Feb
The Basic Shape You’re Going For
So I made my first witch hat back in October 2023 when my niece decided like three days before Halloween that she wanted to be a witch and I was like okay sure I can whip something up. Spoiler: it took way longer than I thought but whatever, it worked out.
The basic idea is you’re making a cone and a brim separately, then attaching them. I know some patterns have you work them together but honestly that’s more confusing and I tried it once and just… no. Keep them separate.
For the cone part, you’re gonna start with a magic ring. I used Red Heart Super Saver in black because it was what I had lying around and also it’s like $3 a skein so if I screwed up I wasn’t gonna cry about it. Start with 6 single crochets in your magic ring, then you’re increasing every other round or so to make it flare out slightly at the bottom where it’ll attach to the brim.
The Cone Construction
Round 1: 6 sc in magic ring
Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch around (12)
Round 3: sc in each stitch
Round 4: *sc in next st, 2 sc in next st* repeat (18)
Round 5-6: sc in each stitch
And you just keep going like that. The thing that really annoyed me was figuring out how tall to make the cone because if you make it too short it looks like a party hat and if you make it too tall it gets all floppy and sad looking. I ended up doing about 30 rounds total but it depends on your tension and yarn weight obviously.
I was watching The Great British Bake Off while doing this part and kept losing count because I’d get distracted by whatever Paul Hollywood was being judgy about, so I had to restart like four times on round 12 or something.
Getting the Right Stiffness
Here’s the thing nobody tells you – regular black yarn makes a hat that just collapses on itself. You need to either use a smaller hook than recommended (I went down two sizes from what the yarn label said) or you gotta add stiffener later. I’ve done both and honestly the smaller hook method works better because fabric stiffener can get weird and crusty.
I used a 4.0mm hook with worsted weight yarn when the label said use 5.5mm. Makes the fabric way tighter and it actually holds shape. Your hands will hurt more though, fair warning.
The Brim Is Where It Gets Interesting
Okay so for the brim you need to measure the bottom opening of your cone. Mine was about 7 inches around but don’t just trust my number, actually measure yours. The brim starts from the center and works outward, kind of like making a flat circle but then you keep going until it’s as wide as you want.
I made the inner circle first which needs to match your cone opening. So if your cone opening is 7 inches around, your inner circle of the brim should also be 7 inches around. Math isn’t my strong point and I kinda just eyeballed it honestly.
Brim Pattern Basic
Start with chain 4, join to make a ring (or magic ring if you’re fancy)
Round 1: ch 2, 11 hdc in ring, join (12)
Round 2: ch 2, 2 hdc in each st around, join (24)
Round 3: ch 2, *hdc in next st, 2 hdc in next st* repeat, join (36)
Round 4: ch 2, *hdc in next 2 sts, 2 hdc in next st* repeat, join (48)
Keep increasing every round until your inner brim matches your cone opening. Then you need to work a few rounds even (no increases) to create that little band where the cone will sit. I did like 3-4 rounds even.
Making the Brim Actually Look Like a Brim
After your even rounds, you start increasing again but more gradually to make the wide part of the brim. This is where I used Caron Simply Soft actually because I ran out of the Red Heart and the store only had that in black, but it worked fine, nobody could tell it was two different yarns.
For the wide brim part I did increases every other stitch for a couple rounds, then every third stitch, then every fourth. You want it to stay flat and not ruffle up. If it starts ruffling you’re increasing too much. If it starts cupping upward you need more increases.
I made my brim about 4 inches wide from the base to the edge but you can go wider if you want it more dramatic. My cat kept trying to sit on it while I was measuring which was super helpful obviously.
Attaching the Cone to the Brim
This part is actually easier than you’d think. Put the cone inside the brim opening (on the side that’ll be the underside of the hat) and just whip stitch or slip stitch them together. I used slip stitch because I’m lazy and it was already on my hook.
