With fall coming up right around the corner, I have been inspired to start knitting lots of hats. Hats are just the perfect accessory for when it’s freezing outside, you’re having a bad hair day, or when you just want to add a little something special to your outfit.
I just finished knitting this gorgeous beret, and I absolutely love the way it fits and feels. It’s extremely comfortable, very soft, and thick enough to provide a lot of warmth. The best part is that it took hardly any time at all to complete. Who doesn’t love a quick project that ends with great results? I hope you enjoy knitting this piece as much as I did!
What You’ll Need:
- Any chunky weight will due, but I used Lion Brand’s Hometown USA in “Phoenix Azalea”. One skein measures 64 yards, and I ended up using just a little over one of them.
- size US13 and size US15 needles (I used straight needles for this pattern)
- Scissors
- Darning needle
- Some good music, hot tea, or a movie 🙂
Pattern:
- With the size 13 needles, cast on 38 stitches. This will fit a normal sized adult head, but you can adjust accordingly.
- K1 P1 continuously, for every row, until you have ribbing about two inches long.
- Now it is time to increase your stitches and your needle size. Switch your working needle to a size 15. This means your stitches will still be on a size 13, while you’ll be working with a size 15. Start increasing your stitches, just using a knit stitch, until you have a total of 72 stitches. So, you will not increase every stitch, because then you would end up with 76 and that will make it harder when it’s time to decrease. So only increase to 72 stitches.
- You should now have all your stitches on a size 15 needle, so now you’ll begin working with the other size 15. You have completed the switch from size 13 to size 15, while simultaneously increasing your stitches.
- Purl the next row, then alternate K and P for every row until your entire hat measures 4 1/2 to 5 inches long.
- Starting on the wrong side of your work, (the knit side), begin decreasing. You’ll start out with *K6, k2tog* to end of row.
- Purl the next row
- *K5, k2tog* to end of row
- Purl the next row
- *K4, K2tog* to end of row
- Purl the next row
- *K3, k2tog* to end of row
- Purl the next row
- *K2, k2tof* to end of row
- Purl the next row
- *K1, k2tog* to end of row
- Purl the next row
- Continue this pattern until you have 12 stitches left on your needle. (You’ll end up doing *K1, k2tog* for a couple of rows.) Just make sure you are only decreasing on the wrong side of your work.
- Once you have 12 stitches left, decrease every stitch–this will leave you with 6 stitches.
- Now, making sure you have enough yarn to sew up the back, cut the yarn from the skein, and put it through your darning needle. Thread the yarn through the last 6 stitches, slip your knitting needle out, and cinch the hat together.
- Turn the hat inside out, and sew together, creating a seam. Weave the ends back through to secure it.
- Turn the hat right side out, and you’re finished!
If you prefer your beret to be a little less “slouchy”, follow the same pattern exactly except:
- Cast on 36 stitches instead of 38, still on size 13 needles
- When it’s time to increase stitches, increase to 66 stitches instead of 72, and do not increase needle size
- When it’s time to decrease stitches, start with K4, k2tog instead of starting with K6, k2tog
- Follow same pattern to the end as written above to complete the hat
I did this with another beret (the yellow one) and here is the size difference:
It still fits great, just slightly more snug, and it is not quite as slouchy.
Enjoy!
February 22, 2016 at 2:28 pm
You refer to the knit side as the wrong side, but in all your pictures it’s on the outside of the hat. Is there a mistake? I don’t want to decrease on the opposite side that I’m supposed to by accident.
January 22, 2016 at 2:54 pm
Thank you so much for this pattern. I only started knitting just before Christmas and I managed to knit this for myself over two days. My 4 four year old daughter really wants one now and as I am new to this, I’m not sure how to adapt this for her. Should I use the same amount of stiches but on smaller gauge needles, or cast on less stiches? Sorry if the answer is obvious, but I am new to this, and other toddler beret patterns I’ve found all use circular needles.
January 23, 2016 at 4:00 pm
Yes you would just need to cast on kess stitches. Unfortunately I don’t know how many! It really depends on the size of your toddler’s head.
January 5, 2016 at 8:37 pm
I had no trouble with the pattern (been knitting since I was 12), but after the sequential decreases, the directions read, “Continue this pattern until you have 12 stitches left on the needle.” Which pattern? Start from which row? When I tried to start the decrease from “k6, k2tog”, the numbers didn’t add up, and I had the wrong number of stitches remaining on the needle. So which level do you start the decrease from, please? Thank you! And also this—the pattern keeps referring to the knit side as “the wrong side”, but the photos tell a different story. (???)
