First Crochet Hat Worked Flat with a Gathered Crown

This first crochet hat is made as a flat rectangle, joined into a tube and gathered at the top. It avoids circular crown increases and uses alternating single crochet and chain spaces for a lightly textured fabric. The Red Heart source calls it a beginner project and gives a nominal 20-inch circumference. This guide explains which rectangle edges become the seam and crown, while flagging a missing stitch in the printed opening repeat.

Materials and gauge

The source lists one skein of medium-weight yarn, a 6 mm / US J-10 hook and a yarn needle. The photographed sample uses Red Heart Super Saver in Café (360). Its stated gauge is 17 stitches and fourteen rows per 4 inches.

The pattern’s nominal circumference is 20 inches. Because the row-gauge figure and fixed row count do not directly reproduce that measurement arithmetically, check the completed rectangle and its stretch rather than assuming that every 61-row sample will fit identically. Use the intended wearer or a measured hat as your practical comparison.

Understand the rectangle

The foundation direction runs from the lower edge toward the crown, including fabric that can turn up as a cuff. The repeated rows grow the circumference. The final seam joins the last row to the foundation edge, so the foundation-chain count is not the circumference stitch count.

US sc means single crochet, ch means chain and sl st means slip stitch. The open fabric alternates sc anchors and chain-one spaces. Its first-row target is 25 sc and 24 chain spaces, or 49 total working positions.

Check the opening-row typo

The source starts with ch 50 and works into the second chain. Its printed repeated phrase mentions chaining and skipping but omits the sc that would create the stated 25-sc total. The stitch-count-consistent reading is an initial sc followed by twenty-four repeats of ch 1, skip one foundation chain and sc in the next chain.

That reading accounts for all 49 usable chains and the stated 25 sc plus 24 spaces. It is an editorial explanation of the count, not a claim that the printed line is complete. Keep the original source nearby and check the opening fabric before continuing through the full hat.

Build and join the hat

1. Work the foundation and opening row, checking the 25-sc and 24-space target.
2. Follow the alternating second and third rows from the source. The sc anchors shift into the chain-one spaces; the ends also require the specified extra edge stitches.
3. Continue the alternating sequence through row 61, checking both long edges regularly. Losing one chain space can make the rectangle taper.
4. For row 62, fold the piece so the last row lines up with the unused foundation edge. Slip stitch through both layers across the matched stitches and spaces.
5. Fasten off the seam, then use a separate yarn length to gather one row-end edge into the crown.

Before making the seam permanent, wrap the rectangle around the intended head measurement and check the stretch. Do not confuse the gathered row-end edge with the foundation edge. Gathering the wrong edge changes the hat’s proportions completely.

Finish the crown and cuff

The source uses a 10-inch yarn length threaded through the row ends at the top. Draw it in gradually, distribute the folds, then stitch the remaining opening closed. Reinforce the closure without making a hard lump. Turn the hat right side out and fold up the lower edge to form a cuff.

Try the hat on before hiding the final seam and crown tails. Follow the yarn label for washing and drying. The source photograph shows the mesh texture and folded edge; this guide helps read its construction and count issues without presenting an independently tested replacement pattern.

Frequently asked questions

Is the hat crocheted in the round?

No. It is a flat rectangle joined at the ends, with one long edge gathered into the crown.

What is missing from the printed first row?

The repeated single crochet needed to reach 25 sc and 24 chain spaces is omitted from the abbreviated phrase.

Does the foundation chain control the circumference?

No. It runs in the hat-depth direction. The repeated rows grow the circumference, so measure the rectangle before seaming.

Original source and more crochet projects

Design credit: Red Heart, First Hat, pattern J27.0002-1C; Crochet Guide printed pages 24–25. This article explains the supplied source and its construction; it does not claim an independently tested sample. The photographs are from that source, and the checklist is an editorial reading aid.

Open the original pattern in Drive. Source location: Printed pages 24-25; PDF pages 26-27. Keep the original instructions and diagrams beside you when working the project.

For another project, explore Anima Floris crochet coasters, or Strand Basket pattern.