Free Easy Knit Beanie Hat Pattern for Circular Needles

This free easy unisex hat knitting pattern makes a great first circular needle knitting project for beginners.

Most of this hat pattern is just the basic knit stitch – easy peasy. There’s some rib stitch at the start for a good fit & simple k2tog decreases to shape the crown.

Don’t Know how to Knit with Circular Needles?

This beanie pattern is also available for straight knitting needles, knit flat and seamed down the back.

But if circular needles seem scary to you, knitting with a circular needle is actually very similar to using straights and this is the perfect project to give it a go! See how easy circular knitting is with my video tutorials:

• Step 1: See my circular needles for straight needle knitters guide
• Step 2: Move on to my knitting in the round for beginners tutorial
• Step 3: Knit this easy worsted hat pattern or my DK ribbed hat with a circular needle as you learn. 😊

What You Need

• 5mm (us size 8) 16 inch (40 cm) circular knitting needle.
  If your yarn recommends a different size knitting needle, you can use that instead.
  You can also use a long circular (40 inch/100cm+) to knit the hat with magic loop or a set of DPNs.
  
• 2 small 50g balls or 1 larger ball of worsted or aran weight yarn. I used:
  • 45g approx (half a ball approx) Lion Brand Wool Ease worsted yarn (lighter weight acrylic with wool mix) with a 5mm circular for the mustard fitted beanie hat
  • 68g approx (1.3 balls) of Drops Nepal aran yarn (heavier soft wool & alpaca mix) with a 5mm circular in shade cerise for the pink beanie hat
  • 65g approx (2/3 ball) Lion Brand Feels Like Butta polyester yarn (heavy soft brushed cotton or velvety feel) with 4.5mm (us size 7) needles as recommended on the ball band in shade lilac to make the pale purple slouchy beanie hat.
    
• Tapestry needle for closing the top of the hat & weaving in ends.
• If using a 16 inch/40cm circular, knitting the final part of the hat is easier with one of the following:
  • Option 1: 1 short double pointed needle or straight cable needle, any size up to 5mm thick.
  • Option 2: 5mm long circular needle (at least 32 inches or 80 cm)
  • Option 3: A set of 5mm double pointed needles.

New for 2025: Check out my free ribbed hat pattern in DK yarn for another easy knit hat project

Sizing & Notes

• This free easy knit hat pattern is one size to fit most adult heads. The sample hats pictured fit both my small woman’s head & a 6ft man’s head.
• Standard aran gauge of 18 stitches and 24 rounds to 4 inches (10 cm) is suggested. But exact gauge is not important (especially vertical row gauge) as the hat is quite stretchy. The hat is your swatch, there’s no need for test squares!
• The pattern includes options for a fitted (A), slouchy (B) and cuffed beanie (C) (where you turn the ribbing up).
• Here are my finished hat sizes post wash & dry as a guide, but it’s fine for these to vary a bit depending on your yarn & gauge:
  • Mustard fitted beanie knit with Lion Brand Wool Ease (most light weight): 8.75 inches tall x 10 inches wide (above rib)
  • Pink fitted beanie knit with Drops Nepal (heavier soft woolly feel): 9 inches tall x 10.25 inches wide
  • Pale lilac slouch beanie knit with Lion Brand Feels Like Butta (heavy soft brushed cotton feel): 10 inches tall x 9.5 inches wide

Abbreviations

• k2tog – knit 2 stitches together (decrease 1 stitch)
• kx – knit next x stitches
• px – purl next x stitches
• () x n times – repeat the instructions inside () n times

Basic Beanie Circular Needle Knitting Pattern

Knit a beanie hat in the round with this easy free pattern

Cast on 88 stitches

I used the long tail cast on (tutorial here), which works well for knitting in the round, but you can use any cast on.

Knit 8 rounds of rib

Join to knit in the round. Knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch and repeat this pattern until the end of the round to do k1p1 ribbing. See how in my knitting in the round for beginners video.
Do 8 rounds of rib stitch, or your desired ribbing height.

Folded cuff beanie (Option C) only: Do 12-16 rounds of rib instead for a deeper brim which you will turn up.

Knit stockinette until desired length

Switch to knitting every stitch in each round i.e. knit in stockinette.
Ideally, try it on your head after knitting about 3 inches (including rib), to check it’s a comfy fit.
If you’re using a short circular, you will need to move 20-30 stitches temporarily to a spare needle before you try on, to avoid losing stitches off the tips of your circular when your knitting expands on your head.

Fitted beanie (option A): knit until your piece is 6 inches including rib.
Slouchy beanie (option B): knit until your piece is 7.5 inches including rib, or longer for more slouch.
Cuffed beanie (option C): knit 6 inches of stockinette for a fitted hat or 7.5 inches for a slouchy hat (or longer for extra slouch). 

Initial decreases

(K2tog, K20) x 4 times to decrease 4 stitches evenly around [84 stitches]
Knit 2 rounds even
(K2tog, K19) x 4 times to decrease another 4 stitches [80 stitches]
Knit 2 rounds even

Main crown decreases

(K2tog, K6) x 10 times to decrease 10 stitches evenly around [70 stitches]
Knit 1 round even
(K2tog, K5) x 10 times [60 stitches]
Knit 1 round even
(K2tog, K4) x 10 times [50 stitches]
Knit 1 round even
(K2tog, K3) x 10 times [40 stitches]
Knit 1 round even

Note: Knitting in the round on a short circular with a small number of stitches can be tricky. Watch the video tutorial or read about 4 ways to do this below before doing the rest of the decreases:

(K2tog, K2) x 10 times [30 stitches]
Knit 1 round even
(K2tog, K1) x 10 times [20 stitches]
Knit 1 round even
K2tog x 10 times [10 stitches]

Finish hat

See my hat finishing tutorial (including 5 min video) here →
Leaving a long tail, cut the yarn. Thread it through the 10 remaining stitches twice & gather to close the top of the hat. Weave in the end down the back of your hat. Finally weave in the cast on tail into the rib stitches at the bottom of your hat.

How to Knit the Top of a Hat in the Round

Knitting the top of a hat with a 16 inch circular needle is the tricky bit. As you decrease more and more stitches, you get to a point where your stitches no longer fill your circular needle, which makes knitting in the round awkward.

One option is to move some stitches to a spare needle in the final rounds. Watch the video tutorial below for step by step instructions, including showing you the final 4 rounds of this pattern:

Or learn about 3 other ways you can finish knitting the top of your hat here.

I hope you enjoy knitting this easy beanie hat with a circular needle. It’s a great way to practise knitting in the round while making something practical you can wear everyday or give as a special gift. Got any questions or feedback on this pattern? Just leave a comment below.

This free pattern is for personal, non-commercial use only. It may not be copied, sold, translated or distributed in any way, nor any finished items made using it sold, without permission.