Bear Ears Hat Knitting Pattern

I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to resist the cuteness of a hat with animal ears on it. Whether for little ones or even adults, adding ears to a hat just ramps up the cuteness factor, and it’s really not any more difficult and doesn’t take much longer to add ears to the top of a hat.

>>> While you are here, check out these 10 Teddy Bear patterns for Valentine’s day. <<<

When my kid was younger I made hats that looks like bears, cats and bunnies (and of course I made a version of a cat hat for adults, too). Ears are a great little detail that makes a plain hat that much cuter. And there’s something about little kids in hats with ears that seems to make both the kid and the hat extra cute.

This bear ears hat knitting pattern from Fox & Pine Stitches uses super bulky yarn and is sized for newborns, 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-3 years and 4-12 years (though the same size hat would fit a 4 year old and a 12 year old quite differently; check the head measurement against the child you’re knitting for to make sure it will fit).

This little hat would be so cute to knit for a pregnancy announcement and to use in a newborn photo shoot, or make them for all the kids in your family for super cute holiday photos. And of course you could add the same style of ears to a bulky hat for any age to make coordinating head gear for everyone in the family.

The pattern is available for free from Fox & Pine Stitches.

Looking for more cute projects for baby? Check out my collection of easy baby blanket knitting patterns and a more recent list of baby blanket knitting patterns. (Baby blankets are my favorites, but hats are great to knit for babies, too, and you can always make both for a super sweet and thoughtful gift!)

[Photo: Fox & Pine Stitches]

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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