I love a beanie! I have designed and made quite a few for the Hooked on Crochet Club – so many that I have a deep draw dedicated to them. I’ve even been growing my hair longer because I love how long curly hair looks with a beanie! So let me help you decide on which yarn is best for making beanies.

Before choosing a yarn you need to consider who is wearing it and how often they’re likely to wear it. If they are going to wear it a lot or are a child that is likely to get it dirty easily, then how the yarn will wash is definitely something to consider. The more that they are likley to wear and wash it, the better suited to washing the yarn will need to be. For this purpose I would choose a good quality acrylic or superwash wool, potentially even a sock yarn. These are all really hard wash and wear yarns that will last well.

The next thing I would consider is the ply, or thickness of the yarn. I recommend choosing an 8ply/DK weight yarn or a 10ply/worsted/aran weight yarn. Anything thinner than these can end up being too light weight. Thicker that these can work, but you’ll be more limited with the design. I find these weights work up well and I can get a single beanie out of 100g. This is totally dependent on the size of the hat and the stitch design, but it means that you can make one from only one or two balls of yarn.

My favourite fibres to work with for a beanie is a wool or wool blend. Cotton works well too, but it’s not my go to fibre for a beanie. I also prefer the natural fibres as they are warm but breathable too. If worn camping, then I would definitely recommend a natural fibre as it is more fire resistant.

You want a yarn that has some stretch too it, but not one that is going to stretch out of shape too easily. I’ve made some lovey beanies from a bamboo yarn, but have found that they stretch and become too big too easily. Wool and acrylics are good for that reason as are cottons and cotton blends.

If you’re unsure then focus on the ply of the yarn and the colour that you prefer. The advantage you have is that they’re relatively quick to make up, so you’ll figure out easily enough if the yarn is working or not!

Seona x