How Do You Knit a Beanie

From LoveToKnow Crafts

If you have ever wondered, "How do you knit a beanie?", this article is for you. Beanies are tight fitting knitted caps that can be made in a number of ways and in many different colors. They are simple and quick projects. If you have experience knitting, you should be able to finish one in a couple of hours. They are very popular among young men and women and make great gifts.

Materials You Will Need

For any knitted beanie, you will need the following materials no matter what the pattern is:

About 120 yards of yarn
Circular needles in the size specified in the pattern
You may also need double pointed needles
A darning needle
A pattern
Embellishments if you like

You will also need to know basic the knitting terms:

Stockinette stitch
Knit
Purl
Cast on
Cast off
Decrease
Increase

How Do You Knit a Beanie the Easy Way?

While all beanies are pretty simple, there are some that are easier than others. A beanie made with a plain stockinette stitch and no color changes will be much easier than a beanie that has a Fair Isle pattern knit into it. Once you have made a fairly simple beanie, you may want to make the same pattern again using several colors of yarn or different stitch patterns.

If you are making a beanie for the first time, Bidda's Head Hugger is a great one to try. It is a very basic pattern that looks great for men or women. The textured edge on the brim adds fashion flair without being too difficult for the novice. By making it with contrasting colors on the brim and in the body of the hat, or by adding embellishments, you can easily create a beanie that is unique to you.

Beanies for More Experienced Knitters

Once you have mastered the basic beanie and all of the variations you can think of, you may want a more challenging pattern. The following patterns are for more experienced knitters with knowledge of different stitches and techniques:

The basket weave hat is a great looking, textured beanie. The basket weave pattern is not a difficult pattern to master and this is a good project to practice it on. The texture adds enough style to the beanie that the single color is not at all boring.
This cable and rib beanie is another hat with a lot of texture to give it interest. If you have been interested in learning to cable, this quick project would be a great introduction.
Do you love checkers? This checkered band beanie is unusual. This is a great project to do when you want to get used to color changing within a row, like with Fair Isle knitting.
Here is a knitted lace beanie that takes a little more knitting knowledge. It is very feminine, with almost a Victorian feel.
If you have leftover yarn from your last ten projects, take a look at this striped beanie.