7 Free Crochet Hat Patterns for Children (All Sizes)

These free crochet hat patterns for children are all real published patterns with written instructions, and each one links straight to the designer who wrote it. Between them they cover premie to teen, bulky yarn to cotton, and a one-evening beanie through to a textured post-stitch hat — so you can pick by the head you are making it for rather than by the photograph.

The single most useful thing before you start: measure the head. Children’s head sizes vary far more than the age labels suggest, and a hat that is two inches too big will not stay on.

Sizing and what you will need

Most of these use worsted weight yarn with a 4–5.5 mm hook; one uses bulky, one uses cotton. Head circumference is the measurement that matters, and a crocheted hat should be worked about an inch smaller than the head so it stretches to fit.

1. Spirit Earflap Hat

If you only bookmark one pattern here, make it this one — Nicole Chase writes it in seven sizes, from 0–3 months all the way to adult, so a single pattern covers every child in the family and then some. Worsted weight on a 5.5 mm hook. The last few rounds of the brim alternate front post double crochet with ordinary double crochet, which gives a subtle ridge without any real added difficulty, and the earflaps finish with braided tassels. Rated beginner-friendly. Free pattern: Spirit Earflap Hat.

2. Wanderlust Beanie

Kirsten Holloway builds braided-looking ridges around this hat using front and back post double crochet, and works some sections into the third loop of the half double crochet — a small change that produces a completely different surface from a plain beanie. Two sizes: toddler on a 3.75 mm hook, child up to about ten years on a 4.5 mm. She uses Lion Brand Jeans, which is labelled worsted but behaves closer to DK, so check your gauge if you substitute. Rated easy. Free pattern: Wanderlust Beanie for Toddlers and Kids.

3. Easy Children’s Crochet Hat

Sarah at Rich Textures Crochet takes an unusual route: instead of working in rounds from the crown, the hat is worked lengthwise in rows from a magic ring, then the two ends are joined and the top drawn closed. If working in the round has ever given you a visible seam or a lopsided crown, this construction sidesteps the problem entirely. Six sizes from premie through child on a 5.5 mm hook, written in a superwash merino. Rated easy. Free pattern: Easy Children’s Crochet Hat.

4. Toddler Hat — Easy Bulky Beanie

The quickest finish on the list. Melissa Hassler works this one top-down in joined rounds in bulky #5 yarn on a 6 mm hook, sized for a toddler head of roughly 18–20 inches. The brim is the interesting part: it is worked sideways in back-loop-only single crochet, which makes it genuinely stretchy rather than just loose — useful on a child who pulls their hat off. Rated beginner, and a realistic evening project. Free pattern: Toddler Hat Crochet Pattern.

5. The Buddy Beanie

Nikki at The Knotted Nest starts with the brim, then turns the work ninety degrees and crochets the body into the ends of the brim rows. That bottom-up construction is what gives the hat its flat, structured look rather than the softer shape you get working from the crown down. Written for ages 4–10 in worsted weight with a 4 mm hook for the brim and 5 mm for the body, plus adjustments for toddler through large adult. She rates it intermediate but notes an advanced beginner will manage. Free pattern: The Buddy Beanie.

6. Easy Child Size Bucket Hat

The only summer hat here, and the only one in cotton. Ashlea at Heart Hook Home works the body in brick stitch — back post half double crochet — which builds a firm textured fabric that holds the brim out instead of letting it flop. Worsted weight cotton, 4 mm hook for toddler and 5 mm for child, sized to roughly 19 and 20 inch head circumferences. Cotton also washes better than acrylic for a hat that will spend the summer outdoors. Free pattern: Easy Child Size Bucket Hat.

7. Easy Crochet Beanie

Tiffany at Daisy Farm Crafts gives a sizing chart rather than a fixed size, so you work out the starting count from the head circumference you actually need — the post walks through an example at 17 inches for a baby. Most of the hat is back-loop single crochet, which produces the ribbed stretch, and the crown is closed with slip stitches so the gathering is less bulky than a standard decrease. Caron Simply Soft on a 5 mm hook. Free pattern: Easy Crochet Beanie.

The seven patterns compared

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I measure a child’s head for a crochet hat?

Run a tape measure around the widest part — just above the ears and around the back of the skull, where the hat brim will actually sit. Work the hat about an inch smaller than that measurement so the crochet fabric stretches to fit. If the child is not available to measure, the table above gives the standard circumferences by age.

Which yarn is best for a child’s hat?

For winter hats, a soft acrylic or an acrylic-wool blend is the practical choice: it is warm, it survives repeated machine washing, and it costs little enough that losing the hat is not a disaster. Pure wool is warmer and blocks better but needs more care. For a summer bucket hat, cotton is worth the extra stiffness — it breathes and washes far better.

How long does a child’s hat take to crochet?

A bulky-weight toddler beanie like the Lovable Loops pattern is an evening’s work. A worsted weight hat with post-stitch texture, such as the Wanderlust Beanie, is more like two or three sittings. Nothing on this list is a multi-week project, which is what makes hats such good last-minute gifts.

Will a hat pattern stretch as the child grows?

Ribbed constructions stretch the most — the back-loop-only brims in the Daisy Farm Crafts and Lovable Loops patterns will follow a growing head for a season or two longer than a firm post-stitch fabric will. If you want maximum life out of one hat, choose a ribbed pattern and make the next size up.

Start from the size you need and the season, not the photograph. If you want one pattern that will cover every child you crochet for, the Spirit Earflap Hat’s seven sizes make it the most reusable of the seven; if you need a hat finished tonight, the bulky toddler beanie is the one.