January 5, 2016 at 10:12 pm
Wendy, sorry for the confusion. You will just continue to K1 K2tog until end of row, then purl the next row. That’s what you will repeat until there are 12 stitches left. I refer to the knit side as the wrong side, because the finished product has the purl side on the outside.
Hope that helps.
January 5, 2016 at 10:21 pm
Thanks! However, I enlarged the main photo of the beret, and clearly, the knit side was the outside! And oh! it occurred to me—an early part of the pattern that could be confusing to some folk might be better said as, “Continue in stockinette stitch…”. Just a thought. Again, thank you!
January 3, 2016 at 12:03 pm
How do you increase the stitches, by yarn over?
January 5, 2016 at 10:23 pm
When I increase, I first knit through the front of the stitch and then, without transferring the yarn to the other needle, I go ahead and stitch through the BACK of that same stitch. When you transfer the result to the other needle, you will see two stitches moving over instead of one. 🙂
April 15, 2016 at 7:05 pm
This technique is called kfb & is easily googled for helpful video tutorials
January 2, 2016 at 2:31 pm
I am almost done with the less slouchy version but somehow ended with 10 stitches instead of 12. I don’t know where I went wrong but would it be OK to cinch together 5 stitches instead of 6?
January 4, 2016 at 1:58 pm
It shouldn’t be a problem!
August 21, 2015 at 10:21 am
Fabulous easy pattern, can easily be done in an evening watching TV. Many thanks!
March 22, 2015 at 3:37 pm
This is my first beret im attempting to knit and I’m quiet confused with the increases – do I increase all at once on the first row or do I increase over a multiple of rows evenly to get 72 stitches in total ? Plleeaassee help 🙂
March 23, 2015 at 8:24 pm
Do it all on one row until you reach 72!
March 18, 2015 at 5:48 pm
Please give the gauge.
And how would I adaot it to a thinner yarn and size 5 .00 needles?
Lovely design
March 18, 2015 at 2:09 pm
Lovely. Gauge please
February 23, 2015 at 9:05 am
I began this using the size 13 needles and yarn that I believe is between a 4 and a 5…. I wanted to make the less slouchy version, but it doesn’t appear that my yarn is thick enough. I don’t have anything thicker, so is there any way I could alter the pattern? Maybe follow the “slouchy” pattern to end up with the less slouchy one? Please help!
February 23, 2015 at 7:06 pm
Yikes I’m not sure, unless you double up on the yarn! If anyone can help, please comment!
February 9, 2015 at 3:07 pm
Hi, I’m sorry to add to the question list. But this is my first time seeing the “K2tog” abbreviation. I’ve only knitted one scarf and this hat will be my second project. So, when I start to decrease do I need to knit the first 6 stitches individually, and then do the K2tog for the remaining stitches? Or do I K2tog for the whole row? As I type this question, I realize this may be an obvious answer. But confirmation is nice. =) Thank you very much!
February 12, 2015 at 2:07 pm
Hey Tiffany! So to K2tog ( knit 2 together), you will put your needle through 2 stitches instead of one when you knit. Using your example, you would knit 6 single stitches, then knit 2 together, then knit 6 more stitches, then 2 more together. So you will knit those 6 stitches in between your k2tog each time. YouTube is a great tool if you need to watch someone decrease.
March 29, 2016 at 12:20 pm
When I first taught myself to knit I googled the knitting terms and YouTube is an awesome source.
February 2, 2015 at 8:40 pm
I’m confused with what the counts should be once you decrease the stitches as I tried to calculate the first row, and I come up with 54 stitches left, which has me decreasing the first row by 18 stitches. In one of your earlier responses you had said 63 stitches should be left (K6, and K2 tog until the end of the row). Am I missing something? I’m brand new to knitting so please forgive me on my confusion. Thanks for your help…..
January 22, 2015 at 4:46 pm
I have always wanted a hat like this for myself and I was so excited to find this pattern! The largest needles I have are US 10 and 1/2, and they’re not round, but I’m hoping they will work. Also, I’m fairly new at knitting, so do you have any tips on increasing and decreasing the number of stitches? It’s hard to believe I can make anything as beautiful as this so easily.
February 10, 2015 at 7:15 pm
you’ll want to have the larger needles, otherwise your hat will be much tighter and smaller (unless you knit VERY loosely) I think the 10s would be too tight or too small for this size yarn. To increase, I used KFB or Knit in front and back, basically knitting in the front post of the loop, and before sliding it off of the needle, twist your needle so that you can knit in the second post. There are several YouTube videos on this stitch. To decrease, you knit two stitches as if they were one. eBay has some inexpensive bamboo needles from China if you’re willing to wait forever for them to ship. They’re a bit rough, but those are good for beginners, since they’ll be less likely to accidentally drop your yarn. My only reserve is that they’re awfully short, and I had to shove the yarn down tight until I got down to the decrease rows.
