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A toddler bear hat pattern with ears and earflaps

Eight rounds to tick off for a toddler bear hat with shaped earflaps and ears.

the finished piece
A toddler bear hat pattern with ears and earflaps
Skill
Intermediate
Rounds
20 rounds
Yarn weight
Worsted
Hook
6.5 mm
Time
4-6 hours

Intermediate

What the original page called it. Nothing here is graded a second time.

20 rounds

Each one gets its own line, with a box beside it to tick as you go.

Worsted

What the sample was made in. Any weight works — the size moves with it.

About this pattern

This is a toddler-size bear hat built from a double crochet crown, two earflaps worked straight off the body, and two separate ears stitched on afterward. The main piece ticks off in five rounds plus the earflap rounds, so the whole hat is a short, countable project rather than an open-ended one. Ears are a quick two-round add-on made twice, which keeps the fiddly bits small and separate from the main crown.

The shaping happens fast: the crown goes from a ring to a full circle through a run of increase rounds before settling into plain rounds for depth. Slow down at the earflap stage, where stitches are picked up at a specific point along the brim and decreased down row by row with dc2tog — losing track of the starting stitch here throws off the whole shape of the flap.

  1. Start the crown with a small ring and build it outward through a few increase rounds to set the hat's width.
  2. Work several plain rounds straight up from there to give the crown its depth before stopping without fastening off.
  3. Pick up stitches along the brim to begin the first earflap, then shape it down with paired decreases on each side.
  4. Skip across the unworked brim stitches to start the second earflap and shape it the same way as the first.
  5. Make two ears separately using a double strand of yarn, each worked in a couple of quick rounds and left with a long tail.
  6. Lay the finished hat flat and use those tails to sew the ears into place on the crown.

What goes wrong

  • Losing count on increase rounds Each increase round has a repeating pattern that builds on the last, so an error early on throws off every round after it. Count stitches at the end of each round before starting the next one.
  • Starting the second earflap in the wrong stitch The second earflap begins by skipping a set number of unworked stitches along the brim after the first earflap is placed. Mark the last stitch of the first earflap so the skip count is easy to check.
  • Uneven tension on the double-strand ears Working with two strands held together for the ears can pull tighter or looser than the single-strand hat body. Check each ear against the other before fastening off so the pair matches.
  • Misplacing the ears before sewing Ears attached too high or too low change the whole look of the hat once it's worn. Lay the hat flat first and test-pin both ears in the same row before stitching them down.

Yarn, hook and the rest

Copied from the source pattern's own materials list.

  • U.S K/10 ½ 6.5mm Crochet Hook
  • Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice ( Any Worsted Weight Yarn) Barley – 145 yards
  • Tapestry Needle / Darning Needle – To weave in ends

Progress tracker

0 of the 20 rounds on this page are ticked.

The pattern, round by round

Kept in the order and the wording the source used. Tick a round as you finish it; the ticks stay on this device.

Main Pattern

Round 1

Ch3, join with a slip stitch to beg ch to form a ring, ch2 (counts as 1dc) work 12dc in ring, join with a slip stitch to beg dc (13dc)

Round 2

Ch2 (counts as 1dc from here and throughout unless otherwise stated) work 2dc in each st around, join with a slip stitch to beg dc (26dc)

Round 3

Ch2, 2dc in first st, 1dc in next st * 2dc in next st, 1dc in next st * Repeat around, join with a slip stitch to beg dc (39dc)

Round 4

Ch2 * 2dc in next st, 1dc in next 2sts * Repeat around, join with a slip stitch to beg dc (52dc)

Rounds 5–11

Ch2, 1dc in each st around, join with a slip stitch to beg dc (52dc) Do not fasten off.

