Hand-knitted winter hats

In short, the rough rule of thumb is: one ball, one hat. The exact number of grams depends on the yarn thickness, running length, hat size and of course also on the shape and type of pattern you want to knit. A brioche or cable pattern generally requires more yarn than a hat knitted in stocking stitch. For a hand-knitted hat, you should definitely calculate with 100g - 150g of wool. If you do not want to use just one colour, you can of course combine two balls or more colours. Your material usage will then increase accordingly.

Would you like to knit yourself a cosy hat for winter? A hand-knitted hat that keeps you nice and warm? In our range, plenty of Gründl wool for hats is waiting for you. From hat yarns made from pure merino wool to colourful printed yarns and cotton hat yarns for your individual headwear.

Wool warms. That is why our yarns made from a material mix with virgin wool are wonderfully suitable for cosy winter hats. They are all very hard-wearing, easy to knit and crochet, and can be washed wonderfully in the washing machine.
As the name already suggests, our wool blend Classico is an absolute classic among our Gründl hat yarns. The classic 3-ply yarn is very soft thanks to its merino wool content, and this winter yarn also has a superwash finish. That means it does not felt in the washing machine.
Another yarn for hats is our Gründl wool Alaska uni. Two pearl-like connected soft roving strands make your hat wonderfully voluminous and cosy. By the way, Alaska is also available as a printed yarn. The two versions can be combined beautifully.

Pure and incredibly fine. The soft hat yarn Merino Pure made from 100 percent merino wool impresses not only with its amazing feel. It feels wonderful, is easy to knit and crochet, and keeps you very warm thanks to its heat-insulating properties. It is joined by our pure virgin wool Ecolana from controlled organic animal husbandry. This three-thread twisted roving yarn impresses with its unmistakable volume and supple feel.
What we particularly appreciate about virgin wool in general: it is dirt-repellent and self-cleaning, and its fibres can trap air well thanks to their crimp. This makes your virgin wool hat especially breathable and keeps you warm.

For everyone who loves colour. Colourful accents and bright patterns come straight from the ball with our Gründl printed yarns and gradient yarns. No colour changes. No knotting. With simple stocking stitch alone, the colourful winter yarns Lolly Pop, Mohana and Alaska print turn your hat into a fashionable highlight. With our Gründl hat yarn Norwegia, you can look forward to unique hats with a Norwegian pattern, because this unmistakable printed yarn creates a Norwegian style directly from the ball.

Cotton is not only wonderful for hand-knitted summer clothing. Our cotton blend King Cotton is ideal for winter accessories too. With its unique volume and soft touch, you will not want to take off your hand-knitted hat any time soon. PS: cotton yarns are a wonderful alternative for anyone allergic to virgin wool.

Recycled, please. We are sure that, if you did not already know, you would never guess that our environmentally friendly yarn Second Life is made from recycled plastic bottles. The voluminous and soft feel of the recycled wool feels anything but like a bottle. A soft yarn that keeps you beautifully warm.

Once you have chosen the wool, you can start with the first cast-on stitches. Depending on head size and head shape, the number of stitches to cast on will vary. How many stitches for a men's hat? How many stitches for a women's hat?
Hand-knitted hats should sit neither too loosely nor too tightly. Since knitted or crocheted stitches are stretchy, there is a formula for calculating the ideal number of stitches.
As a general rule, subtract 10% to 15% of the head circumference for the cast-on. This means that for a head circumference of 56 cm, around 50 cm is the ideal width, because 10% ≈ 6 cm has been subtracted.
Calculation: 56 cm ÷ 10 = 5.6 cm; 5.6 cm ≈ 6 cm; 56 cm - 6 cm = 50 cm
To work not only with a centimetre measurement, but also to determine the exact number of stitches in relation to the stitch pattern, a gauge swatch is helpful. Knit a swatch measuring 15 x 15 cm. It is very important that you use the wool and needles you have chosen for your hat. The gauge swatch should also be knitted in the pattern that your hat will later feature.
Now measure and calculate: how many stitches and rows do you count over 10 cm in length and width? In our example, we used the voluminous yarn Living as a guide. Our gauge swatch gave the following result: 11 sts x 16 rows = 10 x 10 cm
From this, we can calculate the number of stitches to cast on for our head size:
(90% of the head circumference divided by 10) x (measured number of stitches) = stitches to cast on
Example:
Head circumference: 56 cm
Gauge: 11 sts x 16 rows = 10 x 10 cm

Calculation:
56 cm ÷ 10 = 5.6 cm; 5.6 cm ≈ 6 cm; 56 cm - 6 cm = 50 cm
(50 cm ÷ 10) x 11 stitches = 55 stitches

That is the whole trick. If you would rather skip the calculation, our free hat patterns are designed for a head circumference of around 52 cm - 57 cm.

