Bex Hat - Free Crochet Pattern (knit-look) and Video Tutorial

The Bex Hat is a beautiful knit-look crochet hat with a rich, textured stitch pattern, a stretchy ribbed brim, and just a little bit of slouch! Soft, comfortable, and made with just one skein of yarn, it's a lovely project for cooler days.

Bex Hat free crochet pattern showing a textured knit-look slouchy hat with a ribbed brim, viewed from the side and back

You'll find the complete free crochet pattern below, with step-by-step photos and a video tutorial to help you make your own Bex Hat.

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About the Bex Crochet Hat

The Bex Hat is worked sideways in rows, combining yarn over slip stitches with back crossed stitches to create its distinctive texture.

Short rows are used to shape the crown, preventing excess fabric from bunching at the top. Once the flat piece is finished, the sides are joined to form a tube, and the top is gathered closed.

You can leave the hat as it is or add a fluffy pompom for a different look!

Bex crochet hat in off-white yarn with an optional fluffy faux fur pompom

What Are Crochet Short Rows?

A crochet short row is a row that ends before reaching the last stitch of the previous row. You turn your work and crochet back, leaving some stitches unworked. This technique allows you to shape the fabric without increasing or decreasing the stitch count in the usual way.

If you've never crocheted short rows before, don't worry! The pattern includes step-by-step photos showing exactly how to work them.

Bex Hat Free Crochet Pattern

SIZE

The hat is sized to fit teen/ adult women.
Hat height: 9.5 inches (24 cm)

The height of the hat will be determined by the length of the foundation chain and the hat circumference will be given by the number of rows.

Depending on your own work tension, you might need to work more/ fewer rows as in the pattern indicated.

For best results, try the hat on your head. If it is too wide, before closing the top, you can still unravel a few rows; if it is too tight, you can work some additional rows.
Please keep in mind that the hat will stretch more after being worn, so do not make it too wide!

GAUGE

14 sts and 13 rows in pattern repeat = 10cm x 10cm (4”x4")

SUPPLIES:

STITCHES AND ABBREVIATIONS (US TERMS)

- ch: chain
- back bump of chains. Click here for my tutorial.
- slst : slip stitch
- slst blo: slip stitch back loop only
- st: stitch
- hdc: half double crochet
- dc: double crochet
- RS: right side
- WS: wrong side

Special Stitches:

  1. Yarn Over Slip Stitch (yo-slst): Yarn over (yo) and insert the hook into indicated st; yarn over and draw the yarn through.
    (You have now 3 loops on the hook).
    Having the 3 loops on hook, pull/slip the first loop on hook through the next 2 loops on hook to complete a Yarn Over Slip Stitch (yo-slst).

Click here for my TUTORIAL!

  1. Yarn over slip stitch back loops only (yo-slst-blo): work the stitch as described above, but inserting the hook only into the back loops of the stitches.
  2. Back Crossed Double Crochet (bcr-dc): sk 1 st, work 1 dc into the next st, 1 dc back into skipped st going behind the last dc just made, so as not to catch it.
  3. Back Crossed Half Double Crochet (bcr-hdc): sk 1 st, work 1 hdc into the next st, 1 hdc back into skipped st going behind the last hdc just made, so as not to catch it.
  4. Short Row Decrease Yarn Over Slip Stitch Back Loops Only (dec yo-slst-blo):
    This decrease will pull up together two rows instead of two stitches and it will eliminate the gap that would be created by working over the short row!

    This is how you will work this short row decrease:
    Yo, insert hook into vertical bar of last st one row below, then insert hook into back loop of first unworked st two rows below; yo and pull through all 4 loops on the hook. Short row decrease st made!

    See the photo collage with the short row decrease below!
Bex Hat short-row decrease stitch photo tutorial

NOTES

  1. the ch1 at beginning of the rows will not count as a st
  2. Always count your stitches! Be carefull not to lose the sts at the end of the rows! You might like to use sts markers into first st and last st of the rows!
  3. The stitch pattern is reversible, but the stitch pattern looks diffeent on the wrong side. That's a nice pattern also.

HAT INSTRUCTIONS

Leaving a long tail that will be used at the end to close the hole on top of the hat, Ch 39.

