Basic Crochet Stitches Used to Make Simple Hats

Single crochet is one of the most basic crochet stitches, and is often used to create simple hats. If you would like to create your own hat pattern, you can find out how many stitches you will need around your hat by first making a gauge swatch.

In this video Nathalie O’Shea shows us how to how to make a swatch in the single crochet stitch pattern. She begins with a slip knot and shows us how to make a foundation chain. Nathalie chooses to work through the top (or back loop) of the foundation chain. To make the single crochet stitch, she begins by working into the second chain from the hook, then makes a yarn over and pulls up a loop. She makes another yarn over and pulls through both loops on hook to complete the stitch. After working across the chain, she makes a turning chain and turns her work to get ready for the next row. On the second row, Nathalie works under both loops of each stitch (the ones that form the v shape along the top edge of the work). Nathalie shows us how to count our rows and stitches.

With this information, you can calculate the number of stitches and rows needed to make a hat. For example, let’s say your swatch was made with 16 stitches across and measures 4” wide, and you want to make a hat that measures 20” in circumference. Divide the desired circumference of the hat by the width of the swatch: 20 ÷ 4 = 5. Then you would multiply that number by the number of stitches across the swatch: 5 x 16 = 80. Your hat would need 80 stitches around to make the desired 20” circumference. Working up a swatch first will take the guesswork out of creating your own design and give you predictable results.