Christmas is my favorite excuse to crochet something a little bit silly. A handmade Christmas hat earns more smiles than almost anything else in my project basket — at parties, in holiday photos, even on a quick trip to the store. This roundup pulls together twelve free patterns: a tree you can wear, a beanie that looks like Christmas pudding, elf hats, Santa hats, and more. One of them comes with a video tutorial from the designer; the rest are written patterns, and I’ve said so plainly under each one so you know before you start. Grab your yarn and let’s get festive.
What you’ll need
- Worsted weight yarn in festive colors: red, white, green, brown, and a little gold
- Crochet hooks in the 4 mm–6 mm range (each pattern lists its own size)
- A tapestry needle and sharp scissors
- Stitch markers
- A pom-pom maker (or two rings of cardboard)
- Small craft bells for the tree hat and jingle hat
- A scrap of ribbon and a bow for the gift hat
12 Christmas Hat Patterns
Save1. Christmas Tree Hat with Bells
Melissa’s hat is shaped like an actual little Christmas tree — a green cone dressed with tiny decorations and finished with real bells that jingle when you move. It sounds complicated, but the cone itself is straightforward shaping: you build from the tip and work your way down, then sew on the ornaments. The designer’s pattern page walks through the stitches, gauge, supplies, and finished sizes, so check those before you pick up your hook.
Tip: Choose lightweight craft bells so the finished hat stays comfortable to wear through a whole party.
Save2. Bobbles and Stripes Santa Hat
Shared by Crochet For You, this Santa hat trades the plain red body for cheerful red-and-white stripes with a raised bobble texture running through them. The striping does most of the visual work, so the stitching itself stays relaxing while the finished hat looks anything but plain. It’s a lovely way to give the classic Santa silhouette a handmade twist, in sizes the whole family can wear.
Tip: Carry the color you’re not using up the inside of the hat instead of cutting it at every stripe — you’ll save yourself a pile of ends to weave in.
Save3. Christmas Pudding Beanie Hat
Ling Ryan’s beanie is the joke gift that actually gets worn: a brown pudding body with white “sauce” dripping down over the top, finished like a proper Christmas pudding. She works it top-down holding two to three strands of yarn together, which makes the fabric thick, warm, and quick to grow. The pattern lists the finished diameter and full details, so you can check the fit before you start.
Tip: Holding multiple strands together eats yarn faster than you’d expect — buy one extra ball of the brown so the drips don’t end mid-hat.
Save4. Crochet White and Golden Santa Hat
From Premier Yarns, this is the elegant end of the Santa hat family: a soft white hat worked in spiral rounds and trimmed with gold. The stitches are basic to intermediate, and because you work in continuous spirals there’s no visible seam line running up the back. It photographs beautifully and feels a touch more grown-up than the classic red version, while still being unmistakably Christmas.
Tip: Spiral rounds have no join to count from, so place a stitch marker in the first stitch of every round and move it up as you go.
Save5. Easy Striped Elf Hat
Kylee’s elf hat is the friendliest project on this list. She keeps the gauge simple — 12 stitches by 7 rows — and builds the hat from chains, single, half-double and double crochet, with front-post stitches for texture and simple decreases toward the point. The red, green, and white stripes do the festive work. If you have one beanie under your belt, you can make this hat, and it works up fast enough for a last-minute gift.
Tip: Switch colors on the final yarn-over of the last stitch of a round and your stripes will change cleanly with no stepped edge.
Save6. Classic Elf Hat Crochet Pattern
Rich Textures Crochet starts this elf hat at the brim and works upward to the pom-pom, with stripes and slanting lines giving it a boutique, fair-isle feel. The colorwork is carried rather than cut, so despite the multi-color look there are very few ends waiting for you at the end. It’s a step up in difficulty from the easy elf hat above, and a very satisfying weekend make.
Tip: Keep your carried yarn relaxed along the inside — pulling it tight is what makes colorwork hats pucker.
Save7. Crochet Patterns Trees Go Round Hat
Lorene at Cre8tion Crochet gave this hat the best name on the list: a full row of little Christmas trees marching around the band in colorwork. It looks impressive worn, but the design breaks down into one repeated tree motif, so once you’ve worked the first tree, the rest are pure rhythm. All the details you need are free on the designer’s page.
Tip: Give the work a gentle stretch after each colorwork round to settle your floats before they set the tension for the next round.
Save8. Crochet Christmas Tree Hat
Terri Leist designed this tree hat in classic greens with a color combination that sits happily alongside almost any winter outfit — festive without being a full costume. The cone tapers to a point you can crown with a star, a bell, or a fluffy pom-pom. Best of all, this is the one hat on the list with a designer video: Terri’s own tutorial is linked below so you can hook along with her.
Video tutorial: Crochet Christmas Tree Hat Tutorial
Tip: Try the hat on as you near the end of the decreasing — a tree cone needs to sit snug to keep its jaunty angle.
Save9. Santa Hat with Double Tails
The wildcard of the dozen: a Santa hat with two tails instead of one, uploaded by Katiebeans. It’s playful, a little bit theatrical, and completely unmistakable in a crowd. Underneath the novelty, the construction follows the same shaping as any classic Santa hat — you simply build the tail twice. If you can crochet one pointed Santa hat, you can crochet this one.
Tip: Add a tiny bit of stuffing or a stiffer yarn in each tail so both points hold their shape instead of flopping.
Save10. Christmas Jingle Hat
Aida’s chunky-yarn showstopper pulls out every stop: a big puff ball, snowflakes, a little gingerbread man, and plenty of festive trim. Because the yarn is chunky, all that detail works up in an evening — it’s the rare statement hat that doesn’t demand a statement amount of your December. If you go all-out at Christmas, this is your hat.
Tip: Sew the decorations on with matching yarn and small, tight stitches — chunky embellishments take a lot of movement when worn.
Save11. Snowman Hat for You
Jezebear Designs created this one as a photo prop, and it shows: a white snowman hat that’s cute on every age, from babies to grandparents. The designer rates it intermediate, mostly for the finishing details rather than the hat body itself. Make matching ones for the whole family before the holiday photo session and thank yourself later.
Tip: Lightly steam or block the finished hat so the snowman features sit flat and neat for photos.
Save12. Christmas Gift Hat Pattern
Dora Does closes the list by turning the wearer into the present: a hat that looks like a wrapped gift, ribbon and bow included. The body is a rectangle worked in star stitch, folded in half, seamed, and finished with the ribbon and bow on top. The star stitch gives the “wrapping paper” a gorgeous texture. It’s clever, it’s simple in construction, and it gets a laugh every single time.
Tip: Learn the star stitch on a small swatch first — once the first two rows click, the rectangle is plain sailing.
Caring for your Christmas hats
- Hand wash in cool water with a little mild soap, especially hats with bells, pom-poms, or sewn-on decorations
- Never machine-dry — reshape each hat while it’s damp and let it dry flat
- Fluff yarn pom-poms back to life with a quick blast of cool air from a hair dryer
- If bells are sewn on loosely, snip them off before washing and stitch them back on after
- Store hats gently stuffed with tissue paper so cones and points keep their shape until next December
That’s all twelve. Short on time? Start with the Easy Striped Elf Hat or the Christmas Jingle Hat — both come together quickly and look like far more effort than they are. Want to settle in with a project? The Trees Go Round hat or the Classic Elf Hat will keep your hands happily busy. And a word of warning from experience: make an extra. Christmas hats have a way of being claimed by the first person who tries one on. Happy hooking!