Row 1 (WS): Work the first row into the back bumps behind each chain across!
Work 1 yo-slst into 2nd ch from hook and 1 yo-slst in each ch across;
ch1, turn. (38 sts)

NOTE: After the 1.st row, the piece measures unstretched approx. 11 inches (approx.28 cm). It will shrink after a few repeats with the short rows!

Row 2 (RS): work 1 yo-slst-blo in each of the next 37 sts, work the last st with 1 yo-slst inserting the hook under both loops of the last st; ch1, turn. (38 sts)

Row 3 (WS)- Short row:
work 1 yo-slst-blo in each of the next 7sts (these will form the brim); work 11 bcr-dc over next 22 sts, 1 bcr-hdc over next 2 sts, work 1 yoslst-blo in each of next 2 sts; leave unworked the last 5 sts at the end of the row; ch 1, turn. (33 sts)

Bex Hat crochet short row step-by-step photo

Row 4 (RS): work 1 yo-slst-blo in each st across; ch 1, turn. (33 sts)

Bex Hat crochet Row 4 stitch placement photo

Row 5 (WS)- Short Row decrease row:
work 1 yo-slst-blo in each of the next 33 sts, dec yo-slst-blo in first unworked st two rows below, work 1 yo-slst-blo in each of the next 4 unworked sts two rows below; ch 1, turn. (38 sts)

(Note: See the photo collage of the short row decrease stitch at the special stitches description above!)

This is how it will look after finishing row 5:

Bex Hat Row 5 short-row decrease photo tutorial

Row 6 (RS): work 1 yo-slst-blo in each of the next 37 sts, work the last st with 1 yo-slst inserting the hook under both loops of the last st; ch1, turn. (38 sts)

Bex Hat Row 6 crochet stitch tutorial

Rows 7-63: Repeat rows 3-6. In other words, you will repeat the sequence 1 row with crossed sts and 3 rows with yo-slsts!

See the repeat rows below:

Bex Hat repeat rows 3 through 6 photo sequence

Finish the piece on the WS with a row of crossed stitches, this way:
Last row, Row 64: work 1 yo-slst-blo in each of next 7 sts (for the brim), work 11 bcr-dc over next 22 sts, 1 bcr-hdc over next 2 sts, work 1 yo-slst-blo in each of next 2 sts, 1 slst-blo in each of last 5 sts. (38 sts) You should have 16 rows with the back crossed stitches!
Finish off and with the long yarn tail you will join the ends together to form a tube.

This is how the piece should look like right now:

Bex Hat crocheted flat before joining the sides

Joining the sides into a tube:

You can either use your crochet hook to slip stitch the sides together, or you can thread a yarn needle with the yarn tail and sew the sides together.

Joining the Bex Hat side edges into a tube

I prefer to first slip stitch the sides together and try the hat on my own head, then if it fits well, I will unravel the seam and thread the yarn needle to sew the sides together. I like it better this way, because the seam is almost not noticeable.

With right sides facing together, hold Row 1 edge on last row edge. Thread a yarn needle with the yarn tail, sew the edges together inserting the needle through the front loops of last row and unused loops of foundation ch,back and forth until you reach the bottom edge.

Closing the hole on top of the hat:

With yarn needle and the long strand of yarn you left at the beginning of the work, weave yarn in and out into the stitches along the top edge. Cinch together to close space, and fasten securely. Weave in all ends. And you're done! :)

Closing the top of the Bex Hat with a yarn needle

Bex Hat Video Tutorial

Follow along with the full video tutorial to see how to crochet the Bex Hat, including its textured stitches, short-row shaping, and finishing.

If the video doesn't display, watch the Bex Hat tutorial on YouTube.


More Free Crochet Patterns Featuring This Knit-Look Stitch

Love the textured knit-look stitch used in the Bex Hat? Explore the matching Bex Scarf and three more free crochet patterns featuring the same beautiful stitch technique!

Explore more free crochet hat patterns or browse the complete free crochet pattern library.


