| | | | |

Irish Moss Stitch Hat Pattern

THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS THAT SUPPORT HANDY LITTLE ME CONTENT AND FREE PATTERNS.

This Irish moss stitch hat pattern is an excellent project for anyone who is learning how to knit in the round.

I wanted to share with you an easy hat to knit, that has ribbing for the brim and double moss or Irish moss for the main body of the hat.

This hat is perfect for the colder weather, as it has been knit with medium-weight yarn, I chose a green color in Alize Lanagold Classic.

Scroll down for the free pattern or you can grab your printer-friendly, ad-free PDF here.

Irish-moss-stitch-hat-pattern

This Is An Easy Hat Pattern

The hat pattern is easy to make, with advanced beginner knitters in mind.

Using knit and purl stitches, you will create ribbing, Irish moss stitch, knit in the round, plus decrease, and shape.

If you have never knit in the round before, you can watch my tutorial on how to do this here. – How to join knitting in the round with circular knitting needles

Irish moss stitch hat with pom pom

How To Knit Irish Moss Stitch

This Irish moss knit stitch pattern is just so great to work up.

This 4-row repeat knit stitch pattern is a variation of the Seed Stitch (how to knit seed stitch for beginners) and has a really great texture.

American moss stitch or double moss stitch are other terms used for this pattern.

For an easy beginner project try out this free dishcloth pattern – Irish Moss Stitch Dishcloth Knitting Pattern

*Don’t forget to pin and share!*

Irish Moss Stitch Hat Knitting Pattern

The Yarn I Used…

I made the knitted beanie hat using a medium-weight (04) yarn – Alize Lanagold Classic in green (29).

The Alize yarns may be hard for some of you to find, but you can purchase them on Etsy or from YarnStreet.

Any medium-weight yarn 04 (worsted, Aran, fisherman) will be okay to use for this pattern.

Irish moss stitch beanie with a ribbed brim

More Hat Patterns

If you would like to make more knitted items/hats for women, please take a look at the other patterns in the women’s knitting pattern library.

There are also hat patterns for women, men, babies, and kids in the hat pattern library. – Hat Patterns

You may also like these free patterns for adult-sized hats:

back view of the irish moss stitch hat

A Beanie Pattern For Fall Days

This hat is perfect for fall or winter days walking through town and wearing it to the park when walking your dog!

Wherever you want to wear this hat, it will be sure to keep you warm and toasty, protecting you from cold winds and cool temperatures.

I love wearing a beanie in the winter, and my favorite is this ribbed hat; I wear this all the time – How To Knit A Hat For Complete Beginners (+ Video Tutorial)

side view of the Irish moss stitch hat

Irish Moss Stitch Hat Pattern

Grab your inexpensive printable, ad-free pattern here.

Skill Level – Easy

Notes

This hat knits up quickly and the simple design makes for a relaxing and enjoyable knit.

Copyright Info

  • Please do not copy, sell, redistribute, or republish this pattern. 
  • If you wish to share this pattern, link to the pattern page only.
  • You may sell items produced using this pattern.
  • Do NOT use copyrighted photos for your product listing.
  • For the copyright T&C please read my Terms of Use.

Grab The Ad-Free Printable PDF Pattern Here

Gauge – 18 sts x 22 rounds = 4×4 inches/10×10 cm measured in Irish moss stitch.

Sizes 

  • Baby/Toddler/Child/Adult
  • Adult Hat lying flat and unstretched – Height = 12 inches / width = 6 inches
  • Child Hat lying flat and unstretched – Height = 11 inches / width = 5.5 inches
  • Toddler Hat lying flat and unstretched – Height = 10.5 inches / width = 5 inches
  • Baby Hat lying flat and unstretched – Height = 10 inches / width = 4.5 inches

This has a fitted style (as you can see in the photographs).

free hat knitting patterns

The Supplies You Need

Yarn

Needles

Notions

Other tools

Moss stitch hat knitting pattern

Abbreviations / Knitting Abbreviations And Terms (US And UK) List

  • Approx – Approximately
  • Beg – Begin(ning)
  • CO – Cast on
  • Cont – Continue(ing)
  • K – Knit
  • K2tog – Knit the next 2 stitches together
  • P – Purl
  • PM – Place marker
  • P2tog – Purl the next 2 stitches together
  • Rem – Remaining
  • Rep – Repeat
  • Rnd(s) – Round(s)
  • St(s) – Stitch(es)
Irish moss stitch hat pattern

