Wow, it feels good to be back!
I haven’t written a blog post in well over a year. I almost have a feeling I am approaching two years without publishing any new content. I’m probably wrong, but it certainly feels that way. To celebrate my return I wanted to offer something to you all, something that is completely free.
I wrote a post quite a while ago discussing my thoughts on a published pattern for sale versus a pattern “recipe”. When I say recipe, I mean something that is so very simple that it seems wrong to charge for it because it’s just a combination of a few skills that are widely available for free already. Literally almost any knitter could make this toque without a pattern, just by watching a few tutorials on YouTube.
I wanted to have one single place where you could find every detail needed to knit this particular toque. I call it the “Double Brim Beanie” because it has a nice, thick, squishy brim. Again, it feels so silly to charge for a pattern like this because it is so simple, so I want to offer it to you all for free so you can enjoy making these cozy toques to your heart’s content.
I make this hat so often that I wanted to also offer a few different combinations of yarn weights, stitch counts, and so on. I am only including adult sizes for now, but I’ll explain how to modify the pattern to be larger or smaller because it is also quite simple.
I ask in exchange for this wonderful freebie that you tag me in your finished work whenever you use this patten, or direct people to my page so more individuals can enjoy this free pattern! And, in full disclosure, the more visits I get to my website the more ad revenue I can earn, which makes it easier for me to offer patterns free of charge.
Let’s get started!
Pattern Basics
All you need to know how to do is cast on, knit in the round, pick up stitches, knit two together, and decrease stitches. The needles required will change depending on the type of yarn you are using, but no matter what you will need a stitch marker, scissors, and a yarn needle. You could also finish off the Double Brim Beanie with a faux fur pom pom or yarn pom pom. There are tons of tutorials online, and even finished products for sale! Check out Etsy for finished faux fur pom poms, or watch this tutorial for how to make a yarn pom pom with a pom pom maker.
This hat is knit from the brim up. Essentially what you are going to do is cast on the required number of stitches so it will fit comfortably on your head, knit continuously until your work is TWICE as long as you want your brim to be, fold your work in on itself and attach your cast on edge to your working stitches by knitting them together as you go around, knit a bit more until your hat is just about as long as you want it to be, decrease, and finish off your beanie. It sounds simple, and I promise it is. This is my go-to pattern when I want to just watch a movie and not really pay attention to what I’m knitting.
Here is my favourite tutorial for knitting a cast on edge to the live stitches.
Please keep in mind that the information below are all estimates. I will go back and confirm suggested round counts as I continue to knit these toques, but for now please read to the bottom of the pattern so you can see my suggestion on how to modify the pattern for different sizes!
Super Bulky (6)
Required needle size: 13/9.00mm
CO 40 stitches
Knit around until your toque is just over double the length of what you want your brim to be (need to account for length used up in the fold). For me this is usually about 20 rounds.
Join your cast on edge to your live stitches in your preferred method, or follow the video tutorial I suggested.
Knit around until your toque is almost as long as you want it to be. For me, this is usually about another 10-12 rounds.
Time to decrease!
*K3, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stitches.
Knit around.
*K2, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stiches.
Knit around.
*K1, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stitches.
*K2tog, repeat around from * and if there is a remaining stitches just knit that.
Cut your working yarn, leaving about a 10-inch tail. Using a yarn needle, feed the remaining yarn through your live stitches and pull tight to cinch the top of your toque shut. Weave in your ends in your preferred method.
This style of toque looks awesome without a pom pom, but feel free to add a faux fur or yarn pom pom if you want!
Bulky (5)
Required needle size: 10/6.00mm
CO 60 stitches
Knit around until your toque is just over double the length of what you want your brim to be (need to account for length used up in the fold). For me this is usually about 35 rounds.
Join your cast on edge to your live stitches in your preferred method, or follow the video tutorial I suggested.
Knit around until your toque is almost as long as you want it to be. For me, this is usually about another 15 rounds.
Time to decrease!
