Heart Beanie Knitting Pattern

     

    Happy Valentine’s Day! Today I’m here with a fair isle knitting pattern featuring a simple heart motif—perfect for the occasion. This hat is knit in the round using circular needles and the magic loop method, with a double brim for extra warmth on these cold February days. Whether you’re making it for yourself or as a gift, it’s a fun, quick project to add a little love to your winter wardrobe!

Materials:

• Yarn: Weight 3 (DK) in two contrasting colors

    * <100g main color, <50g contrast color

• Needles: 3.5mm (US 4) circular needles (32” or longer magic loop) or DPNs

    * Optional: 3.75 mm (US 5) needles for colorwork section 

• Notions: Stitch markers, yarn needle, scissors 

    

Gauge:

24 stitches x 34 rows = 4” in stockinette

Sizes:

• Small: 108 sts (~18” unstretched)

• Medium: 120 sts (~20” unstretched)

• Large: 132 sts (~22” unstretched)

Notes:

Color Dominance in Fair Isle Knitting

    When working colorwork, the strand that travels underneath (typically held in the left hand when knitting two-handed) will appear more dominant. For this pattern, the heart color should be dominant to ensure the motif stands out. If you’re new to color dominance, here’s a video I found helpful.

Floats & Yarn Management

    Since the heart motif has a repeat of 7 stitches, be mindful of your floats. If they extend more than 5 stitches, catch the floats on the wrong side to help maintain tension and prevent snagging.

Brim & Folding the Edge

    The first 32 rounds form the brim, which is folded in half and knit together. Since the floats from the fair isle section will be inside the brim, weave in the contrast color strands before folding to keep the inside neat. If you’re unfamiliar with knitting together with the cast-on edge, this video provides a clear visual guide on what to pick up. 

Pattern Instructions 

Set up

CO (108, 120, 132) sts, join to knit in the round, making sure the cast-on edge isn’t twisted and place a marker for beginning of the round. 

Knit 20 rounds in main color.

Colorwork Section

Optional: Switch to 3.75mm (US5) needles to avoid tightness or puckering for the colorwork, and switch back to 3.5mm after you’ve finished the hearts. If you prefer to use the 3.5mm, you can continue with them.

Begin fair isle chart (54, 60, 66 stitch repeat, worked twice per round).

Hearts are completed for 8 rounds.

Prepare for Folding

After completing the last row of the hearts, continue knitting in main color for 3 more rows.

Weave in the ends from the contrast color so they’re neatly enclosed inside the double layer.

Folding the Brim

Fold the bottom edge up so that the cast-on edge aligns with your life stitches. Knit each stitch together with its corresponding stitch from the cast-on edge. 

Body

Continue knitting in main color until hat measures (4.5, 5, 5.5) inches from the bottom folded edge.

Decreases

Work decreases every other round as follows:

Round 1: At the beginning of the round, k1, k2tog, then *knit to 2 sts before the next marker, slip 1 stitch, k1, pass slipped stitch over, slip marker, k1, k2tog.* Repeat from * to * 3 times, then knit to 2 sts before the end of the round, slip 1 stitch, k1, pass slipped stitch over. (8 sts have been decreased)

Round 2: Knit. (no decreases)

Repeat rounds 1 and 2 for a total of (8, 10, 11) times. You should now have (44, 40, 44) sts left on the needle.

Now decrease every row as follows:

Round 1: At the beginning of the round, k1, k2tog, then *knit to 2 sts before the next marker, slip 1 stitch, k1, pass slipped stitch over, slip marker, k1, k2tog.* Repeat from * to * 3 times, then knit to 2 sts before the end of the round, slip 1 stitch, k1, pass slipped stitch over. (8 sts have been decreased)

Repeat round 1 until there are (12, 16, 12) sts left on the needle.

Next round: K2tog around until (6, 8, 6) sts remain.

Cut the yarn and pull through the remaining sts to cast off.

Finishing Notes:

• Weave in all ends securely.

• Block piece if needed; I just machine washed and dried mine.

  Thanks for checking out my pattern! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or DM me @funkyfreshfibers on Instagram!