Bunny Hat - Free Pattern

Do you believe in the Easter Bunny?




Easter is almost here! I finished this pattern and TWENTY-FOUR holiday orders just in the nick of time. Enjoy this free pattern and have a Happy Easter.


This hat is sized to fit most 6-9 month old babies with a 16-19 inch head circumference. Two DC = approximately 1 inch, so keep that in mind if you need to add or remove inches to fit your little one.



This is a chunky hat so you’ll work two strands of yarn at the same time. I used a N-9.00MM Crochet hook. Note, the CH 3 in each round of the hat does not count as the first DC.

I always use Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn". Its very soft and works out great for all the baby hats I make.

Key:
CH = Chain
DC = Double Crochet
HDC = Half Double Crochet
HDC DEC = Half Double Crochet Decrease
SL ST = Slip Stitch



Hat.
Magic Circle
Round 1: CH 3. 10 DC inside the circle. Join with SL ST to the top of CH 3 (10DC)
Round 2: CH 3. 2DC in each DC. Repeat around. Join with SL ST to the top of CH 3 (20DC)
Round 3: CH 3. *2DC in first DC, DC in next DC* Repeat around. Join with SL ST to the top of CH 3 (30 DC)
Round 4: CH 3. *DC in first DC, DC in next 5 DC* Repeat around. Join with SL ST to the top of CH 3 (35 DC)
Round 5-7: CH 3. DC in each DC around. (35 DC)
Round 8: CH 1. Finish off using your favorite stitch. I used a back stitch loop around. Finish off and weave in ends.

Ears:
You will need to make two of these pieces in the same color as the bunny hat, as well as two more in the inner ear color for a total of 4 pieces. Later you will crochet them together and that will form two full bunny ears.
For this portion I switched to a smaller hook. I chose an I/9-5.5MM crochet hook, but you could use whatever size you prefer. A smaller hook will make a smaller inner ear triangle shape, a large hook will make a larger ear triangle. These pieces are not chunky, so you will use a single strand of yarn for all four ear pieces.



Inner Ear Triangles:
*CH 7
Row 1: In the second CH from the loop HDC and continue across. (6 HDC)
Row 2-4: CH 1 and turn. HDC in each HDC. (6 HDC)
Row 5: HDC DEC. HDC in next 4.
Row 6: CH 1 and turn. HDC DEC. HDC in next 3
Row 7: CH 1 and turn. HDC DEC. HDC in next 2
Row 8: CH 1 and turn. HDC DEC. HDC in next 1
Row 9: CH 1 and turn. HDC DEC. Finish off.*
*repeat 3 more times to make a total of four pieces. Two in the bunny hat color and two in the inner ear color.

Once all four pieces are complete you will put alternating colors back to back and crochet them together using HDC’s. Put the inner ear color on top of the hat colored piece (should be mirror images of each other). I chose a larger hook for the rim around the ear and used a size K crochet hook. Again, that is simply what I chose in the moment; you could go smaller or larger depending on your preference and how tightly you crochet. The trim around the ears is chunky so once again you’ll work two strands of yarn simultaneously.




Using the hat colored yarn, begin in one of the bottom corners and begin to crochet through both pieces using HDC’s. This will hold both pieces together and make a nice rim around each ear. Use 2 HDC’s to round each corner. Once you’ve gone completely around, Join to your first HDC with a SL ST, finish off and leave a long tail for sewing.



Position the ears where you want them and sew them on! This part is more art than science. The ears turn out best with fewer stitches. I chose to sew the ears on the second round that way they were positioned nice and high on the top of the head. The ears do not need to be sewn on exactly the same. It turned out really cute if one ear is a little floppy or maybe turned to the side a little bit. Don’t worry too much about making them perfect. Just like real bunnies, each ear is unique.

EDITED TO ADD STITCHING DETAILS:

The first 3 stitches are most important to shape the ear and give it a good foundation to stand up tall.

Stitch 1:


Stitch 2:


Stitch 3:


Pull tight and now your ear should look something like this. From here all you need to do is finish securing the back side of the ear to the hat and you're done!



THE FINISHED PRODUCT!



A big thanks to Corinne McCombs Photography for the lovely photo of the turquoise bunny hat and to Ikon Photographs for the picture of the white bunny hat. You can view more of their work on their facebook pages:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Corinne-McCombs-Photography/133464376729019?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/ikonphotographs