Button Flap Hat Knitting Pattern

Button Flap Hat in Plymouth Yarn Homestead

What Is Being Made

The Button Flap Hat is a ladies' knitted hat with an approximate finished size of 21 inches around and 8 inches in height. This design features a distinctive construction method where a long rectangular piece worked in Plait Stitch is seamed together, then stitches are picked up around the edge to create the crown. The hat is finished with a decorative I-Cord loop that serves as a buttonhole, secured with a large button for a charming, functional closure.

Techniques Used

This beginner-level pattern employs several fundamental knitting techniques. The main body is worked flat in rows using the Plait Stitch pattern, a textured stitch that creates an interlocking visual effect. After the rectangular piece is completed, it is seamed together at the cast-on and bound-off edges to form the hat's circumference. The crown is then created by picking up stitches along the long edge and working in the round using double-pointed needles. Decreases are worked in a series of rounds to shape the crown, gradually reducing the stitch count until only a small number of stitches remain. These final stitches are worked into an I-Cord, a tubular cord created by knitting on two needles, which forms the button loop.

Stitches Used

• Plait Stitch: A two-row repeat pattern worked over multiples of 3 plus 2 stitches. Row 1 (wrong side) consists of purl 2, knit 1 repeats. Row 2 (right side) features a skip-and-cross technique where the second stitch is knitted and passed over the first stitch, then the first stitch is knitted, followed by a purl stitch. This creates the characteristic braided or plaited texture.
• Knit (K): The fundamental stitch used throughout the crown shaping rounds.
• Purl (P): Used in the Plait Stitch pattern and as a separating stitch between plait repeats.
• Knit 2 Together (K2tog): A right-leaning decrease used repeatedly in the crown shaping to gradually reduce stitch counts from 72 stitches down to 4 stitches across 15 rounds.
• I-Cord: Created by working the final 4 stitches on two double-pointed needles to form a decorative, functional cord approximately 5 inches long (or adjusted to size) that creates the buttonhole loop.

Materials

This pattern requires 2 balls of 100-gram Plymouth Yarn Homestead yarn. The recommended needles are US size 7 (4.5mm) straight needles for the main body and US size 7 double-pointed needles for working the crown in the round. The gauge is 16 stitches equals 4 inches when worked in Plait Stitch on US size 7 needles. Additional materials include 1 large button for the closure, a tapestry needle for seaming and finishing, and a stitch marker to denote the beginning of rounds when working the crown.