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Crochet Bex Hat
Written Instructions and Pictures Copyright © 2021 Kinga Erdem
This pattern is free for your personal use, you can sell the products of your work, a link back to my blog would be appreciated. Do not use my photos for selling purposes or modify them in any way.
Please don't repost the pattern itself to any other sites, but please share the link to the pattern if you want to share the pattern with your friends. You may not give away copies of this pattern.
Do not make video tutorials or translate my pattern in other languages without my written consent!
Thank you,
Kinga

Comments

  1. This is beautiful and I can't wait to try it. Your instructions seem very clear. Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Kinga, I love your new Bex Hat. It is super pretty and really does have a knit-look to it. Thank you for linking up at our weekly Link Party! You are being featured at our Wednesday Party #429 this week. Here’s the direct link to the post in case you’d like to share your feature:
    https://oombawkadesigncrochet.com/2021/12/bex-hat-exotic-christmas-yule-log-recipe-c2c-snowman-hat-washcloth-link-party-429.html
    Hope to see you again next week! Rhondda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rhondda! Thank you for the feature!:) I will share your post soon!

      Delete
  3. Thanks for the pretty hat pattern. Is there a printer friendly button?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, there is. Using a PC, take a look at the sharing buttons below the pattern! If you click on the right green sharing button, you will have more sharing options. Between them is "Print Friendly". Click on that and it will transform the pattern into pdf or you can print it out. If you select the unwanted images/text you can delete them and only print what you need.
      I hope this helps!
      Kinga

      Delete
    2. Thanks, but the printer friendly button was not visible, I had to use the search function.
      The preview for using the print button showed 13 pages of the sharing icons repeated on each page. The printer friendly button was great and let me remove all the pictures. I printed 4 pages of instructions only. I can come back here if I need to see the pictures. I plan to start this hat soon.

      Delete
  4. This is a very thoughtful and elegantly designed pattern. It was a pleasure to make. Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kath! You're very welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! :)

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  5. Absolutely love this hat! Made for my daughter, might need one myself......

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    Replies
    1. Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the pattern! :)

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  6. This is the best hat pattern I have made yet. Thank you for sharing it. Love it! I am making my 3rd right now. I love the way the short rows form to the head and eliminate the bulk at the top. Can you recommend a stitch pattern for the short rows that looks a bit more masculine than the criss crosses but won't affect the spacing/sizing?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sharon! Thank you! :) I'm so glad you enjoyed the pattern! The easiest stitch that would be approx. the same height as the crossed dc sts would be the hdc.

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  7. I made minor modifications and I love this pattern. Thank you for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're very welcome! I'm very glad you enjoyed the pattern! :)

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  8. Am surly going to make this thanx😍

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  9. Thank you! It was a pleasure to crochet it. This pattern is superb.

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  10. Hi Manka! You're very welcome! I'm very glad that you enjoyed the pattern! :) Kinga

    ReplyDelete
  11. What is done for Row 63? If you repeat rows 3,4,5,6 for 7-63 is row 63 the same as row 3?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Brittany! Row 63 will be the same as row 6 with yo-slsts. The last row, row 64 will be the same as row 3 with crossed stitches.

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    2. Well, sorry, the last row is almost as row 3, you will not make it as a short row, but work some slip stitches at the end of the row.

      Delete
  12. My daughter would like to be able to turn back a brim. Do you see any problems with that? I'm assuming that I would probably double the length of the brim in the pattern. The yarn she picked out is a Bulky 74% Baby Alpaka, 13% Merino, 13% Polyamid. I will see how the gauge works out to see if I need to adjust the number of repeats or length of foundation chain and which hook works best. Any advice before I start?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you could double the brim, but if you are using a bulky yarn, you would need the adjust the pattern overall! Otherwise your hat will end up huge!

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  13. Thanks for this pattern, I love it! It was super easy and the result is really pretty

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  14. Hey Im working on this pattern right now and I was wondering if I could switch the yo-slst with a hdc. It's been really hard on my ra hands and ice been fatigueing faster and for longer with this stitch. Like straining to finish the row. I know it'll look a little different and I'll have to start over and use less rows overall, but I really don't know how else I'll be acme to finish at all, but I love the overall look of your hat over others

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  15. I made this one and it turned out really pretty. I def should done a gauge check first because it turned out really big, but looks great as a slouch.

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  16. Hello there, Kinga!! Thank you so very much for this stunning pattern. The pattern is very clear and easy to understand. I finished mine today and it fits perfectly. I will be making more for my family members. Take care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello 😊 Thank you so much for your kind message! I’m so happy to hear the pattern was easy to follow and that your hat fits perfectly. Making more for your family sounds like a lovely idea 💛 Take care and happy crocheting!

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