How To Make A Mini Yarn Hat

I want to show you how to make a mini yarn hat so you can join me while I make #beaniesfornat as part of Love Your Melon’s initiative.

The instructions seemed straightforward enough that I thought I could get them done quickly. Plus, the timeline for getting the beanies to Minnesota (February 4th, 2019) meant I should get started ASAP.

So I created a separate tutorial because I needed to incorporate some materials that were different from the original in order to use what I had on hand.

I typically have plenty of toilet paper rolls, but strangely, I could only find one this time.

So, I found some old paper plates with a similar stiffness and created my own ‘headband ring’ as the structure for the hat. You could also use a cereal box if you have one available.

If you are looking for a craft or service project you can do with the whole family, making a mini yarn hat as part of the #beaniesfornat project is a perfect option.

It’s great for fine motor skills for people of all ages, the materials are easy to handle, and the project takes less than an hour from start to finish.

So, let’s get started making these teeny yarn beanies!

Materials For Mini Yarn Hat

The materials you’ll need to make a mini yarn hat are:

Yarn – a worsted weight polyester is what I used.
Scissors
Thin cardboard (toilet paper roll, paper plate, or cereal box)
Tape (if you’re using a paper plate)
Ruler (if you’re using a paper plate)
Optional: rotary cutting mat, rotary cutter

Steps To Make A Mini Yarn Hat

TL;DR Version for the Super Crafty Types

The mini yarn hat is made using a thin cardboard ring as the overall structure for the overall beanie. The cardboard ring is 3/4 of an inch high and has a diameter of about 1.75 inches.

Cut 37 strips of yarn that are 13″ long.

Create loops with the yarn around the ring.

It took about 36 individual strips of yarn to go around the whole ring. Push all of the yarn through the hole.

Take a small medicine bottle to hold the beanie-like structure together then use the last piece of yarn to tie off the top of the yarn bunch. Trim the ends at the top of the mini yarn hat to create a pom pom. Voilà your done!

Step-by-Step Teeny Yarn Beanie Instructions

1. Create mini yarn hat headband.

To do this, I took the round edge off the plate then created strips of the plate that were 3/4″ wide and approximately 7″ long.

The first hat I completed I used a 1″ width (pictured below) but found it to be a little too big. In all of the additional hats, I went with 3/4″ wide.

After cutting several strips, I created little rings with the plate.

Each ring has a diameter of about 1.75 inches.

I used the toilet paper roll as a gauge to get the right overall diameter then taped up the edge to create the finished circle.

2. Cut yarn strips.

After creating the mini yarn beanie headband, cut yarn strips that are 13 inches long.

You need 37 yarn strips per hat. 36 of them are used to fill out the hat and the 37th strip to tie off and finish it.

The 13 inch length per string is longer than the original tutorial recommendation of 8″.

The longer strips allow you to have enough yarn at the top to make a nice pom pom to complete the hat.

Pro tip: If you have several different colors of yarn you can cut them together to save time or to create a multicolored hat.

3. Loop yarn over mini hat headband.

Take the yarn strips and start looping them around the headband until its the whole band is full.

The process for looping each strand over the mini yarn hat headband is detailed in the pictures below.

Fold the yarn in half then place it through the center of the headband circle.

Stick the ends of the yarn through the yarn loop to secure the yarn to the ring.

Pull the yarn ends to tighten the loop securely around the headband.

Loop each strand of yarn until the whole ring is full.

4. Push yarn ends through the center of the ring.

Twist the yarn and then push all of it through the center of the headband. This creates some ‘heft’ to the mini yarn hat as well as help it keep its shape.

Pull all of the yarn through the hole so that the strips hand long and straight.

Once all the strands are pulled through the center of the ring, comb them to keep them straight and tight on the cardboard headband.

5. Create a beanie shape to the mini yarn hat.

Use a small bottle (e.g., a medicine bottle, spice jar or glue bottle) to create a beanie-like shape to the mini hat.

Insert the bottle into the center of the band. Push it through the middle until you have the height you want to the beanie.

Take the last strand of yarn to tie off the beanie.

6. Admire your handiwork then start another one.

You can leave the pom pom messy (like the one above) or trim it so that it’s tighter to the top of the hat. This beanie reminds me of Monster from The Muppets so I left it as is.

Make A Handful Of #BeaniesforNat

After the first beanie, creating additional beanies goes even faster, especially if all the yarn you need has already been cut.

All told, I created five #beaniesfornat that I will send this week to ensure they make it on time.

If for some reason you cannot make the February 4th timeline, consider making some beanies and sharing them with your local assisted living facilities or pediatric units with patients in need of a pick-me-up.

A colorful mini yarn hat is a definite conversation starter and a cute addition to any room!