Mar
So I made this ribbed beanie last March when I was binge-watching that crazy documentary about cults and honestly it turned out way better than the first time I tried this texture back in like 2021 or whenever. The ribbing just makes it look more professional than a basic single crochet hat, you know?
Okay so first thing—you need worsted weight yarn. I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease for mine because it was on sale at Michaels and I had a coupon. The ribbing works best with yarn that has some structure to it, not that super splitty cheap stuff that falls apart when you’re working with it. I’ve also used Red Heart Super Saver and it worked fine, just a bit stiffer. Some people swear by that fancy stuff from like Cascade or whatever but honestly for a beanie you’re gonna wear to the grocery store it doesn’t matter that much.
You’re working in rows first to create the ribband, then you’ll seam it and pick up stitches for the body of the hat. The ribbing is basically just working in the back loop only—that’s what creates those vertical lines that look like knit ribbing.
Making the Ribband Part
Chain like 10 or 12 stitches. This is gonna be the height of your hat from brim to wherever the ribbing ends. I usually do 10 because I don’t like super long brims but if you want it to fold up do 12 or even 14.
Row 1: Skip the first chain (that’s your turning chain), then single crochet in each chain across. So you should have 9 or 11 actual stitches depending on what you started with.
Row 2: Chain 1, turn your work. Now here’s the important part—you’re only going into the BACK loop of each stitch. The back loop is the one furthest from you when you’re looking at your work. Single crochet in the back loop only across the whole row.
Row 3 through like Row 60 or 70: Just keep doing that. Chain 1, turn, back loop only single crochet across. You’re gonna measure this around your head or whoever you’re making it for. I usually go until it’s about 20 inches for an adult, maybe 18 for a smaller head. My sister has a huge head so I had to make hers like 22 inches and she was not happy when I told her that.
One thing that really annoyed me was keeping track of what row I was on because I’d get distracted watching TV and then have no idea if I’d done 45 rows or 50 rows. Just use a piece of scrap yarn to mark every 10 rows or something, it helps.
When you’ve got it long enough to wrap around the head measurement, you’re gonna slip stitch the short ends together to make a tube. Make sure you don’t twist it before you seam it because that’s so annoying to undo. Just line up the edges and slip stitch through both layers.
The Main Hat Part
Now you have this ribbed tube thing. You’re gonna pick up stitches along one edge—the top loops that are all lined up. I usually just stick my hook through each ridge and do one single crochet per ridge. Count how many you get because you need to know for the decreases later. I usually end up with like 55-65 stitches depending on the yarn and how tight I was crocheting.
Round 1: Join to work in the round. You can use a stitch marker or just remember where your round starts. Single crochet in each stitch around. I prefer working in a continuous spiral instead of joining each round because I hate the seam line but you can do it either way.
Rounds 2-10 (ish): Just single crochet around and around. You want the hat to be tall enough to cover the head but not like a tube sock looking thing. Usually about 6-7 inches from where you picked up stitches. Try it on as you go or—wait actually if it’s a gift you can’t really do that but you can measure with a tape measure from the brim to where you want the crown to start.
Decrease Rounds for the Crown
This is where it gets a bit more thinky. You need to decrease evenly around to close up the top. The way I do it is probably not the official way but it works.
Figure out your stitch count and divide by like 7 or 8. So if you have 60 stitches, you’d place 8 decreases around (that’s one decrease every 7.5 stitches which you’ll have to fudge a little).
Decrease Round 1: Single crochet in the next 6 stitches, then sc2tog (single crochet two together), repeat around. You can use stitch markers to mark where each decrease goes if that helps.
Decrease Round 2: Single crochet around with no decreases. This helps it not get too bunchy.
Decrease Round 3: Single crochet in the next 5 stitches, sc2tog, repeat around.
Decrease Round 4: Just single crochet, no decreases.
Keep alternating like this, working one less stitch between decreases each time until… wait actually once you get down to like 20 stitches or so you can just start doing decreases every round because—
My cat knocked over my coffee right at this part when I was making the March one and I had to take a break to clean it up, came back and forgot where I was in the decreases and just winged it. Still turned out fine.
