Hello friend! Welcome back to 12 Weeks of Beanies and the garter stitch look-alike free crochet pattern for Beanie No 9! I’m super excited about this garter stitch look-alike crochet beanie pattern since it only took me THREE HOURS to make! Anything I can make in one day is a winner with me and this garter stitch look-alike crochet beanie is definitely a winner!
If you’re new around here, then you should know that Beanie No 9 is part of a series of beanie patterns designed with the beginner knitter or crocheter in mind that helps you develop new skills in knitting and crochet. Every new crafter needs an easy, yet beautiful, hat project that is cute and interesting while still being easy to make, and this garter stitch look-alike free crochet pattern for Beanie No 9 is exactly that!
As mentioned before, this beanie pattern is fast to make – it took me right around 3 hours to make thanks to the chunky yarn. I used Lion Brand Hometown size 5 chunky yarn from Joann’s and it has the nicest bit of sparkle to it, perfect for winter crafting. This hat would also look great in a solid color where you can really see the knit-look stitches clearly, or, use a beautifully spotted and speckled yarn to really see those flecks of color pop. Regardless of the yarn you use, this garter stitch look-alike crochet beanie creates a really nice stitch pattern that truly does look knitted!
So how exactly is this garter look beanie made? It uses the most basic crochet stitch – the slip stitch. Yep. I said it. This entire hat is made out of slip stitches! I know, I know – you might HATE slip stitches, but by using chunky yarn, I promise this beanie make FLIES BY! And it makes the most beautiful crown increases and will really highlight whatever beautiful yarn you use. I have literally NEVER made anything out of slip stitches because I’ve always thought it would be so tedious and take forever, but I thought I’d give it a go for a hat since it IS sooooo easy to make, and I’m totally sold. I’m planning a gorgeous tweed sweater + a striped sweater using slip stitches so this beanie MUST be totally transformational, right?!? *WINK* SO … on to the instructions!
BUT before I get there, I always want to mention that this ENTIRE beanie series is FREE. I think it’s important for beginners to have access to free patterns to work on their skills before progressing to paid patterns, so you’ll find every single one of the 12 Weeks of Beanies hats for free on my blog. You can find the first beanie in the series here, but don’t miss out when a new pattern drops! Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of new designs before anyone else!
AND – I plan to make these 12 beanie patterns into an eBook that you can purchase from my website or on Ravelry.com once they’ve all been published here on my blog! The eBook will be professionally formatted, include a range of sizes for each beanie pattern, and be a great collection of beanies you can refer to every year for personal and gift crocheting or knitting.
Instructions include:
- Construction + Fit/Ease
- Yarn Notes
- Yarn Amounts
- Hook Size
- Notions Required
- Gauge
- Sizes
- Hat Schematic
- Swatching Notes & Directions
- Stitch Abbreviations
- Special Stitches
- Tutorials
- Notes
- The Beanie Pattern!
- Finishing Notes
- Copyright Notes
Disclaimer: Some of the links included in this pattern are sponsored links, which means that if you choose to click on them, I’ll receive compensation from the company at no cost to you. By clicking on these links, you’ll help me be able to continue providing free patterns. It’s a win/win for both of us!
Construction + Fit/Ease
Beanie No 9 is constructed top down in the round. It starts with a chain and is then increased through the crown, then worked through the body. The hat is finished off using crab stitch, otherwise known as reverse single crochet. The hat also incorporates negative ease to keep it snug and tight over your ears for maximum warmth.
Yarn Notes
I’ve had this Lion Brand Hometown yarn in my stash for a long time now but it’s still available from Joann’s. It’s a really beautiful natural cream with sparkly gold highlights throughout which really show up well with the garter stitch look-alike texture. I know some people are allergic to wool, so I try to use a mix of yarn content types, and I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to find a colorway in this yarn that you like. In case acrylic yarn isn’t your jam, I’ve also included some other yarn options you can substitute in if you’d like.
$ Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick N Quick in colorway Starlight – this is the yarn I used
$ Lion Brand Color Theory from Joann’s – this is a great wool/acrylic blend alternative if Wool Ease is too woolly for you
$ Lion Brand Hometown or Big Twist Posh – These are both great non-wool options. Hometown is acrylic and Posh is polyester.
$ Lion Brand Scarfie – I’m truly not trying to hype Lion Brand yarn in this post, LOL!, but Scarfie yarn would work wonderfully for a fade beanie!
Yarn Amounts
*FYI – If you just buy 1 skein of this yarn you’ll probably need to unravel your swatch and use some of it to finish the last couple of rows and the brim of the beanie. I had about 6 skeins in my stash so I wasn’t worried about running out, but if you don’t want to play yarn chicken then buy 2 skeins!
- 1 skein Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick in Starlight, 80% Acrylic/20% Wool, 5 oz./140g (87 yd/80 m)
Hook
Size N/13 9mm hook
Notions
1 locking stitch marker
Embroidery Needle for weaving in ends
Gauge
11 stitches x 16 rows = 4”x4”
- 2.75 stitches per inch
- 4 rows per inch
Schematic
Size
Adult Size Medium/Large to fit head circumferences 20-22″”
- Finished circumference 20″
- Height from Crown to Brim = 9.5”
Swatch Notes
This swatch is made in the round.
Swatch Directions
- Set Up Row: Chain 19. Join first and last chains with a slip stitch to form a circle – 18 sts.
- Round 1 (RS): Ch 1, *sc into back bump of first ch and into each chain around. Do not join. – 19 sts. PM in first st to mark BOR – 19 sts.
- Round 2 (RS): Sl st into BL only to BOR. Do not join – 19 sts.
- Rounds 3-20: Repeat Row 2. Bind off, block.
Stitch Abbreviations
- BL – back loop
- BOR = beginning of round
- Ch = chain
- CST = crab stitch
- PM = place marker
- RS = right side
- Sc = single crochet
- Sl st = slip stitch
Special Stitches
- Crab Stitch = yo, insert hook in stitch BEFORE st just worked, yo, pull up a loop, yo, pull through two loops. Basically, you’ll work this stitch as a single crochet going in the opposite direction than you normally crochet, so for a right-handed person the crab stitch is worked going from left to right, and for a left-handed person the crab stitch is worked going from right to left.
Pattern
crown
Note: Hat is crocheted in the round without joining. Only join where specified in instructions.
Foundation Round 1 (RS): Ch 8. Sl st into first chain to join in the round. Ch 1, sc into each ch around. Pm in first st; this is the BOR marker. 8 sts.
Round 2 (RS): (Sl st, ch 1) in first st, *(Sl st, ch 1) in next st, repeat from * around to BOR. 16 sts
Round 3: *Sl st, (sl st, ch 1) in next st, repeat from * around to BOR. 24 sts.
Round 4: *3 sl st, (sl st, ch 1) in next st, repeat from * around to BOR. 40 sts.
Round 5: *4 sl st, (sl st, ch 1) in next st, repeat from * around to BOR. 48 sts.
Round 6: *5 sl st, (sl st, ch 1) in next st, repeat from * around to BOR. 56 sts.
Move to body section.
Body
Rounds 1-37: Sl st around. 56 sts.
Move to Brim.
BRIM
Round 1: Sl st into first st to join. CST around. 56 sts. Break yarn leaving a long tail.
Move to Finishing
Finishing
Weave tail through first CST to join sts, then weave in ends and block as desired. Enjoy your new garter stitch look-alike beanie!
Copyright Notes
It’s not nice to copy other people’s work so let’s not do that! All text and photos copyright 2023 by Regarding Yarn. No part of this pattern may be duplicated or sold. Final products made from this pattern are for personal use only and may not be sold.