February 15, 2015 at 9:48 am
Thanks for the tips! I just finished a winter hat for myself, and was able to figure out how to add and decrease stitches (with YouTube’s help, of course!) Do straight vs. round needles make a huge difference with this project?
February 20, 2015 at 9:36 am
Never mind, I just realized that “straight needles” are normal needles. I feel rather silly now, but at least I figured it out!
January 6, 2015 at 11:22 pm
Just finished my first hat – ever! So happy!!!
My daughter is going to be soooo impressed with her new hat.
Thank you for the easy instructions, and the modifications… I’m looking forward to making more.
January 2, 2015 at 10:02 pm
My niece really loved this beret. I made it following the larger version using the size needles specified and a yarn weighted at 5, thinking that would be heavy enough. The hat came out more like the smaller version, definitely not slouchy. I would recommend a weight of 6 or higher for the yarn to get the hat to be as slouchy as the larger version. Fortunately, my niece wanted the smaller version and doesn’t have a big head. Next time I’ll use a heavier yarn or increase the stitches to make it large enough for an adult. Thanks for sharing this pattern!
December 28, 2014 at 2:04 pm
Hello!
I’m sorry, it is my first time attempting to knit a hat and I am lost on the increasing. How am I supposed to increase to reach 72 stitches? Do I just increase whenever to reach 72 sts or is there a specific pattern? I apologize on my confusion. Thanks! 🙂
December 30, 2014 at 10:19 am
As far as I know, it doesn’t really matter—I didn’t really do it in any kind of pattern! I just started increasing at the beginning of the row, until I had increased to 72, then just knitted the rest.
December 30, 2014 at 11:05 pm
Thank you soo much for clearing this up for me! Thank you thank you ! You are very beautiful btw 🙂
December 21, 2014 at 10:43 pm
Hi, I am sure my inexperience is going to be obvious here, but the math is confusing me. When it is time to decrease, from 72, k3 to ktog2 all the way takes me to 39 (6 plus 66/2). Then k5 to ktog2 gets me to 22 ( 5 plus 34/2). Then 13, then 8. I am WAY under 12 by the time you say repeat until you get to 12. I am certain I am missing something obvious. What is it?
December 26, 2014 at 7:52 pm
Hi, Megan…so sorry for the late reply–I haven’t had Internet in days. After your first set of decreases, which is k6 k2tog, you should have 63 stitches. I’m not sure exactly what you’re doing in order to get a smaller number than that. Also make sure you’re only decreasing on the knit side/wrong side of your work.
December 10, 2014 at 9:57 pm
I have some wonderful worsted weight (4) yarn I want to use for this. Since I am knitting it for my five year old, I was thinking that I could knit the pattern as is using a smaller needle size as well. (I’ll be doing the less slouchy version) Any thought on which size needles I should use?
December 20, 2014 at 6:53 pm
Nevermind. I worked it out wonderfully. I have size 13 round needles and doubled up my yarn. I still had to adjust the cast on stitches a bit, bit it is turning out beautifully! I’ll post a photo when I’m done. Thanks for the pattern! My princess will have her beautiful beret after all!
November 23, 2014 at 7:13 pm
Hi, I started this project and then realized I am not using chunky yarn so I am going to start over. How can I vary this pattern to use non chunky yarn? My daughter wants a beret that is just like one my friend bought as a gift for my grand daughter. She was kind enough to buy me a skein of the same yarn, so I really want to use it. Any ideas? I love the simple pattern and the beret pattern looks just like my grand daughter’s.
November 24, 2014 at 3:51 pm
I don’t know exactly the weight/needle size you’re using, or how old your granddaughter is, but my suggestion would be to take a measurement of her head and find out what size the beret needs to be. What I would probably do is just double the pattern and see if that works!
November 24, 2014 at 4:04 pm
Thanks so much for your prompt reply Alicia. Sorry— my question wasn’t specific enough. We have a baby beret, and now I want to knit an adult one to match the baby’s. I’m using US 13 needles but could switch to larger ones. I was using the adult pattern and realized the weight of the yarn was not the same. I’m not using chunky weight. Unfortunately, I don’t know the weight of what I have. The yarn was in a skein, not labeled. It’s home spun wool if that is any help, from Nova Scotia! Do I need to cast on more stitches and then how many to increase and later decrease in the pattern. The adult head circumference is 23 inches.
November 24, 2014 at 6:59 pm
Oh ok! Well, if you are using needles that big then your knitting is going to be really loose without chunky yarn. Size 13’s are meant for thicker yarn! You probably need to go down a few needle sizes to better suit your yarn. Either that, or buy another skein of the same yarn (if possible) and knit with both at the same time to make it thicker. Let me know what you decide to do!
