Make a Beanie in ANY size, in ANY stitch WITHOUT a pattern!

Have a pattern for a basic beanie for a toddler but it uses single crochet, only you really want to save time and use double crochet? Have one for an adult, but you want to make it in another size using the same stitch? What about patterns that run small, or it’s for an adult size and you want to edit the pattern to suit your needs? This can be done easily and without fuss or worry!

I used to worry a lot when I was faced with something like this. I would frequently use two or three patterns to suit my needs if I knew a pattern ran small or if I wanted another stitch for a beanie. Hopefully after reading this blog you will no longer have this problem and you will be able to come back to this chart at any time and create whatever it is that you are looking to create without having to piece together 2 or 3 different patterns!

Gauge:

To begin, it would be best to have a basic understanding of gauge. This basically just means use the right size hook with the right size of yarn. To delve further into gauge you can read up here. But for this, basically, if you have a worsted weight, you will want to use anywhere from a G hook to a J hook depending on how fast you want to complete the beanie and which stitch you choose. If you choose double crochet then G or H might be better, and if you choose single crochet or half double crochet, then any size really will do. Thinner yarn = thinner hook. Thicker yarn = thicker hook. That’s basically what you need to know for this purpose though. To read more on which yarn or other commonly used materials you may need to obtain and their uses, read here.

The basic composition of a beanie

Basically, every hat or beanie begins with increases that will fit over the crown of the head. The circle will start in the middle and INCREASE until it gets to a certain width, and then you will begin to crochet evenly (one stitch in each stitch) all the way around the hat or beanie until the hat or beanie is the length that you wish. It really is that simple. But when do you stop increasing? How do you know how long it needs to be? How do you change the stitch? If you don’t want the hassle of making your beanies from scratch and you’d like a professional service to take over the responsibilities of making your custom hats, you may want to look into a company like Imprint. The hats you order from them could be for personal use or even for branding purposes, if you own a business.

Which stitch do I use?

First, pick which stitch you would like to use. Some people like single crochet because it looks more uniform and more finished, but the downside is that it will take longer. Some people like double crochet because it works up quickly. I like half double crochet because it is the best of both worlds. Some people really dislike half double crochet. It really is preference and no matter which stitch you use, you can EASILY create a beanie in the size you wish without much planning!

How many stitches do I start with?

You can start your beanie with any number of stitches. Some people use the magic circle technique. If you know how to use that technique then that is the best method, as it closes completely without having to sew the hole up. If you’re like me, any chance I get to NOT have to sew something up, I take it! If you have not perfected that method, you can always chain two and crochet your stitches into the first chain.

I start my beanies with 8 or 9 stitches. Mostly because I memorized the 9 times tables better in school. 🙂 It also starts out flatter up top because there are more stitches. Some people start theirs with 4 or even 6. (I think even numbers are more frequent, but only because people are ocd. If you want to start with 5, then by all means go with an odd number!) A beanie that starts with 4 or 6 will be more pointed up top. You may need to do a few before you know how many you prefer.

Join or work in spirals?

This is also preference. I like to join because, well, I’m lazy. I don’t have the luxury of constant concentration on something all the time because I have children. The downside to that, is that all my beanies will have a joining seam down the back of the hat. The plus side is, I don’t have to use a stitch marker. Honestly, I could use a stitch marker and not have to worry either. It’s just how I learned though. Either way you decide is fine. A beanie worked in spirals will not have a seam at all, anywhere on it. Which is ideal. I will write these instructions under the impression that we will be working with a join because I think that is a more common choice, but if you have decided to work with a spiral, just ignore where it says “join” and “work a turning chain”. If you need help deciding, or would like to know techniques, there is more information here.

How do I increase and when do I stop?

No matter WHICH stitch you decided on, this will remain the same. You will put X amount of X kind of stitches into a circle (magic circle or the 2 chain method) and then you will join OR place a stitch marker and just work in spirals. If you joined you will need to work a turning chain. You will need to decide on that as well. You can watch these videos on turning chains to help you to decide.

Then, complete the below instructions for the desired size until it is the diameter specified in the chart below.

You may not need all the rounds listed below for your size, but they are available should you need them. Each size increases to a different width. You will increase in this fashion until the circle’s diameter (that’s measured across the widest increment across the center from the left side to the right) equals what is below in the “Diameter” column for the size that you are creating. This goes for any hat, no matter which stitch you are using to make the hat. If you’re feeling really adventurous you could mix them up! Do one round in single crochet, one in double crochet, then back post half double crochet all the way around and repeat! This makes a BEAUTIFUL beanie that gives the impression that you followed a very extravagant pattern. It really is your choice!

So if you are creating a toddler beanie, you will increase until the circle is 6 – 6.25 inches across.