Finishing the Top
When you’ve got like 8-10 stitches left at the top, cut your yarn leaving a long tail. Thread it on a yarn needle and weave it through all the remaining stitches. Pull tight to close the hole, then weave the end through a few stitches on the inside to secure it.
Weave in your other ends too. I always forget to weave in ends as I go and then have like 6 ends to deal with at the finish which is my own fault.
Yarn Amounts and Hook Size
I used a 5.5mm hook (US I/9) with the Wool-Ease. You need probably 150-200 yards for an adult hat, maybe less for a kid. I’ve also made these with Caron Simply Soft when I wanted something softer, and that worked good too but you might need to go up a hook size because it’s a bit thinner.
The gauge doesn’t have to be perfect for a hat honestly, it’s pretty forgiving. Just make sure your ribband fits around the head before you start picking up stitches for the body because that’s way harder to fix later.
Variations I’ve Tried
You can make the ribbing taller so it folds up into a cuff—just make your starting chain longer, like 16-18 stitches instead of 10. The fold looks really clean with the ribbed texture.
I made one with two colors once, doing the ribband in gray (Red Heart Super Saver Heather Gray) and then switching to navy for the body. You just switch colors when you start picking up stitches. Looks pretty good, kinda sporty.
Some people do half double crochet for the body instead of single crochet because it works up faster. That’s fine but I think single crochet is warmer and has a tighter fabric which is better for winter hats. But if you’re making like a spring beanie or whatever the half double would be good.
Common Problems
If your ribband is too tight, your hat is gonna be too small no matter what you do with the body. Just rip it out and start over with more rows, I know that sucks but it’s faster than trying to add rows later.
If your decreases are making weird points or corners, you’re probably not spacing them evenly enough. Try to visualize like 7 or 8 even sections around the hat and place one decrease in each section.
The back loop only ribbing can feel awkward at first, especially if you’re used to going under both loops all the time. Just go slow for the first few rows until you get the muscle memory down. Your tension might be weird for a bit but it evens out.
How Long Does It Take
The one I made in March took me like 3 hours? Maybe 4? I was watching TV though so I wasn’t rushing. The ribband part is the slowest because you’re turning after every row. Once you get to the rounds it goes faster.
If you’re making a bunch as gifts or for a craft fair or something, you can kinda assembly-line it—make all the ribbands one day, then do all the bodies another day. That’s more efficient than starting and finishing one complete hat at a time.
Sizing for Different Ages
For a kid maybe age 5-10, I’d do the ribband about 18 inches around and 9 stitches tall instead of 10 or 11. Start with fewer stitches when you pick up around the ribband too, like maybe 45-50.
For a baby it’s even smaller but honestly baby hats are so small and fiddly that I don’t usually make them in this style, I just do a simple top-down pattern instead.
Teen/adult sizes are pretty much the same, like 20-21 inches around. Some men need bigger, like 22-23 inches if they have a lot of hair or just a big head.
Should You Block It?
I never block hats, feels like a waste of time for something that’s gonna get shoved in a coat pocket or thrown in the wash. But if you’re using a yarn that’s really stiff or weird-shaped after crocheting, you could steam block it lightly. Just don’t flatten the ribbing too much or it loses that 3D texture.
The Wool-Ease I used didn’t need blocking at all, it just relaxed into shape after wearing it once or twice.
Washing
Most of the yarns I mentioned (Wool-Ease, Super Saver, Simply Soft) are machine washable which is the whole point of using them for hats. People are gonna get them dirty. I throw mine in with regular laundry on cold and lay flat to dry or just toss in the dryer on low, they’re fine.
If you use actual wool obviously you gotta hand wash that or it’ll felt up and become a doll-sized hat.
The ribbed texture holds up really well to washing, doesn’t flatten out or get weird like some other textured stitches do. That’s another reason I like this pattern—it’s practical and actually gets worn instead of sitting in a drawer because it’s too delicate or whatever.
Oh and if you’re making one for someone who’s picky, ask them if they like slouchy beanies or fitted ones before you start. You can make this pattern slouchy by just working more rounds before you start decreasing, like maybe 8-9 inches instead of 6-7. Then the decrease rounds will make it gather at the back instead of fitting close to the head. I personally think slouchy beanies look weird but some people love them so.
