This Adult Bentie Beanie is the adult version of the Bentie Beanie for children and toddlers that I published back in November. The beanie pattern is very versatile and doubles very nicely as a pompom hat for both adults and children. It’s a simple pattern which can be made in any number of stripe variations and topped with a pompom if so wished.
The hats are made with Drops Nepal, which is an Aran weight yarn in a 35% alpaca and 65% wool mix which is very soft and lovely to work with. I am very sensitive to itchy wool hats, but I can wear hats made with this yarn. I use 5 mm needles and the gauge/tension is the pretty much exactly the same as the one given by Drops: 10 x 10 cm is 17 stitches and 22/23 rows. I start all my hats on circular needles (20 cm long) and when it starts to get too tight due to the decreases I transfer the stitches to wooden double pointed needles (I work with 5). I prefer working with wooden ones as the stitches slip off the metal ones very easily and I found my hands were getting more tense from the effort of preventing this. You can make the hats on straight (two normal) needles as well and sew the sides together at the end, but the end result is not as neat. If you have never worked on circular needles I would really recommend giving it a try – it is much faster and neater once you get the hang of it.
The pattern is given below. Apart from the rib section the hat is only worked in stocking/stockinette stitch and the pattern is written out as if you are using circular needles. If you are working on straight needles you will need to purl every second row, which should be the row between the decreases. The Round numbers are given as if you are making a hat for a woman or a small male head where you would do 24 rows of stocking stitch – if you are making a hat for an average size male head (26 rows stocking stitch) you would need to add 2 to each row count.
Please remember that this is my design and my copyright. Please feel free to use it for yourself, but you may not copy or publish the pattern as your own. If you sell what you make or post pictures of your makes I would appreciate if you mention where you got the pattern and direct people to my site. Thanks!
Abbreviations
k – knit
p – purl
st – stitch
st st – stocking stitch
k2tog – knit 2 together
Adult Bente Beanie
Cast on 88 stitches
10 rows double rib: 2 k, 2 p
24 rows stocking/stockinette stitch
Round 35: * k 9, k2tog * x 8 (80 sts)
Round 36: 1 round k
Round 37: * k 8, k2tog * x 8 (72 sts)
Round 38: 1 round k
Round 39: * k 7, k2tog * x 8 (64 sts)
Round 40: 1 round k
Round 41: * k 6, k2tog * x 8 (56 sts)
Round 42: 1 round k
Round 43: * k 5, k2tog * x 8 (48 sts)
Round 44: 1 round k
Round 45: * k 4, k2tog * x 8 (40 sts)
Round 46: 1 round k
Round 47: * k 3, k2tog * x 8 (32 sts)
Round 48: 1 round k
Round 49: * k 2, k2tog * x 8 (24 sts)
Round 50: 1 round k
Round 51: * k 1, k2tog * x 8 (16 sts)
Round 52: 1 round k
Round 53: * k2tog * x 8 (8 sts)
Cut the yarn leaving at least 20 cm. Thread it on to a darning needle and pull the yarn through the remaining stitches while they are still on the knitting needle, take out the needles and pull tight. Circle through again and pull tight. Bring the yarn to the backside of the hat and sew in the end. Sew in all other ends. Make pompom if needed and attach securely to the top of the hat: sew ends through the last 8 stitches and pull tight. You can sew through the stitches again to make it really tight and sew in the ends.
I hope you enjoy making – and wearing – this beanie. I would love to see your versions of it, so if you feel like sharing you can tag me on Instagram @saraphirdesigns, share a photo on my Facebook Page or create a Ravelry Project.
Developing all the patterns and publishing them for free takes a lot of time and effort. I have kept this site ad-free as I don’t particularly like ads myself, so if you have liked my free patterns I would appreciate if you would consider donating a small amount to help me be able to develop more patterns for free:
© Saraphir Legind. All Rights Reserved.
A group of women in our small congregation spend each Friday and Saturday in March making mittens from donated sweaters, coats, even warm fabrics. These are donated to a veteran assistance group for helping our homeless vets stay warm. Especially important as we live in northern North Dakota. We have had people donate yarn as well. Finding your pattern, I am putting the donated yarn to good use and we will be adding warm beanies made with your pattern to add to the mittens. I am so grateful for your pattern.
That’s lovely to hear Judy! I’m glad the pattern is being used for such a good cause. Can I share your message on social media (without your name) to inspire others? 🙏
Can you please explain what you mean by: “if you are making a hat for an average size male head (26 rows stocking stitch) you would need to add 2 to each row count.”
Thank you!
Hildy
Camrose, Alberta, Canada
Thanks for your comment. I mean that instead of starting the decrease in round 35 it will be round 37. Hope this helps! Best wishes, Saraphir
Thanks! That answers my question perfectly!
Great! Maybe I’ll change it so it’s not ambiguous. 😊
Hi for your adult bente beanie pattern it says 20 cm circular needles. What should it say. Thanks
Hi Mary, thanks for getting in touch. I write first I use 5 mm needles. Then later I write that I start on circular needles that are 20 cm long. They should be 20 cm long, and of course 5 mm thick as indicated earlier. Hope that clarifies it! Best wishes, Saraphir