Pattern Instructions

  • With 4 mm (US 6) 16″ circular knitting needles – CO B – 56, (T – 64, C – 72, A – 80) sts, join in the round and pm, being careful not to twist the sts.
  • K2, P2 every round (2 x 2 rib) for 2 inches
  • Change to 5.5 mm (US 9) 16″ circular knitting needles and begin to work in Irish Moss as follows;
  • *K1, P1* rep from * to * to the end of the round.
  • *K1, P1* rep from * to * to the end of the round.
  • *P1, K1* rep from * to * to the end of the round.
  • *P1, K1* rep from * to * to the end of the round.
  • These four rounds form the pattern.
  • Rep the four rounds until the hat measures – B – 6, (T – 7, C – 7.5, A – 8) inches from the co edge, ending after the first two rows of the patt.

Shape crown (decreases):

  • P1, K1, P2tog  – rep to the end of the round.
  • K2, P2, – rep to the end of the round.
  • P2tog, K2,  – rep to the end of the round.
  • K1, P1  – rep to the end of the round.
  • K2tog  – rep to last stitch, K1,
  • K2tog  – rep to last stitch, K1,
  • Cut yarn and sew through the rem sts and pull tight.
  • Secure and weave in any loose ends.
  • Add a pom-pom to the hat and stitch it into place.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

25 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for the Irish Moss Stitch Hat Pattern! I made it last weekend and absolutely love the hat. Plus, there have been many opportunities to wear it here in Michigan. I would definitely make it again!

    1. hello, thank you so much for your comment and feedback, I am so happy you liked the pattern and the end result! Thanks for visiting and I hope you check back for new patterns 🙂

  2. Can this be done using magic loop or does that somehow change the way the stitches look? I am not having much success. My stitches lie too flat.

    1. Hello Rhonda, yes this hat can be knit using the magic loop technique. It doesn’t change how the stitches look – they will look the same. I’m not sure why your stitches would lie flat, perhaps it is the type of yarn you are using? Could you try the pattern in a different yarn? That may help them to stand out more. 🙂

    2. I encountered this same problem when trying to knit a raspberry/trinity stitch hat, which is s raised pattern and my hat was flat on the outside and raised in the inside. The stitches for that are kpk p3tog. Well i just happened to find a hat video on tube with the same stitch, but the pattern had been changed to pkp k3tog. Turns out that if you are knitting in the round, every row is a right side row, so you have to change it round. Maybe try that. It worked for me. 😊

  3. Hi Louise, if i had extra fine merino yarn (Schachenmayr) suitable for 3-4mm needles would I be able to switch to 5.5mm ones? Or would it be possible to continue with 4mm? I love this yarn colour and was hoping to use it for a hat to gift.

    Many thanks,
    Fatema

    1. Hello Fatema,
      Your yarn choice would not be the right weight for this project – so the results would be different.
      Even using it with the 5.5mm needles, it wouldn’t have the same end results like you see in the photos.
      You could adjust the number of cast on stitches but you would also have to adjust the length of the hat if you use the DK yarn with 4mm needles.
      You need an aran/worsted/10 ply yarn weight for this hat.
      Perhaps you could try using the yarn you have knit with two strands together? To see if that can work?
      That way you can follow the pattern as it is.
      I hope that helps!
      Louise

      1. Thanks for the guidance Louise. I will gave a go. 🙂

        Would it be possible to put in brackets the remaining stitches on the needles after the decrease/increase rounds?

        Thanks and Merry Christmas,
        Fatema

    2. This pattern is very beautiful and I really want to give it a go. Before I start, do I do my Swatch with both sizes of needle? I see that we should start the border of the hat with one size and continue with another so in this case I’m not sure how to swatch?

