Free Pattern: How to Crochet a Mini Santa Hat for the Holidays
Looking for the perfect festive touch for your Christmas tree, gift tags, or even your doll collection? You’re in for a treat! This free mini Santa hat crochet pattern is the fourth release in the Scrappy Holidays Christmas in July CAL . It’s a fun, textured 3D ornament that’s just bursting with holiday cheer.
Worked in the round and packed with festive texture, this little hat is designed to stand up (or bend down!) all on its own. It uses a combination of stitches to create that classic Santa hat vibe—from the textured brim to the soft faux pompom tip.
And, while it’s an intermediate-level pattern, confident beginners are absolutely welcome to join in! With step-by-step video tutorials included, you’ll have all the support you need to level up your crochet game.
We start by crocheting the main body of the hat in the round, then move on to the brim worked directly onto the bottom edge. The pompom is added next, right at the tip of the hat, and finally, the hat is stitched at the top to create a whimsical bend.
Fun fact: When I used #4 weight yarn and a 5mm hook, the bend held its own naturally. But when I used #3 weight yarn and a 4mm hook? Yep—I had to stitch it down to get that jolly little fold.
🎅 Inspiration Behind the Design
Honestly? I wasn’t sure I was going to design a Santa hat at all.
It wasn’t in my original plan for the Scrappy Holidays collection, but one day I sat down with my yarn and hook to prototype something festive—and this little beauty just appeared. It had the perfect balance of whimsy and texture.
What did surprise me was how much of a difference there was in size between using #4 weight yarn with a 5mm hook versus a #3 weight yarn with a 4mm hook. We’re talking over an inch in both width and height! It makes a big difference depending on what you want to use it for—tree ornament, gift tag, or dolls hat. So I would definitely experiment with this one!
🌟 Get the Ebook
Please note: This pattern is not available individually in my shops.
It is only available as part of the Scrappy Holidays Christmas in July E-book—a festive collection of all the CAL patterns bundled into one joyful download.
You can find all 5 of the patterns featured in the Scrappy Holidays CAL for free on my blog posts. The other 4 are:
🧶 Pattern Specifics
Skill Level: Intermediate (Confident beginners welcome!)
Finished Size:
- With #4 weight yarn + 5mm hook: approx. 4″ tall, 4″ wide
- With #3 weight yarn + 4mm hook: approx. 3″ tall, 3″ wide
Materials:
- #4 weight (aran) yarn OR #3 weight (DK) yarn in red and white
- 5mm hook (for #4 yarn) or 4mm hook (for #3 yarn)
- Yarn needle
- Scissors
- 1 Stitch Marker (optional) –for the first st of each round if you prefer to mark those.
Special Stitches Used:
- Treble Crochet (TC): YO twice, insert hook into next st, *YO and pull through 2 loops on hook.* Rep from * to * twice more. Stitch completed.
- Bobble Stitch (BS): *YO, insert hook into indicated st, YO and pull through. YO and pull through 2 loops on hook.* Rep from * to * 4 more times. YO and pull through all remaining loops on hook.
Abbreviations (US Terms):
- MR – Magic Ring
- Ch(s) – chain(s)
- St(s) – stitch(es)
- Rep – repeat
- Sk – skip
- SC – single crochet
- HDC – half double crochet
- TC – treble crochet
- BS – Bobble Stitch
- Sp – space
- SS – slip stitch
- YO – yarn over
- FO – fasten off
📽️ Step-by-Step Video Tutorials
Want to crochet along with me? I’ve put together video tutorials to walk you through every step of the mini Santa hat—perfect if you’re a visual learner or just like having a friendly face to guide you!
