Crochet Shamrock Hat – Free Pattern

Ah, St. Patrick’s Day, when the whole world is Irish! A day for breaking out the shamrocks, clovers and pots of gold – and for standing in the freezing cold watching the St. Patrick’s Day parade! If there was ever a day for a crochet shamrock hat then this would be it 🙂

The day of our local parade last year was one of the coldest yet. My little Ella, who was 3 at the time, gave up before the parade had even started, I ended up having to give her a piggyback for the entire thing. We were all shivering by the time we got home two hours later.

So this year I said I’d make her a cosy little hat to keep her head warm should the polar winds strike again.

I decided to make a hat that could be worn the other 364 days of the year, so I chose a nice neutral mossy green colour and added a detachable shamrock motif.

Ribbing

This hat uses slip stitch ribbing. I love the ‘knit-look’ feature of this ribbing and even though it looks like it might be too short, it’s really, really stretchy! Just be sure to keep your tension nice and loose and you’ll have it finished in no time.

The Shamrock

It took a bit of trial and error until I was happy with my little shamrock – I knew I wanted to use puff stitches in it somewhere to pick up on the puffs in the hat.

More Crochet Patterns

You might also be interested in these other crochet hat patterns:

Ridge Walk Hat – Easy Crochet Winter Hat Pattern

Knit-Look Crochet Hat | Free Pattern

Winter Rays Ribbed Crochet Hat – Free Pattern

Chunky Hat Crochet Pattern

Pattern Notes

Please read through the entire pattern before beginning as this will give you a much clearer picture of how the hat is constructed

Construction

• This hat is crocheted from the bottom up
• The ribbing is first worked in a long strip, then joined at the edges
• Continue to work in rounds to crochet the body of the hat

Slip Stitch Ribbing

• The hat is crocheted entirely using sl st ribbing,which is very, very stretchy; if you feel that the hat is not wide enough don’t worry, it will stretch a lot!
• Try to maintain a really loose tension when crocheting, it should be very easy to work into each sl st. If you are finding it very difficult after a couple of rows then you are probably crocheting too tightly and might even need to go up a hook size.

Additional Notes

• The stitch count for each row/round is given in [ ] at the end of the row/round
• Instructions are given for the smallest size, with all larger sizes given in ()

Finished Measurements

Toddler (to fit head cirumference: 18″-19″)

Hat Circumference: 17″, Hat Height: 7″

Child (to fit head cirumference: 19″-20″)

Hat Circumference: 19″, Hat Height: 7.5″

Adult Small (to fit head cirumference: 21″-22″)

Hat Circumference: 21″, Hat Height: 8.5″

Adult Medium (to fit head cirumference: 23″-24″)

Hat Circumference: 23″, Hat Height: 8.5″

Gauge

Ribbing: 5 stitches x 5 rows sl st ribbing = 1” x 1”

Body: 6 sts x 8 rows = 4” x 4” in puff st (see Special Stitch below)

Match body gauge as the ribbing will stretch

Materials

Hook: 5mm/H-8 (or any hook that allows you to meet gauge and to crochet the slip stitch ribbing comfortably (see Notes above))

Yarn: Any Aran/Worsted/#4 weight yarn

The amounts given here are for Hayfield Aran with Wool in Green Heather (840m (919yds) per 400g skein; #4/Worsted; 80% Acrylic 20% Wool)

Toddler: 115 yds/105m (50g)

Child: 126 yds/116m (55g)

Adult Small: 152 yds/139m (66g)

Adult Medium: 168 yds/153m (73g)

Misc: Yarn Needle and stitch marker

Special Stitch

Puff Stitch

Step 1: Yarn over, insert hook into indicated st, yarn over and pull up a long loop (3 loops on hook).

Step 2: Yarn over, insert hook into same stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop (5 loops on hook).

Step 3: Yarn over, insert hook into same stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop (7 loops on hook).

Step 4: Yarn over and pull through all 7 loops, ch 1 to finish the st (this ch-1 is the ‘top’ of the puff st).

Abbreviations (US Terms)

ch = chain             

st = stitch             

sp = space            

sl st = slip stitch

sc = single crochet

hdc = half double crochet

dc = double crochet

blo = back loop only

puff st = puff stitch

pm = place marker

Written Pattern

HAT

ALL SIZES (TODDLER, CHILD, ADULT-Small, ADULT-Med)

RIBBING

Foundation Chain: Ch 9    

ROW 1: Sl st (blo) in second ch from hook and each ch across, turn. [8]

ROW 2: Ch 1 (does not count as a st), sl st (blo) in each st across, turn.

ROWS 3 – 52 (58, 64, 70): Repeat ROW 2 [8]

Fold ribbing in half and seam edges (you can either use a yarn needle or a row of sl sts to do this).

Turn the ribbing the right way around so that your seam is on the inside of the hat.

BODY

You will continue working the rest of the hat in the round, starting at the ribbing row just to the left of your seam.

ROUND 1: Ch 1 (does not count as a st), sc into side of each ribbing row, sl st to join to first st [52 (58, 64, 70)]

ROUND 2: Ch 2 (does not count as a st), puff st in first st, *sk next st, puff st in next st; repeat * around, do not join. [26 (29, 32, 35) puff sts]

ROUND 3: Puff st in ch-2 sp (pm in this st), *puff st in next ch-1 sp; repeat * around to marked st, do not join. [26 (29, 32, 35) puff sts]

ROUND 4: Puff st in first ch-1 sp (pm in this st), * puff st in next ch-1 sp; repeat * around to marked st, do not join. [26 (29, 32, 35) puff sts]

ROUNDS 5 – 14 (14, 16, 16): Repeat ROUND 4.

Fasten off but leave a long tail to close the top of the hat.

Now, you can stop here but if you want to jazz things up a little bit for St. Patrick’s Day, keep going for the shamrock motif!

SHAMROCK

CENTER: Ch 3, sl st to first ch to form a circle.

ROUND 1: [ch 3, puff st in circle, ch 3, sc in circle] 3 times, sl st into circle. [24]

SHAMROCK STEM: Ch 9, sl st in second ch from hook and each ch across, sl st into circle. [8]

SHAMROCK LEAVES: [(sc, hdc, dc, ch 1, dc, hdc, sc) in next ch-3 sp, sk next st] 6 times, sl st to circle. [42]

Finishing

• Turn the hat inside out.
• At the top of the hat, weave the tail in and out between the stitches of the last row to close up the gap.
• Pull tightly and secure the top with several more whip stitches. Weave in the remainder of the tail.
• I decided to make my shamrock detachable so I sewed a safety pin to the back of it. If you want to just attach it directly to the hat please do!

All done!

If you wish, you can purchase an inexpensive, ad-free PDF version of this pattern through Ravelry, Etsy or LoveCrafts.

I hope you have enjoyed this pattern, if you have questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact me. And be sure to tag your finished project on Instagram or Facebook using @nedandmimi or #nedandmimi!

Happy crocheting!

Sarah