The easiest hand knit bonnet pattern available for all sizes from newborn to adult.
What is great about this pattern/reference is that you can tailor to your desired stitch. That means if you wanted to add a brim or even create in a crochet stitch, the foundation of the size and how to assemble won’t change. I always have this chart handy when creating bonnets to ensure I have an appropriate size/fit.
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This is the easiest bonnet because it’s first knit as a single rectangle and then sewn/stitched up the back to create a square bonnet.
I love this old-fashioned bonnet look on baby/toddlers. This is also very functional as it covers the ears. Moms LOVE hats that keep baby’s ears covered in the cold months.
Materials
For this pattern I used a size 4 yarn, double strand (which means instead of using 1 strand of yarn, I used 2 at once).
This can be done multiple ways: (1) Buy two skeins of yarn to use at once. (2) Create two balls from your skein to use at once. (3) This is what I typically do – Use both ends of the skein at the same time.
You will also need 6.5mm knitting needles to create the bonnet
A tapestry needle to weave in ends and assemble the bonnet.
A crochet hook to create the ties. (Optional – you could braid ties if you wanted.)
Pattern Abbreviations:
K = Knit Stitch
P = Pearl Stitch
Newborn Knit Bonnet:
Finished size should measure roughly 5.25″ from front to back and 5.5″ from top to bottom.
Using 6.5mm knitting needles cast on 34 stitches.
First Row 1: *K1, P1, repeat from * to end of row (34 stitches).
Row 2-17: repeat Row 1 (34 stitches in each row).
Row 18: *K1, cast off, P1 cast off, repeat from * to end of row. Leave a long tail to assemble the bonnet.
Jump to Assembly below for how to finish the bonnet.
0-3 Months Knit Bonnet:
Finished size should measure roughly 5.5″ from front to back and 6″ from top to bottom.
Using 6.5mm knitting needles cast on 36 stitches.
First Row 1: *K1, P1, repeat from * to end of row (36 stitches).
Row 2-19: repeat Row 1 (36 stitches in each row).
Row 20: *K1, cast off, P1 cast off, repeat from * to end of row. Leave a long tail to assemble the bonnet.
Jump to Assembly below for how to finish the bonnet.
3-6 Months Knit Bonnet:
Finished size should measure roughly 5.75″ from front to back and 6.25″ from top to bottom.
Using 6.5mm knitting needles cast on 38 stitches.
First Row 1: *K1, P1, repeat from * to end of row (38 stitches).
Row 2-20: repeat Row 1 (38 stitches in each row).
Row 21: *K1, cast off, P1 cast off, repeat from * to end of row. Leave a long tail to assemble the bonnet.
Jump to Assembly below for how to finish the bonnet.
6-9 Months Knit Bonnet:
Finished size should measure roughly 6.25″ from front to back and 6.75″ from top to bottom.
Using 6.5mm knitting needles cast on 42 stitches.
First Row 1: *K1, P1, repeat from * to end of row (42 stitches).
Row 2-22: repeat Row 1 (42 stitches in each row).
Row 23: *K1, cast off, P1 cast off, repeat from * to end of row. Leave a long tail to assemble the bonnet.
Jump to Assembly below for how to finish the bonnet.
9-12 Months Knit Bonnet:
Finished size should measure roughly 6.75″ from front to back and 7″ from top to bottom.
Using 6.5mm knitting needles cast on 46 stitches.
First Row 1: *K1, P1, repeat from * to end of row (46 stitches).
Row 2-23: repeat Row 1 (46 stitches in each row).
Row 24: *K1, cast off, P1 cast off, repeat from * to end of row. Leave a long tail to assemble the bonnet.
Jump to Assembly below for how to finish the bonnet.
1-2 Years Knit Bonnet:
Finished size should measure roughly 7″ from front to back and 7.25″ from top to bottom.
Using 6.5mm knitting needles cast on 48 stitches.
First Row 1: *K1, P1, repeat from * to end of row (48 stitches).
Row 2-24: repeat Row 1 (48 stitches in each row).
Row 25: *K1, cast off, P1 cast off, repeat from * to end of row. Leave a long tail to assemble the bonnet.
Jump to Assembly below for how to finish the bonnet.
2-5 Years Knit Bonnet:
Finished size should measure roughly 7.5″ from front to back and 7.75″ from top to bottom.
Using 6.5mm knitting needles cast on 52 stitches.
First Row 1: *K1, P1, repeat from * to end of row (52 stitches).
Row 2-26: repeat Row 1 (52 stitches in each row).
Row 27: *K1, cast off, P1 cast off, repeat from * to end of row. Leave a long tail to assemble the bonnet.
Jump to Assembly below for how to finish the bonnet.
5-10 Years Knit Bonnet:
Finished size should measure roughly 8″ from front to back and 8.25″ from top to bottom.
Using 6.5mm knitting needles cast on 56 stitches.
First Row 1: *K1, P1, repeat from * to end of row (56 stitches).
Row 2-28: repeat Row 1 (56 stitches in each row).
Row 29: *K1, cast off, P1 cast off, repeat from * to end of row. Leave a long tail to assemble the bonnet.
Jump to Assembly below for how to finish the bonnet.
Teen / Adult Small Knit Bonnet:
Finished size should measure roughly 8.5″ from front to back and 8.75″ from top to bottom.
Using 6.5mm knitting needles cast on 58 stitches.
First Row 1: *K1, P1, repeat from * to end of row (58 stitches).
Row 2-29: repeat Row 1 (58 stitches in each row).
Row 30: *K1, cast off, P1 cast off, repeat from * to end of row. Leave a long tail to assemble the bonnet.
Jump to Assembly below for how to finish the bonnet.
Assembly of Square Knit Bonnet
Lay bonnet flat to create a square. Using a tapestry needle, weave the tail to sew the back of the bonnet closed. Once closed, tie off and weave in ends.
Lastly, the two tie pieces need to be created to tie the bottom of the bonnet.
There are many ways these tails can be created. I use a crochet hook to crochet ties, but you could also cut long strands of yarn to braid each of the ties if crochet is not your thing.
First tie: Attach the double strand of yarn at the bottom corner of the opening. Chain the amount below based on pattern size (or for as long as you want the ties) before cutting the yarn to tie off. Here is a rough estimate for each size that I use – but if you are wanting longer ties – add more chains and for smaller ties – reduce the number of chains.
Newborn to 3-6 months:
Chain 38 for the ties. [If wanting thicker ties as shown in my pictures, turn and single crochet in each chain back up to the corner of the bonnet, tie off and weave in ends into the hat].
6-9 to 9-12 months:
Chain 48 for the ties. [If wanting thicker ties as shown in my pictures, turn and single crochet in each chain back up to the corner of the bonnet, tie off and weave in ends into the hat].
1-2 to 2-5 years:
Chain 52 for the ties. [If wanting thicker ties as shown in my pictures, turn and single crochet in each chain back up to the corner of the bonnet, tie off and weave in ends into the hat].
5-10 years to Adult Small:
Chain 60 for the ties. [If wanting thicker ties as shown in my pictures, turn and single crochet in each chain back up to the corner of the bonnet, tie off and weave in ends into the hat].
Second tie: Repeat above steps to create the last tie. Once complete – weave in any additional ends where you attach the tie to the bonnet and it is complete.
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