Remember the owl beanies I made for Eliana and her cousin for Christmas?
I’ve made quite a few of these beanies so far. Mostly for toddlers but I also made one for myself and the hubby (without the owl bits).
Anyway, I thought you might like to know how to make such a beanie yourself, so I’ve included a little tutorial. This beanie is made using DC stitches but you could use pretty much any stitch you like. It’s also worked in the round, except for the ear flaps.
I used my go-to yarn, Vinnis Colours Nikkim, 100% cotton and a lovely mohair blend by African Expressions, aptly called Love. The Nikkim is a DK yarn and the Love is about the same thickness (there’s no guide as to crochet hook size or yarn weight) but I used a 6mm hook for this project because I double stranded all the yarn. You will also need a needle for sewing in ends and attaching eyes and beak to the beanie (and a pair of scissors 😉 )
I’m going to show you how to make the beak and eyes first because I want to share a new way of starting the row/round with you. I’m using to beak to show you what to do because the yarn contrasts with hook.
Step 1
Make a magic ring, close with SS and 2CH. You’ll notice that the chains are made up of three loops of yarn, two on one side and one in the centre on the other side. Insert your hook through the single loop of the second CH, YO and pull the yarn through. You now have two loops on your hook. Now work your hook around the magic ring, YO and draw up a loop. You will have three loops on the hook now, just as you would with a DC.
Finish the loops off as you would a normal DC. Can you see how the starting chain is almost invisible and how the first stitch also looks like a DC? Cool, hey? Carry on by making 4 more DCs into the magic ring and end by pulling the ring tight.
Step 2
Turn and make another starting DC into the first ST of the first row. 1DC into the next ST followed by one FPDC, 1DC and one more FPDC into the next ST, complete the row with DC.
Step 3
Remove the hook from the loop and insert it into the first ST of the row and reinsert through the loop. You’re basically going to turn this little piece into a type of popcorn stitch. Pull the loop through the first ST and finish off with a SS to secure. Cut the yarn with a long enough end to sew the beak onto the beanie.
Now for the eyes.
Step 1 Make a magic ring and begin with a starting DC. Add 11 DC, SS to the first ST to close the round and pull the magic ring tight.
Step 2 Make another Starting DC and place a second DC into the same ST. Place two DC into each ST of the round, except for the last ST. You’re going to finish the round with a ‘fake’ ST by doing the following: Cut the yarn with enough length to weave in. Pull the yarn through the last ST so there is no loop left. Insert the hook into the first ST of the round, from the back to the front, YO and pull the yarn all the way through the ST.
Now insert the hook into the back loop of the last ST in the round from the back to the front, YO and pull the yarn all the way through.
Notice how this forms a ST. Don’t pull the yarn too tight because this will be your last ST for the next round.
Step 3
To attach the second colour insert the hook through the first ST of the round YO and pull up a loop. Make a SS and secure the loose end of yarn by placing it over the working yarn. I find this makes a neater start to a colour change and also keeps the SS in place.
Again begin with a starting DC and complete the round by placing two DC into every second ST, except for the last ST. Repeat the ‘fake’ ST to complete the eye. (I always crochet around the yarn end because it cuts in on sewing ends in. I just change direction and sew in a bit more to secure)
Make a second one.
For the beanie I used one strand of Nikkim and the Love yarn. If you can’t find similar substitutes where you live try using a chunky fluffy yarn, or any other yarn with good texture.
Step 1
Measure the distance between the ears of the person you want to make the beanie for.
Step 2
Make a length of chain as long as the distance between the ears and add two extra chains.
Step 3 Round 1
Place one starting DC and 2DCs into the third CH from the hook and then 1DC into each chain across. Make sure you only use one loop of the chain, or you will not be able to complete the first round.
Step 4 All following rounds
Continue the beanie by crocheting as many rounds of DC as you need. Placing one DC into each ST. Begin each round with a starting DC and end with a SS
The beanie should fit onto the head well and shouldn’t be to high up on the forehead.
Step 5 The back of the beanie
I like making the back of this particular beanie one row longer than the front. To do that simply crochet DCs for just more than half a round. I usually make the back about two to four stitches wider than the front, but that’s up to you.
Step 6 Starting the ear flap
You might want to make notes while crocheting the first ear flap, so that both sides are equal 😉
Turn the beanie and make a starting DC. For this particular beanie I made 6 DC (starting DC + 5) to begin with. The number of DCs depends on the size of the beanie, but between six and ten DCs should be enough (the bigger the beanie the bigger the ear flaps should be).
Step 7 The length of the ear flap
Length is up to you again, and you can either leave the flaps one width to the end, or you can decrease the width by one stitch every so often. The decrease can also be gradual (more rows between decreases) or quite sudden (less rows between decreases). I decrease down to only 2DCs but you can stop at how ever many DCs you would like. For this beanie I decreased every third row.
Step 8 The second ear flap
Start by SS the yarn to the other side of the back part of the beanie. Make a starting DC and continue in the same manner as you did during Step 6 and Step 7.
And you’re done! I hope you thought this wasn’t too complicated. Please do let me know if you get stuck somewhere and I’ll try and help you through your difficulty.
Now all you need to do is position the eyes and beak and sew them onto the beanie. I like to add a stitch or two to the top part of the beak, so that it’s a bit flatter and doesn’t have a huge hole in it.
Oh, I almost forgot, I also added a popcorn stitch to each corner of the beanie as ears. You can make them as big or small as you like, or you could substitute them with tassels (like in the photos shown at the top of the post), or you could just leave them out because the beanie does form points on its own.
Eliana wasn’t really in a modeling mood but she did keep the beanie on long enough for me to get a shot of her wearing it.
This beanie now has a new owner who is turning one this weekend.
Of course you could just leave the owly bits and wear it as is. I think it’s quite an interesting shape and if you make the earflaps wide and long enough you can wrap them around your neck as a scarf too BONUS 🙂
There are also many different options in terms of decorating. You could add flowers or work the beanie in a different ST, such as alternating FPDCs and DCs to create lines or a woven effect. Rounds with Puff or Bobble Stitches, or any other cluster stitch would also look great. Experiment and have fun with it. There is no right or wrong.
Please feel free to send me photographs of your completed beanie to stephanie@abagfullofcrochet.co.za. For tips on taking photos please read this post.