In my previous post, I discussed the basic structure of a basic beanie hat and how to knit the brim and the body of the hat. Once you have knitted the hat to the desired length before the start of the crown shaping, you have basically knit a cylinder as shown below.
If you look at the top of the cylinder, it is a circle – and this is the area where you shape the crown by gradually decreasing stitches to close the top of the hat. I usually decrease my stitches down to somewhere between 6 to 12 stitches and then finish the top of the hat by breaking the yarn and using the tail to close the very top of the hat.
Shaping the Crown: The shape of the crown is determined by the number of stitches you need to decrease, the type of decreases you use and how frequently you make your decreases.
Basic beanies usually have either a “spiral” shaped crown or a “wedge” shaped crown. Spiral shaped crowns are made by dividing the number of stitches into an equal number of segments where the decreases are made. The number of segments can be 5, 6, 7, or 8. The number you choose depends upon the total number of stitches and whether the total is evenly divisible by the number of segments. For example, 96 stitches can be divided into 6 equal segments of 16 stitches, or it can be divided into 8 equal segments of 12 stitches. If you have a number of stitches that cannot be evenly divided, then you will need to decrease your stitches down to a number that can be evenly segmented.
Typically, the decrease used for crown shaping is K2Tog which is a right-leaning decrease. You can also use the SSK decrease which leans left. However, you need to use only one of these two decreases in order to knit the spiral shape for your crown.
A wedge-shaped crown has only 4 segments. If you want this shape for your crown, you will divide your stitches by 4 and then use double decreases as you shape the crown. Using 96 stitches as an example, you would have 4 segments of 24 stitches.
To decrease you can use a combination of K2Tog and SSK at each point of decrease or you can use a Central Double Decrease(CDD).
I usually place a stitch or 2 between the K2Tog and SSK decrease when making the wedge-shaped crown. This gives the top of the hat a decorative ridge. The CDD makes a decorative line itself.
Rate of Decreases: Typically, I start crown decreases at a rate of every other round – where I decrease in each segment until I have knit approximately 1.5 inches and then I switch to decreasing every round until I am down to somewhere between 12 and 6 stitches. This is based on my experience.
Calculating Decrease Rates: I know it’s a lot of math, but here goes: To calculate your own rate of decrease, you need to know the number of rows that remain for the crown of the hat and your row gauge. The crown of the hat is approximately 1/3 of the total length of the hat. For example, the total length of the hat is 11 inches — and 1/3 of this is 3.7 inches. Using a row gauge of 7 rounds per inch. 3.7 x 7 equals 25.9 rounds (round up to 26 rounds). I need to decrease from 96 stitches to 12 stitches at a rate of 6 sts per decrease round. This gives me 14 sets of decreases (96-12 = 84, 84/6 = 14). Dividing the total number of rounds by the number of decrease rounds gives me 1.9. Now I can opt to decrease EOR over 28 rows, which makes my hat slightly longer, or I can decrease EOR for 20 rows (decreasing 60 sts) and then decrease every row for 6 rows (decreasing 36 sts) and end with 10 sts to close the top of the hat. Either way will give me a hat with a close-fitting crown.
I have now covered how to make a basic beanie hat without using a pattern. Give it a try using your choice of yarn and your gauge. Happy Knitting. 🙂