First Earflap

Round 1

Ch2, 1dc in next 9sts, turn (10dc)

Round 2

Ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch from here and throughout) dc2tog over first 2sts, 1dc in next 6sts, dc2tog over last 2sts, turn (8sts)

Round 3

Ch1, dc2tog over first 2sts, 1dc in next 4sts, dc2tog over last 2sts, turn (6sts)

Round 4

Ch1, dc2tog over first 2sts, 1dc in next 2sts, dc2tog over last 2sts, turn (4sts)

Round 5

Ch1, dc2og over first 2sts, dc2tog over last 2sts, turn (2sts)

Round 6

Ch1, dc2tog over last 2sts (1stitch) Fasten off and weave in ends.

Second Earflap

Round 1

Locate the last st on row 1 of first earflap, skip next 16 unworked sts, join yarn in next st, ch2 (counts as 1dc) 1dc in next 9sts, turn (10dc)

Round 2

Ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch from here and throughout) dc2tog over first 2sts, 1dc in next 6sts, dc2tog over last 2sts, turn (8sts)

Round 3

Ch1, dc2tog over first 2sts, 1dc in next 4sts, dc2tog over last 2sts, turn (6sts)

Round 4

Ch1, dc2tog over first 2sts, 1dc in next 2sts, dc2tog over last 2sts, turn (4sts)

Round 5

Ch1, dc2og over first 2sts, dc2tog over last 2sts, turn (2sts)

Round 6

Ch1, dc2tog over last 2sts (1stitch) Do not fasten off. >> Next you will need to sc evenly around entire hat and earflaps, join with a slip stitch to beg sc. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Ears – Make 2

Round 1

Holding 2 strands of yarn (i used the yarn strand from the start of the yarn ball and then found the end strand in the middle of the same yarn ball) Ch4, join with a slip stitch to beg ch to form a ring, ch2 (counts as 1dc) work 11dc in ring, join with a slip stitch to beg dc (12dc)

Round 2

Ch2 (counts as 1dc) 1dc in same st as ch2, 2dc in next 8sts, turn (18sts)

Round 3

Slip stitch in next 18sts (18sts) Leave a long tail to secure to hat. Fasten off

Ties

> Cut 16 pieces of yarn that all measure approx 28 inches and separate into 2 piles of 8.

> Pass one lot of 8 pieces of yarn into last space through bottom earflap, tie a loose knot and braid. Trim ends to desired length and repeat on other earflap.

Join

Step 1> With a needle and your long tail from your ears, lay hat flat and sew the ears onto the hat. I placed mine from the second row down and they ended on the fourth row down.

Check your count

  • Main Pattern · Round 1: 13 sts
  • Main Pattern · Round 2: 26 sts
  • Main Pattern · Round 3: 39 sts
  • Main Pattern · Rounds 5–11: 52 sts
  • First Earflap · Round 2: 8 sts
  • First Earflap · Round 4: 4 sts

Finish

  • Weave in every tail left from the crown, both earflaps and the joins, working each one through several stitches before trimming.
  • Leave the long tails on the two ears untrimmed, since those are needed for attaching rather than weaving in.
  • Lay the hat flat and sew each ear on using its own tail, keeping both ears level with each other before securing and trimming.

Bigger or smaller

Smaller or taller
Repeat one of the plain rounds in the main pattern an extra time or skip one, which adds or removes depth in the crown while keeping the earflap and ear instructions the same.

FAQs

Asked and answered

These answers came from whoever first published the pattern, kept word for word.

Why are the ears worked with two strands of yarn?

Holding two strands together makes the small ear rounds firmer and gives them enough body to hold their shape once sewn on. It also helps the ears stand out slightly from the single-strand hat body.

Do the earflaps need to be identical?

Yes, both earflaps follow the same decrease shaping so they hang evenly on either side of the hat. Working them one after the other from the same main pattern round helps keep them matched.

What yarn amount does this hat use?

The hat is designed around 145 yards of worsted weight yarn, which covers the main pattern, both earflaps and both ears. Keep a little extra on hand for seaming the ears in place.