Hat Tutorials
Hats are a easy and quick knitting project. Roll brim stockinette stitch hats, like the Easy Peasy hat pattern, are great for beginners. Once you have mastered doing the knit stitch, it's time to learn something new and decrease at the top of the hat. And it is faster to knit a hat than a scarf. Experienced knitters will find that hats are the ideal medium for more complicated stitch patterns. Elizabeth Zimmermann recommends turning swatches for sweaters knit in the round into hats. You can try fun and bold stitches and motifs in a hat to easily add interest to your winter wardrobe. All of the techniques that are used to knit a hat are listed on this tutorial page.
How to knit your first hat
Roll brim, stockinette hat--great for beginners!
Nina discusses different types and constructions of knitted hats.
How to Cast On
Loop cast on (v) One of the easiest ways to cast on
Knitted cast on Very similar to doing the knit stitch.
Long tail cast on Very quick cast on method that creates a nice looking edge.
Knitting in the Round
Knitting in the Round (v) Covers lots of techniques--1 fixed circular, 2 circulars, DPNs, and Magic Loop
My stitch pattern looks different when I am knitting in the round!
Knitting in the round makes the structure of your stitches a little different from if you were knitting them flat. So in order to create garter stitch fabric in the round, you would knit alternating knit and purl rows. To create stockinette fabric, you would knit every stitch on every row.
English style (v)
How to Purl
English style (v)
Continental style (v)
Increases
What is the difference between English and Continental styles?
They are just different ways of wrapping your yarn around your needles. English knitters hold the yarn in their right hand and "throw" it around their needle. Continental knitters hold the yarn in their left hand and "pick" the yarn with their needle. Use whatever method is most comfortable for you!
Basic things to know
Types of stitch patterns to try for a hat
Increases
kfb--also called a "bar increase" because you will see a horizontal bar of yarn across your newly formed stitch
Knit into stitch below--a fairly invisible way to increase, and you can make the increase slant to the right or left
m1--this is a fairly invisible way to increase, and you can make a m1 increase slant to the right or left
yo--this method creates a small hole, but it looks nice in lace patterns
Decreases
k2tog slants right
p2tog slants right
ssk slants left
ssp slants left
skp slants left
Finishing
Weaving in ends (v)
Blocking hats (v)
Knit Picks Podcast
Free Hat Patterns
Note: (v) indicates video tutorials.
Last updated by Kate Nov 19.
Tutorials
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