      Thank you 🙂
      Elena

      1. Hello Elena,
        If you are creating a swatch I would use the larger size needle, as you will be using this for the main body of the hat.
        I hope you enjoy the pattern!
        Louise

    1. Hello Flora,
      Sorry, I don’t have that size in the pattern, there is baby size, perhaps you could cast on fewer sts, maybe 46 and try that out?
      Let me know how it goes!
      Louise

  4. Louise, I love this pattern and would like to make this for my granddaughter, her head circumference is 45 cm or approx. 17”-18 “, would I make the Toddler or child size?

    Thanks for your help!
    Donna

    1. Hello Donna,
      I would suggest making the child size.
      The adult size is around 22/24 inches.
      So the child-size will fit around 18-20 inches.
      I hope that helps!
      Louise

  5. I bought some wool yarn during a trip to Ireland and wanted to make hats for my son and son-in-law using an Irish pattern. This one is perfect! I made hats without pompoms for the guys and a child size with pompom for my granddaughter. I’ve been knitting for years but this was my first project using circular needles. Thank you for the pattern.

  6. Hi, so sorry to bother you! I don’t happen to have the 4mm needles with me right now, but I do have 5.5mm circular needles of the right length. Would it be possible to do both the ribbing and the main body of the hat on those needles, or would it mess with the pattern too much? Hope you have a happy new year 🙂

    1. Hello Mordecai,
      If you use a larger needle size, the hat will turn out larger.
      You could try it, but it will definitely be a size larger than given in the pattern.
      Thanks,
      Louise

  7. Hi! Thank you for the beautiful hat pattern! This is my first time doing anything beyond a basic scarf. Can you please tell me, does “P1, K1, P2tog – rep to the end of the round” mean to repeat all three? As in P1, K1, P2tog then P1, K1, P2tog again or is the repeat just for the P2tog? Thank you again for the beautiful pattern and help for a newbie!

    1. Hello Beth,
      You will *P1, K1, P2tog* – repeating that from * to * to the end of the round.
      Not only the P2tog.
      I hope that helps!
      Louise

  8. Made this for a friend’s birthday. First time knitting in the round but turned out perfectly! My cables were too long so I used the magic loop.

    My yarn was 10 ply superfine merino from Morris and Sons and I cast on 84+1 stitches. The yarn packet recommended 5mm needles but I used 4.5mm for the brim, then 5mm for the rest. I wanted a more fitted style so only knit 5 inches from the rib section before decreasing.

    In the end it fit a ladies head perfectly. Would cast on a few additional stitches if knitting for most adult males.

    Hope that helps people. And thank you for the lovely pattern 🙂

  9. Hello!

    Very excited about beginning this pattern, but I’ve cast on 80 stitches on 4mm needles with 04 yarn, and after my first two rows of K2P2 ribbing, the circumference seems really small. Did I misread something, or should I just trust the process?

    Thank you!

    1. Hello Anna,
      This pattern uses 4mm (US 6) needles for the brim of the hat only so it has a tighter fit on the head and then switches to 5.5 (US 9) needles for the main body of the hat and is knit with a worsted weight yarn.
      For an adult large size on 4mm (US 6) needles you could try casting on 88 stitches.
      I hope that helps,
      Louise

  10. Hi, I’m writing again to let you know that I used this pattern a second time with alpaca yarn that I picked up in Peru that was leftover from another project. After completing the hat I still had yarn remaining, but not enough for a second hat. Instead I improvised an earwarmer, with six rounds of ribbing, 12 rounds of Irish moss pattern and six additional rounds of ribbing, finishing off with Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Better Bind Off. This resulted in an earwarmer about 4″ wide. It turned out great, although if I were to make it again I would do four rounds of ribbing on each end and 16 rounds of Irish moss.

    1. Hi there Sara!

      Thanks so much for sharing your experience with the pattern!

      That sounds absolutely lovely—what a great way to use up that special alpaca yarn from Peru.

      I love the idea of turning the leftover yarn into an earwarmer, and your modifications sound perfect!

      I bet it turned out beautifully with the Irish moss stitch.

      If you ever decide to make another one with your updated ribbing and Irish moss rounds, I’d love to hear how it turns out.

      Happy knitting, and thanks again for sharing!

      Best,

      Louise