Cat Hat with Earflaps Knitting Pattern

Cat Hat with Earflaps in Plymouth Yarn Daisy

What is Being Made

This is a charming knitted cat hat with earflaps designed for infants and toddlers, available in four sizes to fit newborns through 36 months. The hat features adorable pointed ears, protective earflaps, and decorative braided ties that secure under the chin. The design combines playful feline details with practical warmth, making it an ideal accessory for babies and young children.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several fundamental and intermediate knitting techniques to create its distinctive shape and structure. The construction begins with cast-on increases to shape the earflaps, using make-one increases worked every fourth row to gradually expand the stitch count. The main hat body is created by picking up and knitting stitches along the cast-on edge of the earflaps and adding additional cast-on stitches for the front and back sections. The hat is worked in the round using double-pointed needles, which allows for seamless circular knitting. Crown decreasing is used to shape the top of the hat, with strategic decreases placed at regular intervals to create the proper fit. The ears are constructed separately using pick-up and knit techniques and decrease rows to taper them to a point. Finally, braided ties are created by folding multiple strands of yarn and braiding them together for functional chin ties.

Stitches Used

• Garter Stitch: Used for the earflaps and the initial rounds of the hat body, creating a textured, reversible fabric with excellent stretch and recovery
• Stockinette Stitch (st st): Worked for the main body of the hat after the garter stitch border, creating a smooth, classic knit fabric
• Make-One Increase (m1): Applied in the earflap shaping to add stitches at the edges while maintaining clean lines
• Knit Two Together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease used throughout the crown shaping and ear tapering
• Slip, Slip, Knit (ssk): A left-leaning decrease used in the ear shaping for balanced decreases
• Slip One, Knit Two Together, Pass Slipped Stitch Over (sl1, k2tog, psso): A double decrease used to finish the ears with a centered point

Materials and Gauge

This pattern is designed to be worked with Plymouth Yarn Daisy in color 2001 (Cream). The yarn quantities vary by size: newborns require 1 ball of 50g, while the 3-6 month and 12-36 month sizes need 1 and 2 balls respectively, and the 6-12 month size requires 2 balls. The recommended gauge is 3.5 stitches and 6 rows per inch when working stockinette stitch on size US 9 double-pointed needles. Additional materials needed include a stitch marker to denote the beginning of rounds and a stitch holder to temporarily secure stitches during construction. The finished hat circumferences range from 14 inches for newborns to 20½ inches for the 12-36 month size, ensuring proper fit across all age ranges.