*K3, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stitches.
Knit around.
*K2, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stiches.
Knit around.
*K1, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stitches.
*K2tog, repeat around from * and if there is a remaining stitches just knit that.
Cut your working yarn, leaving about a 10-inch tail. Using a yarn needle, feed the remaining yarn through your live stitches and pull tight to cinch the top of your toque shut. Weave in your ends in your preferred method.
This style of toque looks awesome without a pom pom, but feel free to add a faux fur or yarn pom pom if you want!
Worsted (4) Held Double
Required needle size: 11/8.00mm
CO 48 stitches
Knit around until your toque is just over double the length of what you want your brim to be (need to account for length used up in the fold). For me this is usually about 28-30 rounds.
Join your cast on edge to your live stitches in your preferred method, or follow the video tutorial I suggested.
Knit around until your toque is almost as long as you want it to be. For me, this is usually about another 15-18 rounds.
Time to decrease!
*K3, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stitches.
Knit around.
*K2, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stiches.
Knit around.
*K1, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stitches.
*K2tog, repeat around from * and if there is a remaining stitches just knit that.
Cut your working yarn, leaving about a 10-inch tail. Using a yarn needle, feed the remaining yarn through your live stitches and pull tight to cinch the top of your toque shut. Weave in your ends in your preferred method.
This style of toque looks awesome without a pom pom, but feel free to add a faux fur or yarn pom pom if you want!
Worsted (4)
Required needle size: 8/5.00mm
CO 74 stitches
Knit around until your toque is just over double the length of what you want your brim to be (need to account for length used up in the fold). For me this is usually about 48 rounds.
Join your cast on edge to your live stitches in your preferred method, or follow the video tutorial I suggested.
Knit around until your toque is almost as long as you want it to be. For me, this is usually about another 25 rounds.
Time to decrease!
*K5, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stitches.
Knit around.
*K4, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stiches.
Knit around.
*K3, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stitches.
Knit around.
*K2, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stitches.
Knit around.
*K1, k2tog, repeat around from * and knit any remaining stitches.
*K2tog, repeat around from * and if there is a remaining stitches just knit that.
Cut your working yarn, leaving about a 10-inch tail. Using a yarn needle, feed the remaining yarn through your live stitches and pull tight to cinch the top of your toque shut. Weave in your ends in your preferred method.
This style of toque looks awesome without a pom pom, but feel free to add a faux fur or yarn pom pom if you want!
How to Modify for Different Sizes
The number of stitches you cast on determines how large of a circumference your toque will have. More stitches = bigger heads. Less stitches = smaller heads. Of course you can make adjustments depending on the level of slouch you want for your toque. I am very confident in all of my cast on suggestions for each yarn and needle combination, but I like this style to be a more snug fit. If you’d like it a bit looser, add a few stitches to the cast on suggestion. I would not recommend casting on less stitches unless you know you have a smaller head, or if it’s for a child!
Depending on how long you want your brim to be, you will either knit less or more before you join the cast on edge to the live stitches. I like a longer brim for this style of toque, and depending on the overall look I want for the toque, sometimes I make the brim to be almost 50% of the overall height of the toque! If you want your brim to be longer, don’t knit as many rounds after you’ve joined the cast on edge to the live stitches otherwise your toque will be VERY long.
Like I said, I prefer this style to be more fitted, so I don’t knit many rounds after I’ve joined the cast on edge to the live stitches. If you want your hat to be slouchier, knit more rounds! Luckily this is pretty easy to gauge as you can hold your hat up to either yourself or whoever you are making it for and see how far up the knitting goes along their head.
The decrease section for each toque will be about 1-2 inches of work. It’s important to keep this in mind when knitting the body of the toque, otherwise you might get a very long or slouchy toque. Whenever I finish one of these hats, I find myself looking down and thinking to myself, “Gee, this does not look long enough to cover a whole head!” But I always surprise myself and they always fit.
Well there you have it. Another free pattern for the books!
STRINGS & THINGS 