November 18, 2014 at 7:15 pm
I got all the way up to the decreasing part, amd i followed the pattern. It now looks like what was the right side is now the wrong side… Is that how its supposed to look?
November 19, 2014 at 8:11 am
Paige, it looks that way because you are decreasing on both sides of your work. You are only supposed to decrease on the wrong side of your work. Just like the pattern explains, you will decrease a row (on the wrong side), then purl an entire row (on the right side)…you should be doing this each time.
November 16, 2014 at 3:14 am
I really love this pattern! I made one for my 11 year old niece and she loves it. I think I’ll be making one for myself because it’s very cute and I love it. 🙂
November 15, 2014 at 3:32 pm
beautiful! thanks! what is the gauge, please?
November 11, 2014 at 4:52 pm
Would it be possible to do this on circular needles?
November 12, 2014 at 8:22 am
absolutely. I haven’t tried it on circular needles, so the pattern may be a tad different.
November 9, 2014 at 10:03 pm
Hello, Alicia. Your pattern is so nice, I’m going to do it for my next knitting project. The thing is, I only have size 10.5 needles and no way of getting bigger ones, so I’ll have to adapt. I’ll let you know how I get on. 🙂
November 11, 2014 at 8:13 am
I’m sure it will turn out great 🙂
November 7, 2014 at 9:47 am
Thank you :). Much clearer
November 6, 2014 at 11:52 am
Hi there
I’m part way through the pattern, have done the rib and the increase row, but I got 76 stitches. Do I need to take my work back and not knit twice into every stitch, or can I decrease on the next few rows to get 72 stitches? Or should I, in fact, have 76 stitches?
Thanks from an inexperienced newbie 🙂
Or reading it again, should I have taken 13 rows to increase to 72 by increasing gradually. I’m getting myself very confused now – time for coffee 🙂
November 6, 2014 at 3:03 pm
Hi, Lesley! Yes you are only supposed to increase until you reach 72 stitches, so you won’t increase on every single stitch or you would end up with 76..as you already know 😛 The reason for that is because 72 is divisible by 8, which will make it a lot easier, and prettier, when you decrease. If you don’t feel like starting over (and I don’t blame you if that’s the case), I would either go ahead and decrease now before going any further (on the wrong side of your work), or you can wait until it is time to decrease and go ahead and decrease to 72 before you start the decreasing pattern. The only thing is, if you wait, your hat will end up a little bit bigger because you are at a 76 instead of a 72. Does all that make sense?
November 6, 2014 at 4:34 pm
Thanks for getting back to me. I will decrease now (it’s what I started to do before I had the ‘nouse’ to post the question here) over the next couple of rows then do the straight work before the decreasing. Sorry to be dumb 🙂 🙂 🙂 and thanks again x
November 7, 2014 at 8:38 am
You’re not dumb at all! I should have been more detailed in my explanation. In fact, I went back and edited to be more clear 🙂
November 6, 2014 at 11:46 am
Hi there
I’m part way through the pattern, have done the rib and the increase row, but I got 76 stitches. Do I need to take my work back and not knit twice into every stitch, or can I decrease on the next few rows to get 72 stitches? Or should I, in fact, have 76 stitches?
Thanks from an inexperienced newbie 🙂
October 22, 2014 at 12:18 pm
I don’t really have a thick yarn, or size 13 needles, so I was wondering, how should I alter the pattern to make it the right size? I would like to do it with size 7 needles.
October 22, 2014 at 4:27 pm
Hi, Faith. It depends on how big you want your beret to be. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you the exact number of stitches you should cast on. I do know that it is going to take quite a lot more stitches and yarn with such small needle size, but you need to determine how big you want the hat to be. Once you figure that out, you can still follow the same pattern. For example, I said to cast on 32 stitches, but let’s say you cast on 52 stitches. When it’s time to increase, instead of ending up with 72 stitches you’ll end up with 92 stitches. (This is only an example) Sorry I can’t be of more help!
September 17, 2014 at 8:35 am
This is a beautiful hat, beret. Thank you for the free pattern. I rarely knit something for myself, but I think this one might be a keeper.
Mary K
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September 17, 2014 at 11:08 am
I know what you mean! I rarely keep anything I knit for myself, but the good thing about these is that they are so quick to make, you can make one for you and someone else 🙂
September 17, 2014 at 12:57 am
love the pattern will make it for me ,THANKS Dont know why but pattern printed very light ,
September 16, 2014 at 6:03 pm
I love the colour of the pink one, it will be gorgeous to brighten up the dark days of winter.
September 16, 2014 at 6:13 pm
Thanks! The yarn knitted up a lot prettier than I expected