Make sure you’re attaching it to the right side though. The top of the brim should curve slightly downward when you’re wearing it, not up like a bowl. I got this wrong the first time and had to rip it out and flip it which was… yeah that was annoying.
Go all the way around and make sure it’s secure. You can stitch through both layers or just tack it in several places, whatever works.
Sizing for Different Heads
If you’re making this for a kid versus an adult the main thing you adjust is the brim opening size, not really the cone height. Kids have smaller heads obviously so you’d stop increasing the inner brim earlier. I made one for my niece who was 7 and stopped at like 6 inches around for the opening.
For adults you want probably 8-9 inches around for the opening so it actually sits on their head and doesn’t just perch on top like a tiny party hat.
The cone height can stay pretty much the same unless you’re making it for a toddler or something, then maybe go shorter so it’s not taller than their whole head.
Adding Elastic or a Chin Strap
I didn’t do this for the first hat and it kept falling off when my niece ran around trick or treating so for the second one I made (for a coworker’s kid a week later because apparently I was the witch hat lady now) I added elastic.
Just get some black elastic from literally any craft store, measure it under the chin with a little tension, and stitch it to either side of the brim. Attach it on the underside so you don’t see the stitching. Super simple and actually keeps the hat on.
Making It Look More Witchy
Plain black cone and brim is fine but you can add stuff if you want. I crocheted a simple band to go around the base of the cone using a contrasting color – purple looks good, or orange for Halloween vibes, or even a sparkly yarn if you’re into that.
The band is literally just a chain long enough to wrap around the cone base, then a few rows of single crochet back and forth. Maybe 3-4 rows wide. Stitch it around the base where the cone meets the brim.
You can also add a buckle shape with yellow yarn or felt if you wanna get fancy. I didn’t bother because by that point I was pretty much over the whole project but it would look cute.
Embellishments I’ve Seen People Do
Some people crochet little stars or moons and stitch them onto the hat randomly. Could be cute for a kid’s hat especially. I’ve also seen people hot glue plastic spiders on them or wrap fake spider web material around the cone which… okay if you’re into that.
Personally I think simple is better because if you’re putting all this work into crocheting a hat, covering it up with a bunch of plastic Halloween store stuff seems counterproductive but you do you.
Yarn Weight and Substitutions
I used worsted weight (#4) for both hats I made but you could definitely use bulky weight if you want it to work up faster. Just adjust your hook size accordingly and remember to go smaller than recommended so it holds shape.
Acrylic is honestly fine for this project. Some people are weird about acrylic but like, it’s a Halloween costume hat that’s gonna get worn once maybe twice, you don’t need fancy wool or whatever. Save your money.
If you did want to use cotton it would probably hold its shape even better because cotton has less stretch than acrylic, but it’s also more expensive and heavier so the hat might feel heavy on your head. I haven’t tried it myself so I’m just guessing on that one.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
If your cone is leaning to one side you probably have uneven tension. I had this happen and just kept working and eventually it evened itself out somehow, or maybe I just stopped noticing because I was tired of looking at it.
If the brim is wavy instead of flat you increased too much too fast. You can try blocking it by getting it damp and pinning it flat to dry, or just rip back to where it started getting wavy and redo with fewer increases.
If the whole thing is too floppy even with a smaller hook, you might need to add wire to the brim edge. Get some thin craft wire and stitch it into the last round of the brim going all the way around. Then you can bend the brim however you want and it’ll stay. I haven’t personally done this because the smaller hook method worked for me but I’ve seen other people do it.
How Long Does This Actually Take
First one took me like 6 hours total because I kept messing up and recounting stitches. Second one was maybe 3 hours because I actually knew what I was doing by then. If you’re a faster crocheter than me (which is likely because I’m pretty average speed) you could probably knock it out in 2-3 hours.
The cone takes longer than the brim just because it’s more rounds even though they’re smaller circles. The brim feels like it goes fast once you get going.
