How to Knit a Beanie for Beginners
Beanies are classic hats, perfect for winter but equally well-suited to other times of year. They’re always ready to keep your head warm and cozy, and they’re great to give as gifts to family and friends, too! But there’s no need to buy them from a store – making your own beanie is easier than you imagine.
This guide will cover how to knit a beanie even if you’re a beginner.
Step 1 of How to Knit a Beanie: The Right Size
Before we dig into the details of how to knit a beanie, the first thing to do is figure out how big – or small – you need to make it. Ideally, you should measure the head of the wearer to figure this out precisely. Use a flexible tape measure (tailor’s tape), and measure around the head, covering the middle of the head and the widest part of the back of the head.
Otherwise, use the following guidelines depending on the age and head size of the person you re knitting for:
- 20.5” (52cm) circumference for small beanies (best for teens and adult women)
- 23.25” (59cm) circumference for large beanies (best for adult men)
Step 2: Picking the Yarn
The next step in learning how to knit a beanie is to choose the yarn you’re going to use to make the beanie. This is up to you, but it’s important to think about the color you want your beanie to be and how you want it to look and feel.
Some knitters like to simply use up old bundles of yarn to make their beanies. Others will specifically seek out a specific shade or type of yarn for this project. Look online for inspiration if you’re not sure, and pick a color that’s sure to appeal to whoever you’re making the beanie for.
Step 3: Cast-On
With the size right and the yarn selected, you’re ready to actually start knitting. And the first big manual step of how to knit a beanie is to casting-on. For total beginners, casting-on is the term used when you add new stitches without the need for earlier ones. It’s a common way to start any knitting project.
To cast-on, you’ll start with a slip knot. Then, open up the loop to form your first stitch and loop the working yarn over the tip of your right-hand needle, before bringing the loop through to the front and adding the new stitch to the needle.
You’ll use this method to cast-on the first 64 stitches of your beanie. Knit in the round, joining each stitch together and making sure none of them get twisted. When you reach the end, slip the final stitch over your right needle, and then slip the final cast-on stitch over the slipped one to the left needle.
Step 4: Building the Body
This is the biggest part of how to knit a beanie – in this stage, you’ll knit the main section, or body, of your beanie. It’ll take some time, but luckily, it’s quite simple. Just knit two, purl two, and repeat around all of the stitches. Continue this process again and again until your beanie is about seven inches long.
Step 5: Decrease Stitches to Shape
Next, you need to shape the top of your beanie. This is another crucial step of knowing how to make a beanie, and it requires patience and attention to detail.
- Knit two, purl two together, and repeat for all stitches.
- Knit two, purl one, and repeat again for every stitch for four rounds in total.
- Knit two together and purl one for all stitches.
- Knit one and purl one for all stitches. Knit two together for every stitch.
Step 6: The Top of the Beanie
Last but not least, you need to finish up with the top of your beanie. Cut some yarn with a long tail (about half the length of your arm) and thread the tail into a yarn needle. Slide it through all the remaining active stitches.
Then, take out the needles, pull the yarn to join the stitches together and weave in the tail ends. At that point, your beanie should be done, and all that’s left to do is hand it over to whoever you’d like to share it with, or enjoy it yourself, as the case may be.
How to Make a Beanie the Easy Way: Custom Beanies Now
There you have it, you know how to knit a beanie from scratch! It’s quite easy as long as you have a basic understanding of knitting and stitches. But, if you’ve never knitted anything before, it might all be a little too complicated and you may want a simpler alternative.
That’s where Custom Beanies Now comes in. At Custom Beanies Now, you don’t need to know how to knit a beanie. All you have to do is pick a template from our vast range of options and then customize it however you like, with lots of colors, sizes, and styles to choose.
- Easy Customization: Custom Beanies Now makes it easier than ever to customize your own beanies. Pick sizes, colors, fabrics, and even add your own text or art to each one.
- Great Value: At Custom Beanies Now, you won’t have to worry about high prices or crazy rates. We offer fair, affordable price tags across our entire collection.
- Lots of Options: Wool. Polyester. Acrylic. Contemporary. Fancy. Cozy. Modern. Marbled. Two-tone. We offer dozens of beanies to suit every style.
So, if you’ve always liked the idea of learning how to knit a beanie or how to make beanies the easy way, just head to Custom Beanies Now and stat designing your dream hats.