Right handed – https://youtu.be/gwOHZNYJlCA
Left handed – https://youtu.be/CxxnhoQoGCE
🎄 Free Mini Santa Hat Crochet Pattern
** This is a free pattern on the Sunflower Cottage Crochet blog. Please do not copy and paste any part of it or print this pattern out. Please bookmark this page and use the website to work up your pattern. This helps my small business greatly as it provides a little bit of ad revenue which will in turn will allow me to continue to create free content for you!**
Using Colour A:
Round 1: In MR, ch2, sc 5 into the MR. SS to top of ch2 to join. (6) OR
Ch4, ss to first ch to join. ch2, hdc 5 into the centre of your ch4. SS to top of ch2 to join. (6)
Round 2: Ch2, hdc in next st and each st around. SS to top of ch2 to join. (6)
Round 3: Ch2, 2hdc in next st, *hdc in next st, 2 hdc in next st* Rep from * to * around. SS to top of ch2 to join. (9)
Round 4: Ch2, hdc in next st and each st around. SS to top of ch2 to join. (9)
Round 5: Ch2, hdc in next st, 2hdc in next st, *hdc in next 2 sts, 2 hdc in next st* Rep from * to * around. SS to top of ch2 to join. (12)
Round 6: Ch2, hdc in next st and each st around. SS to top of ch2 to join. (12)
Round 7: Ch2, hdc in next 2sts, 2hdc in next st, *hdc in next 3 sts, 2 hdc in next st* Rep from * to * around. SS to top of ch2 to join. (15)
Round 8: Ch2, hdc in next st and each st around. SS to top of ch2 to join. (15)
Round 9: Ch2, hdc in next st, 2hdc in next st, *hdc in next 4 sts, 2 hdc in next st* Rep from * to * around until you have 2 sts remaining. Hdc in last 2 sts. SS to top of ch2 to join. (18)
Round 10: Ch2, hdc in next 4 sts, 2hdc in next st, *hdc in next 5 sts, 2 hdc in next st* Rep from * to * around. SS to top of ch2 to join. (21)
Round 11: Ch2, hdc in next 2 sts, 2hdc in next st, *hdc in next 6 sts, 2 hdc in next st* Rep from * to * around until you have 3 sts remaining. Hdc in last 3 sts. SS to top of ch2 to join. (24)
Round 12: Ch2, hdc in next 6 sts, 2hdc in next st, *hdc in next 7 sts, 2 hdc in next st* Rep from * to * around. SS to top of ch2 to join. (27)
Round 13: Ch2, hdc in next 3 sts, 2hdc in next st, *hdc in next 8 sts, 2 hdc in next st* Rep from * to * around until you have 4 sts remaining. Hdc in last 4 sts. SS to top of ch2 to join. (30)
Change to colour B to create the trim for your hat.
Note: The texture for this part will be worked on the inside of your hat. This is correct because you will fold the trim up once completed.
Round 14: Ch1, sc in each st around. SS to first sc to join. (30)
Round 15: Ch 4 (counts as a tc), ss into next st, *tc in next st, ss in next st* Rep from * to * around. SS to top of ch4 to join. (30)
Round 16: Ch2, hdc in next st and each st around. SS to top of ch2 to join. 30)
Round 17: Rep round 15 (30)
Round 18: Rep round 16. (30)
Leave a long tail and FO.
Fold trim of hat up so that the texture is on the right side.
Weave in tail of trim along the top of the trim ensuring that 3-4 times you use it to also tack the trim to the hat base.
Adding the ‘pompom’ to the top of the hat:
Flatten your hat and insert your hook through round 2 as per photo below.
Attach your yarn and ch1. Work a single BS into these stitches.
FO and weave in ends
Optional:
Fold the top of the hat and, using the same colour as the main body of the hat, sew a couple of stitches to keep it folded if necessary.
Note: I found that I had to do this with my 3 weight version, but not my 4 weight version.
Hanging string:
Attach a piece of ribbon or some spare yarn to the top of your hat for hanging.
Now go hang that adorable mini santa hat somewhere it can shine! 🌟 Whether you’re decorating your tree, personalizing gifts, or surprising a dolly, this mini Santa hat is sure to bring a smile. Don’t forget to tag me on social if you make one—I’d love to see how yours turns out!
And don’t forget to grab the Scrappy Holidays Christmas in July E-book to get all the patterns in the CAL in one festive bundle.
