWOf6HhZDlZ-e0PrA","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGdMtTH0A3k"},"tldr":"Knit a stretchy ribbed hat in the round on 16 inch circulars. Cast on, work knit two purl two, shape the crown, then cinch the top with a yarn needle.","totalDurationSeconds":597,"difficulty":"easy","tools":["US 7 circular knitting needles, 16 inch","Longer circular needles for magic loop, 32 to 40 inch","Double-pointed needles as an alternative to magic loop","Stitch marker","Locking stitch marker","Yarn needle","Scissors","Measuring tape"],"materials":["Worsted weight yarn, about 200 to 250 yards","Faux fur pom pom, optional"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Wrap the Yarn Around the Needle to Measure Your Tail","text":"Long tail cast on eats yarn from the tail end, and running out at stitch 94 means starting over. Wrap the yarn around the needle shaft ten times and note how long that stretch of yarn is. That is roughly what ten cast-on stitches will use.Pull off ten times that length for 100 stitches, then add another six inches so you have something to weave in later. Fold the yarn back and forth to count it out rather than trying to eyeball a long piece across the table."},{"number":2,"title":"Cast On Stitches With the Long Tail Method","text":"Make a slip knot where the tail measurement ended and slide it onto one needle tip. Drape the tail over your thumb and the working yarn over your index finger, holding both ends down in your palm.Bring the needle up under the loop on your thumb, over and around the yarn on your finger, then back down through the thumb loop. Let the thumb loop drop and pull it snug. Cast on 100 stitches for the small size, or whatever count your pattern gives for the size you want."},{"number":3,"title":"Lay the Cast-On Round Flat and Add a Stitch Marker","text":"Set the whole round down on the table in a circle. Run a finger all the way around and check that the braided cast-on edge faces the inside at every point, with no stitch flipped over the cord. A twist here is permanent once you knit the round closed.Slide a stitch marker onto the right needle. Everything after that marker is the start of a new round, which is the only way to track where you are when there is no seam and no end of row to tell you."},{"number":4,"title":"Knit Two, Then Bring the Yarn Forward and Purl Two","text":"Knit the first two stitches with the working yarn behind the needles. Bring the yarn to the front between the two tips, purl the next two, then send it to the back again. That swap is the whole pattern, repeated to the end of the round.Slip the marker across and carry on. If you put the hat down mid-round, look at the last few stitches you worked. A purl sits with a little bar below the needle and a knit sits smooth, so the fabric tells you what comes next."},{"number":5,"title":"Hold the Ribbed Tube Up to Check the Length","text":"Rib squashes flat on the table and looks shorter than it is, so lift the tube and let it hang before you measure. You want enough height to fold a brim up and still cover the top of the head.Your pattern gives a number for each size. Measure against a tape without stretching the fabric out, and stop after a complete knit two purl two round so the crown decreases start in the right place."},{"number":6,"title":"Knit Two Stitches Together to Start the Crown","text":"Push the right needle through the front of the first two stitches at the same time and knit them as though they were one. Purl the next two, then repeat knit two together, purl two, around. A 100 stitch round comes off the needle at 75.The rounds after that alternate. One works knit one, purl two straight through with no shaping. The next decreases on the purls instead, with a purl two together. Follow the pattern round by round and the top starts pulling into a dome."},{"number":7,"title":"Knit the Stitches Onto a Longer Circular Needle","text":"Around the fourth or fifth crown round the stitches stop reaching around a 16 inch cord, and fighting them gets old fast. Work the next round with a much longer circular in your right hand and let every finished stitch land on the new needle.After roughly two dozen stitches, pull a loop of the long cord out between two stitches and keep going. That loop splits the round in half and gives you the magic loop. Double-pointed needles do the same job if you get on better with them."},{"number":8,"title":"Thread the Tail Through the Last Stitches and Cinch the Crown","text":"Once the final decrease round leaves a small handful of stitches, cut the yarn about 20 inches out and thread it on a yarn needle. Pass the needle knitwise through each live stitch, then slide them off the tips only when every one is caught.Draw the tail up steadily until the opening closes. It will want to spring back open, so run the needle around the ring of stitches two or three more times, turn the hat inside out and do it once more from that side. Then weave both ends in."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-09-14T15:47:09.050Z","published":"2026-09-14T15:43:06.423Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}