Ribbed Cactus Beanie – [Toddler to Adult] – free Crochet Pattern

When I first released my Cactus Baby Beanie, many of you asked me if I could adapt the pattern to bigger sizes. Aaand, here it is! The crochet Ribbed Cactus Beanie is sizes from toddler to adult!

Ribbed Slouchy Hat - Free Crochet Pattern - Raffamusa Designs

Even though I kept the same stitch pattern of construction as the original Cactus Baby Beanie, I didn’t want to stick to the DK (3, Light) weight yarn that I had used for the baby sizes.

Instead, I chose some Aran/worsted (4, Medium) weight yarn and tried different stitch counts and row repeats to obtain the right sizes.

For as much as I love cacti and whimsical crochet accessories, I am not the kind of person who goes around every day in a cactus beanie.

That’s why I tried to crochet the Ribbed Cactus Beanie with some non-green yarn to see what it looked like without the cactus spines and a pompom.

And I loved how it turned out!

Slouchy Ribbed Beanie Hat - Raffamusa Designs

A slouchy crochet hat for the entire family

The Ribbed Cactus crochet beanie has a slouchy and comfy fit, which is perfect if you have lots and lots of hair, or, like in my case, if you don’t want to flatten your hair by wearing a tight beanie but still want to stay warm in the winter.

The pattern is written in six different sizes, so you can easily make matching beanies for the entire family.

And up to you if you want to make cactus hats for everyone or use more subtle colors for the adults!

Find more crochet hats and accessories for the entire family!

Add this pattern to your Ravelry queue HERE and favorite the pattern (Thank you!) – Or save it for later by pinning it to your best crochet board on Pinterest. Feel free to use this pin!

Free Crochet Pattern - Ribbed Slouchy Hat - Raffamusa Designs

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AD-FREE Printable PATTERN

Grab the ad-free, printable PDF pattern of the Ribbed Cactus Beanie in my Ravelry, LoveCrafts, and Etsy stores!

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MATERIALS

  • Worsted/Aran (4, Medium) Yarn in green (see Sizes & Yardage), and white (2 yds/2m)
  • 6.5-mm (K-10.5 USA, 3 UK) Crochet Hook
  • Tapestry Needle
  • One Pompom

YARN SUGGESTIONS

I used Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran (color Lime Green, 228) for the cactus beanies, Katia Azteca (color 7854), and Katia City (color 906) for the adult beanie hats.

Feel free to use any equivalent worsted or Aran weight yarn.

Ribbed Slouchy Cactus Beanie - Free Crochet Pattern - Raffamusa Designs

SIZE & YARDAGE

The pattern is written for sizes 12-24 Months (Toddler, Child, Adult S, Adult M, Adult L). Remember to check your gauge before starting crocheting the beanie!

SizeHead CircumferenceYardage
12-24 M.17″-18″ (44-46 cm)127 yds, 116 m
Toddler18″-19″ (46-48.5 cm)142 yds, 130 m
Child19″-20″ (48.5-51 cm)157 yds, 144 m
Adult S20″-21″ (51-53.5 cm)180 yds, 165 m
Adult M21″-22″ (56-57 cm)197 yds, 180 m
Adult L22″-23″ (58-59 cm)208 yds, 190 m
Crochet Cactus Beanie – Raffamusa Designs

ABBREVIATIONS (US TERMS)

BLO – Back Loop Only
Ch – Chain
FSC – Foundation Single Crochet
Hdc – Half Double Crochet
RS – Right Side
Sc – Single Crochet
Sl St – Slip Stitch
St – Stitch
WS – Wrong Side
Yo – Yarn Over

SPECIAL STITCHES

Back Loop Only Stitches
Learn how to crochet Back Loop Only (BLO) stitches in this blog post, and read further down for a special note about BLO sl sts!

Foundation Single Crochet
Check my step-by-step tutorial on how to foundation single crochet.

Third Loop Half Double Crochet
For a detailed explanation, see this post on how to crochet in the third loop.

CONSTRUCTION

This beanie is crocheted flat from side to side using a combination of stitches in the back loop only and in the third loop.

If you’re not familiar with these modified stitches, please, take a look at these posts:

To complete the beanie, the flat piece is seamed along the short sides and closed at the top.

BLO SLIP STITCHES

Notice that the brim will be crocheted row after row by using BLO sl st on one side of the flat beanie.

Pay extra attention when crocheting slip stitches because it is very easy to miss them, especially the first slip stitch! So, make sure to count your stitches in order not to lose any.

Cactus Beanie - Slip Stitch Brim - Raffamusa Designs

GAUGE

Make a gauge swatch as follows.

Ch 14.
Row 1. Sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across. (13 sts)
Row 2. Ch 1 (doesn’t count as a st), turn. BLO hdc across.
Row 3. Ch 1, turn, third loop hdc across.
Row 4-5. Ch 1, turn. BLO sc across.
Repeat Rows 2-5, then rows 2-3 once more.

13 sts for 11 rows in 4″ (10 cm)

Crochet Ribbed Cactus Beanie – Free Pattern – Size Toddler to Adult

Ch 32 (32, 35, 38, 38, 41).

Row 1. Sc in each back bump. (31 (31, 34, 37, 37, 40) sts)

Alternatively, FSC 31 (31, 34, 37, 37, 40).

Row 2 (WS). Ch 1 (does not count as a st here and in the rest of the pattern), turn. BLO sl st 5 (5, 6, 6, 6, 6), BLO hdc 18 (18, 20, 22, 22, 25), BLO sc 8 (8, 8, 9, 9, 9). (31 (31, 34, 37, 37, 40) sts)

Row 3 (RS). Ch 1, turn. BLO sc 8 (8, 8, 8, 9, 9), third loop hdc 18 (18, 20, 22, 22, 25), BLO sl st 5 (5, 6, 6, 6, 6). (31 (31, 34, 37, 37, 40) sts)

Row 4. Ch 1, turn. BLO sc 31 (31, 34, 37, 37, 40). (31 (31, 34, 37, 37, 40) sts)

Row 5. Ch 1, turn. BLO sc 26 (26, 28, 31, 31, 34), BLO sl st 5 (5, 6, 6, 6, 6). (31 (31, 34, 37, 37, 40) sts)

Keep repeating rows 2-5 until you reach row 45 (49, 53, 57, 61, 65) (or until you reach your desired width. The width of the stretched brim should be equal to the head circumference).

Fasten off leaving a tail of approximately 30″ (75 cm) for seaming.

Assembly

Using the mattress stitch or your favorite method, seam the first and last rows together.

For a neater result, I suggest you work your seam with the wrong side out.

Pass a length of yarn through the top of the beanie and cinch it closed.

If you find that the sl st brim is too tight, you could also use the sc side as the bottom of your hat!

Fasten off and weave in your ends.

Finishing

Attach a pompom on top of the beanie.

For the spines, cut short lengths of white yarn (approximately 4″, 10 cm) and knot them around some of the stitches on the right side of the beanie. After knotting, cut the yarn so that your spines are about half an inch long (1 cm).

Your crochet Ribbed Cactus Beanie is ready!

I hope you enjoyed this free crochet pattern. I would love to see your ribbed beanies on Facebook and Instagram. Make sure to use the hashtag #raffamusadesigns so that I don’t miss your pics!

Find more crochet hats and accessories here on the blog…

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