What qualities should hats for children and babies have? They should be skin-friendly, soft and of course hard-wearing. Nothing could be easier, because all the yarns and wools we use for children's hats and baby hats are OEKO-TEX certified and tested for harmful substances and chemicals.
In our collection of free patterns, we have plenty of cosy-soft and supple baby hats for you.
The softest baby hat is probably knitted from our effect yarn Baby Dream. With this fluffy yarn, you can create a fur-like surface in no time. And watch out: as soon as your little one wears a hand-knitted hat made from this cuddly yarn, you may not be able to stop cuddling.
For baby hats with patterns straight from the ball, our printed yarn Baby color is wonderfully suitable. This soft, skin-friendly yarn creates cosy winter hats for babies and children with unique colouring. To complete the baby set, there are also free knitting patterns for knitted baby shoes and a baby jacket with hood to match the hat.
You can find an overview of all baby hats here.

Classic, soft, warm: our beanie with two-colour brioche pattern goes beautifully with any winter look. Knitted from pure virgin wool Ecolana, this model impresses with wonderful volume and a cosy feel.

If you thought sock yarn was only made for knitting socks, here comes the opposite: our beanie hat with textured pattern is knitted from the fine sock yarn Hot Socks Malcesine. Let yourself be surprised by a delicate yet warming knitted result thanks to its 75 percent virgin wool content.
Attention, now it gets unusual. We even have a ponytail beanie pattern for you. This hat, also called a ponytail hat or head beanie, is characterised by an opening for your ponytail or bun. For comfortable wear with tied-back hair. It is also knitted from one of our sock yarns, our 6-ply sock yarn Hot Socks Torbole.
You can find more free patterns for our beanie hats here.

Tadaaa, have you discovered our crochet patterns for hats yet? For everyone who prefers crocheting to knitting, we have many wonderful crocheted winter hats to download.
One hat, three colours: our bright crochet hat for winter catches everyone's eye with its colourful stripes. The matching pompom completes the crochet piece. This winter accessory is crocheted from our voluminous yarn with a high cotton content, King Cotton.
To keep ears nicely protected, how about a crocheted hat with earflaps? For long walks in the fresh air and cosy visits to the Christmas market, this two-colour thick hat with a large pompom made from the cosy-soft yarn a href="https://www.gruendl.com/alaska-uni/c3350-20">Alaska uni invites you to feel good. A must-have on cold winter days.
When three colours create an unmistakable checked pattern, it can only be our crochet hat made from the majestic cotton yarn King Cotton. It is sure to upgrade any outfit. A matching loop scarf pattern is available for the three-colour hat.
Front post stitches combined with wrapped stitches create a crochet hat to fall in love with. This unique fusion makes the plain-coloured winter hat something very special. Add a pompom on top, and winter can come. For this, we used our sustainable recycled yarn Second Life.
You can find all free patterns for handmade crochet hats here.

Of course, the right accessories should not be missing from hat yarn. For everyone who wants to knit or crochet a pompom hat, we recommend a pompom maker. This tool makes creating a pompom much easier. The Gründl pompom maker set consists of four sizes and instructions, so you can start your pompom party right away.

Wrap yarn around the two halves of the pompom maker. You can take the thread double or triple, which is faster. Once both halves are tightly wrapped, you can fold them together. Now cut the threads along the edge, secure them with another thread and then trim the pompom into shape. Your handmade pompom is ready.

For wool pompoms, you can use any yarn of your choice. In general, the more voluminous the yarn, the fluffier your pompom will look in the end. Cotton yarn, gradient yarn or pure merino wool: with a pompom maker, every pompom will look wonderful. Our Gründl tip: Gründl felting wool looks especially great as a pompom. Fluffy, voluminous and very important: thanks to the strong character of felting wool, it holds its shape beautifully and creates a lovely wool ball.

We think hats are wonderful accessories that give every look a very special feeling. And of course, they keep you comfortably warm. Admittedly, a winter without hats would be unimaginable, wouldn't it?
Have you already chosen one of our free patterns? Then let's go: buy hat yarn and get knitting.
We hope you have lots of joy knitting your hat. You are very welcome to show us your result as a picture on our social media. We look forward to it.
By the way, handmade hats are also a wonderful Christmas gift idea. For young and old. For mum or dad. Hats for grandparents or winter accessories for siblings: maybe you will simply knit a hat for every family member. Accessories for the whole family.