Round1:

X stitches worked into a beginning round,

Round 2 :

2 stitches worked into EACH stitch,

Round 3 :

(2 stitches in the first stitch, 1 stitch in the second),

Repeat () around,

Round 4 :

(2 stitches in the first stitch, 1 stitch in the next 2 sts),

Repeat () around,

Round 5 :

(2 stitches in the first stitch, 1 stitch in the next 3 sts),

Repeat () around,

Round 6 :

(2 stitches in the first stitch, 1 stitch in the next 4 sts),

Repeat () around,

Round 7 :

(2 stitches in the first stitch, 1 stitch in the next 5 sts),

Repeat () around,

Round 8 :

(2 stitches in the first stitch, 1 stitch in the next 6 sts),

Repeat () around,

Round 9 :

(2 stitches in the first stitch, 1 stitch in the next 7 sts),

Repeat () around,

Round 10 :

(2 stitches in the first stitch, 1 stitch in the next 8 sts),

Repeat () around,

Round 11 :

(2 stitches in the first stitch, 1 stitch in the next 9 sts),

Repeat () around,

Round 12 :

(2 stitches in the first stitch, 1 stitch in the next 10 sts),

Repeat () around,

This is 9 double crochet in a magic circle with a chain 2 turning chain that does not count as the first stitch in the round. I used red heart worsted weight with an H hook. As you can see, it is about 4 inches, which would be the perfect amount of increases for a Newborn size beanie.

The basic pattern for this would look like this:
Round 1: Ch 2, 9dc in magic circle, join (9)
Round 2: Ch 2, 2 dc in each st around, join (18)
Round 3: Ch 2, (2dc, dc), Repeat () around, join (27)
Round 4: Ch 2, (2dc, dc2), Repeat () around, join (36)

For more information on crochet abbreviations see here: http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/crochet.html

How long do I make my beanie?

After you’ve created a circle with the diameter listed in the chart above for the desired size of hat you’re making, you will begin to make only ONE stitch in EACH stitch with NO increases all the way around. Super simple right!? But how long do you go to make it look right? After a few rounds you should be able to easily lay the beanie down and measure a length. Just work rounds until the beanie measures what it says in the “height” column above for your desired size. Here you can mix and match too just as before! Any combination of stitches as long as they meet the length requirement will do!

When you’re finished and you have the hat the length you want it, you may want to do a finishing round of single crochet around if you used half double crochet or double crochet. It just gives beanies a nice, finished appearance.

Congratulations! You should be able to create a beanie now, using ANY size and ANY stitch with no pattern required!

I have been trying to explain to my sister in law, who also crochets, why our gauges seldom match. I have carpal tunnel, so I have always said that I crochet loosely to compensate. My sister in law, crochets tightly. I had thought that’s just what it was, she must clutch her yarn ridiculously tight to get that stitch that tight! Lately, we’ve become more comparable in our gauge swatches. That is because I’ve begun to do amigurumi and I’ve changed the technique that I have been using to complete stitches. Getting the stitches tight enough so that the stuffing did not show through for me has been a struggle, but the reason I started crocheting is because I was intrigued by amigurumi. Call me a weirdo, but I want to crochet eggs and bacon and toast on a plate. What am I going to use it for?? I have no earthly idea, but it’s interesting to me lol Only to find once I started crocheting that it was impossible for me! One day though, it just clicked! My stitches didn’t need to become tighter. No matter what I did using the same technique, it was going to be the same, just tighter, and my hands were going to ache because I was doing it wrong. By changing my technique, I was able to perfect amigurumi and my hands never ached.

Most amigurumi are done using single crochet. After putting your hook through the next stitch in your row, yarning over and pulling through, you will have two loops on your hook. Those loops get tighter or more loose depending on the way you complete your next yarn over and pull through to complete the single crochet stitch. Here’s what I noticed that I did incorrectly after my first yarn over and pull through of the single crochet stitch: When I crochet normally, the loop at the front of my hook, closer to the hook, somehow got to be double the size of the other loop, which made my STITCHES too large. I have learned recently that this is called being a “lifter” and that I was lifting the front loop up to be the same height as the back loop. When doing amis, once the stitch was completed, I would then yank on my tension yarn to make my tension tighter to accommodate for crocheting loosely. Or, what I thought at the time was crocheting loosely. Which made me a lifter AND a what is called a “yanker”! It’s not that I crocheted any more loosely than my sister in law. It’s just that I made my stitches differently. Tension had little to nothing to do with it.

The trick to making an amigurumi successfully is: If you tilt your hook up at the back end instead of pulling straight to the side, when completing the last yarn over and pull through of your single crochet stitch, those loops left on the hook never get any bigger. This is called riding the stitch. Those that are “riders” don’t have any more undue stress on their hands than lifters do, which is what I desperately needed to avoid, having carpal tunnel. And they also are able to match gauge more closely than someone who is a lifter or a yanker, like me.

However, you can also do your stitches too close to the stitches below them, by holding your tension TOO tightly, or yanking on the tension yarn to get your tension as tight as you think it has to be, which is what I found that I did when trying to crochet more tightly. And then any stitch in subsequent rounds is going to be a terror on your hands trying to get the hook and yarn through. Your yarn’s going to snag… and the stuffing still will show through because you’ve crocheted so tightly. If you’re having trouble putting your hook into the stitch below it might be indicative that you are yanking on your tension yarn. If you’re like me then you don’t even know you do this.

I thought I had an “a-ha” moment that no one had had before. I didn’t realize there were names for the different techniques for completing the stitches, I just knew that in order to complete an ami correctly I had to tilt up my hook at the end when completing my stitch so as to keep the two loops the same size and that if I DID this, I would then not feel the need to yank on my tension yarn to get it tight enough to start my next stitch. This has slowly moved over into my other non-ami projects and has changed the way that I crochet forever. I hope it has for you as well!

Below is a video from Crochet Ever After that has helped me to visualize the different stitch techniques. She also tells you how to change these habits.

Crochet Ever After – Lifter/Rider/Yanker video

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