Crochet guide
Why a crochet hat comes out wavy, pointy or too big
A hat worked from the top down starts as a flat circle, and a circle only lies flat with the right number of stitches. Too many increases and the crown ruffles. Too few and it cups into a bowl or a point. Keep increasing for too many rounds and the hat is too big.
On this page 7 parts
How a hat is built
Many crochet hats are worked from the top down. You start with a small ring of stitches and add stitches in every round, so that the piece grows as a flat circle. That circle is the crown. When it is wide enough, you stop increasing and work every round with the same number of stitches. The sides then turn down by themselves and the hat takes shape.
So two things shape the crown: how many stitches you add in each round, and when you stop adding them.
What went wrong, and the fix
| What you see | Why | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| The crown is wavy or ruffled | Too many stitches for a flat circle, or stitches that are too loose | Add fewer stitches in each round, start with fewer stitches, or go down a hook size |
| The crown cups into a bowl too soon | Too few stitches for a flat circle, or stitches that are too tight | Add more stitches in each round, start with more stitches, or go up a hook size |
| The top is pointy, like a cone | Too few increases: plain rounds between the increase rounds, or far too few stitches added in each round, shape a cone and not a flat circle | Increase in every round, with the right count for your stitch (see below) |
| The hat is too big | You increased for too many rounds, your stitches are larger than the pattern's, or the hat was made as big as the head | Stop increasing sooner, check your gauge, and make the hat a little smaller than the head |
| The brim is loose | The brim is not smaller than the head, or its stitch has little stretch | Make the brim a little smaller than the head, or work it in ribbing |
The flat circle rule
To keep a circle flat, you add the same number of stitches in every round. That number depends on the stitch: a tall stitch needs more stitches in each round than a short one. These are United States stitch names, with the United Kingdom name in brackets.
| Stitch | Start with | Add in every round |
|---|---|---|
| Single crochet (UK double crochet) | 6 stitches | 6 stitches |
| Half double crochet (UK half treble crochet) | 8 stitches | 8 stitches |
| Double crochet (UK treble crochet) | 10 to 12 stitches | 10 to 12 stitches |
The numbers are a guide. They shift a little with how tightly you crochet. If your circle ruffles, drop a stitch or two. If it cups, add one or two. How to crochet a flat circle shows the rounds one by one.
A pointed crown is not always a mistake. Some hats, such as a witch's hat, are shaped that way on purpose. It is a problem only when the pattern meant the crown to lie flat.
When to stop increasing
Stop when the flat crown is as wide as the hat needs. Three steps get you there.
- Measure the head. Put a tape measure around its widest part, across the forehead.
- Take off a little. A hat should be slightly smaller than the head: it stretches to fit, and that keeps it on. About 2 in (5 cm) smaller is a common rule. A very stretchy stitch needs more taken off, and a firm stitch less.
- Stop at that size. The stitches in your last increase round are the stitches around the whole hat, so the size is set the moment you stop increasing. With a pattern, choose its size by these measures and work the increase rounds it gives for that size. Without one, your gauge gives the count: the hat's size around times your stitches to the inch.
For a head of 22 in (56 cm), the hat should be about 20 in (51 cm) around.
Many hat size charts also give a crown width for each size: you measure the flat circle across and stop increasing when it reaches that width. The charts do not agree on those widths, so none is given here. If a hat sized that way comes out too big, stop one round of increases sooner.
The crochet hat size chart gives head sizes from newborn to adult, for when you cannot measure the head.
If the hat is still too big
- Check your gauge. If your stitches are larger than the pattern's, every part of the hat comes out larger. Crochet gauge shows how to measure it and what to change.
- Count the crown rounds. Each increase round makes the hat bigger around by the stitches it adds, so one round too many can be the whole fault.
- Heads differ. People of the same age do not have the same head size. Measure when you can.
If the brim is loose
The brim is the part that holds a hat on, so it has to be a little smaller than the head and spring back when stretched. Ribbing, a stretchy stitch pattern, does this well, which is why so many hat brims are ribbed.
Where to go next
- How to crochet a flat circle, round by round.
- Crochet hat size chart, for the size to aim for.
- Crochet gauge, when the whole hat is the wrong size.
- Common crochet problems, for curling, waving and edges that grow in other pieces.