Sorting Hat – Free Crochet Hat Pattern with a Grumpy Face

A slouchy brown hat with a grumpy face, worked in one piece on an N hook — chenille or two strands of worsted held together, so the fabric is thick enough to hold its own shape with no stiffening.

The face is the interesting part, and it is made entirely with stitch heights rather than shaping. Triple crochet builds a ridge for the brow, the next round closes those stitches into a narrow slot, and a few rounds later a band of half double crochet opens a second hollow for the mouth. Then, at the very end, one long strand of yarn is run up through the inside of both hollows and pulled tight, which pushes them in and pulls the centre of the eyes down. That pull is what makes it look annoyed.

The brim is worked twice: a round into the front loops only for the fold, then four rounds of steady increases in both loops, three stitches at a time, so the hat sits over a head without gripping it.

What you need

• Yarn: brown chenille, or worsted held double
• Hook: N (10 mm)
• Notions: yarn needle, locking stitch marker; optional brown felt, polyester fibre fill, needle and thread

Worked in unjoined spirals. Move the marker to the loop on your hook at the end of every round. Numbers in brackets are the stitch count at the end of that round.

Abbreviations

st stitch, sc single crochet, hdc half double crochet, trc triple crochet, sc2tog two single crochet together, FLO front loops only.

The hat

• R1: adjustable ring, ch 1, 3 sc into the ring, pull closed (3)
• R2: 2 sc in each stitch (6)
• R3–5: 6 sc — 3 rounds
• R6: 2 sc in next, 5 sc (7)
• R7: 3 sc, 2 sc in next, 3 sc (8)
• R8: (2 sc in next, 3 sc) around (10)
• R9: (2 sc, 2 sc in next, 2 sc) around (12)
• R10: (sc, 2 sc in next) around (18)
• R11–12: 18 sc — 2 rounds
• R13: (2 sc in next, 8 sc) around (20)
• R14: 20 sc
• R15: (4 sc, 2 sc in next, 5 sc) around (22)
• R16: 22 sc
• R17: (2 sc in next, 10 sc) around (24)

The brow.

• R18: 8 sc, 2 trc in each of the next 4 stitches, 4 hdc, 2 trc in each of the next 4 stitches, 4 sc (32)
• R19: 8 sc, sc2tog ×4, 4 sc, sc2tog ×4, 4 sc (24)
• R20: (3 sc, 2 sc in next, 4 sc) around (27)
• R21: (8 sc, 2 sc in next) around (30)
• R22: 30 sc

The mouth.

• R23: 14 sc, 2 hdc in each of the next 10 stitches, 6 sc (40)
• R24: 14 sc, 20 hdc, 6 sc (40)
• R25: 14 sc, sc2tog ×10, 6 sc (30)

The crown continues.

• R26: (9 sc, 2 sc in next) around (33)
• R27: (5 sc, 2 sc in next, 5 sc) around (36)
• R28: (2 sc in next, 11 sc) around (39)
• R29: (12 sc, 2 sc in next) around (42)
• R30: 42 sc

For a larger hat, keep increasing three stitches a round until it is the size you want, then pick up at R31 with the matching counts.

• R31: in FLO, (2 sc in next, 6 sc) around (48)
• R32: both loops now — (3 sc, 2 sc in next, 4 sc) around (54)
• R33: (8 sc, 2 sc in next) around (60)
• R34: (2 sc in next, 9 sc) around (66)
• R35: (3 sc, 2 sc in next, 7 sc) around (72)
• R36: (10 sc, 2 sc in next, sc) around (78)
• R37: (2 sc in next, 12 sc) around (84)

Fasten off and weave in the ends.

Finishing: the expression

1. Thread a yarn needle with a long strand of the same brown yarn and knot the end.
2. Push the mouth — the hollow made across R23–R25 — to the inside of the hat. Bring the yarn up from the bottom of the hat, through the mouth, and secure it to the inside.
3. Stitch both sides of the mouth the same way so the whole opening stays inward.
4. Come up between the eyes made across R18–R19 and take the needle back down towards the mouth, pulling tightly. That pull tilts the centre of the eyes downward.
5. Knot inside the hat and weave in the end.

Pull in stages. The first pull rarely gives the right tilt: secure, look at the hat from the front, then tighten a little more on one side. Once the yarn is knotted, the shape is hard to change.

Stiffer brim, fuller crown

• Brim: cut rounded strips of brown felt, overlap them inside the brim and pin. Trim the edges to the crocheted edge, then stitch the felt along both the outer and inner edges of the brim with brown thread.
• Crown: if the top flops, stuff polyester fibre fill into it and cut a circle of felt to fit just under the eyes. Stitch it in place — but not too low, or the hat will no longer go onto a head.

Notes

On a 10 mm hook the triple crochet in R18 is loose and tends to open up. Work those stitches with a firm hand, and keep the front of the work facing you — a twisted trc will show as a hole in the brow rather than a ridge.

The hat is unjoined spirals throughout, so a stitch marker is not optional here: the face has to land on the front, and if you lose a round the mouth drifts sideways.

More hats and wearables: Christmas Gnome Cardigan is the garment one, Güell Girls Sweater is the colourwork sweater, and Pig in a Granny Square Blanket is the small toy. Everything is on the patterns page.

Pattern source: Sorting Hat.

For a brimmed hat instead of a flat one, Penguin Beret is the 20-round disc that sits tilted.

If you liked shaping a face with stitches, WALL-E goes further and builds the whole body flat.