How to Crochet an Afghani Hat: Easy Crochet Hat Pattern

Ever since I was little, my dad wore the same hat every Friday as we went to the masjid for prayer. It wasn’t a typical prayer hat, I never saw anyone else wear one, but it was his Friday hat. It wasn’t until years later when I learned how to crochet that I noticed his hat was crocheted in soft white yarn and it as a really easy crochet hat pattern to recreate. When my dad’s hat was getting old, I made him a couple of new ones in just a few hours. I kept them simple but you can go as crazy as you like and use this as a fun beret pattern! This is an Afghani hat and it’s pretty popular around Pakistan (which is where I’m from). I kept the color simple with just black or white for my dad’s hat, but then these things took off! The new Prime Minister of Pakistan wears a hat in this style and with their Independence Day coming up in a few days, I was getting tons of orders for these hats in green and red. I also made some matching scarves to go with them! It’s not one of my usual, more neutral patterns, but I thought it would be fun to share some traditional crochet.

Do you know of any other cultural crochet items like this? I would love to see some!

What makes this a really easy crochet hat pattern is how simple its construction is. It’s just one large, flat circle that makes up the top part of the hat and then a long tube that you roll to create the brim. There’s a little bit of decreasing but you don’t need to worry about the size or shaping with this hat. If you did want to make it smaller or bigger, you could just omit or add a round in the increase section, so it’s an easy customization. The full free pattern is written out below. For those who’d prefer to print the pattern and take it with you for on-the-go and to markup as you go, you can buy the inexpensive printable PDF from my Etsy and Ravelry shops. The PDF is formatted without ads or comments, so it’s easy to read. Buy the printable PDF on Etsy. Buy the printable PDF on Ravelry.

Materials:

• Worsted weight yarn in one or two colors. I used Yarn Bee’s I Love this Yarn in White for this one. The red & green ones were made with Crafter’s Secret
• 4.00mm crochet hook*
• tapestry needle
• scissors

* denotes affiliate link. Read my full disclosure here.

Abbreviations:

• ch – chain
• SC – single crochet
• DC – double crochet
• HDC – half double crochet
• sl – slip stitch

Pattern Notes:

• Skill level: Beginner
• Sizing: One size fits all (20 inches across)
• Gauge: 4 sts/inch x 5 rows/inch

Afghani Hat: Easy Crochet Hat Pattern

Row 1: Create a magic loop and chain 2. Work 10 DC into the loop and slip stitch to the first space to close the circle. (10) Row 2: Chain 2. Increase into each space by working 2 DC in each space. Slip stitch to the top of the chain 2 to finish round. (20) Row 3: Chain 2. *DC 1, increase*, repeat until the end of the round and slip stitch to the top of the chain 2. (30) Row 4: Chain 2. *DC 2, increase*, repeat until the end of the round and slip stitch to the top of the chain 2. (40) Row 5: Chain 2. *DC 3, increase*, repeat until the end of the round and slip stitch to the top of the chain 2. (50) Row 6: Chain 2. *DC 4, increase*, repeat until the end of the round and slip stitch to the top of the chain 2. (60) Row 7: Chain 2. *DC 5, increase*, repeat until the end of the round and slip stitch to the top of the chain 2. (70) Row 8: Chain 2. *DC 6, increase*, repeat until the end of the round and slip stitch to the top of the chain 2. (80) Row 9: Chain 2. *DC 7, increase*, repeat until the end of the round and slip stitch to the top of the chain 2. (90) Row 10: Chain 2. *DC 8, increase*, repeat until the end of the round and slip stitch to the top of the chain 2. (100)

That’s the top of the hat done!

As you can see, it’s just a really big circle right now. Next, we’re going to bring the sides in a little bit  and then we’ll add the brim. Row 11: Chain 1. SC around and slip stitch to the chain 1. (100) Row 12: Chain 1. *HDC 8, decrease over the next 2 spaces*, repeat this around and slip stitch to the chain 1. (90) Row 13: Chain 1. *HDC 7, decrease over the next 2 spaces*, repeat this around and slip stitch to the chain 1. (80) Row 14: Chain 1. *HDC 6, decrease over the next 2 spaces*, repeat this around and slip stitch to the chain 1. (70) If you’re making the two colored hats, this is where you would switch to your second color. Row 15-29: Chain 2. DC in each space around and slip stitch to the top of the chain 2  to finish. (90) Once you’ve worked the last round, bind off and weave in the loose ends. Trim any excess yarn and you’re done! Over the last couple of weeks, I made about 10 of these hats in red and green. People wanted to wear them to the Paki Independence Day parade! It’s a very specific style and although I didn’t think the red and green was the best looking hat out there, it was an easy crochet hat pattern. Plus I made some money selling them. In fact, I’ve been in a bit of a crochet funk lately and this was one of the things that helped pull me out of it. When you crochet a lot, it’s sometimes hard to stay motivated or find inspiring projects. But, I’ll be sharing a post soon all about to how to get your crojo back so stay tuned!

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Sizing Hats

Thank you all so much for reading, and checking out my patterns. If you’re looking for a more wearable and still easy crochet hat, you can see some of my free patterns here. I also have a guide all about how to make hats that fit every time. You can click the image above to get it for free. And to get new patterns, tips, and freebies delivered right to your inbox every week, sign up for the newsletter below! See you soon 🙂

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