Knitted Happy Hippo Hat
The Knitted Happy Hippo Hat is the cutest accessory for bringing a touch of whimsy to any chilly day! With its adorable design featuring big googly eyes and floppy ears, this hat is sure to bring smiles wherever you go. The soft and cozy knit material will keep your baby warm and snug while making a unique fashion statement. So go ahead, add a splash of joy to your little one’s outfit with the Knitted Happy Hippo Hat and embrace the happiness it exudes!
Material: Super bulky (size 6) yarn appx 70yds for smaller sizes and 120yds for larger (I used Lion Brand Thick and Quick), size 13 (9mm) double pointed needles, 2 black small buttons and 2 large buttons
Gauge: 2.5sts/in ~Gauge is VERY important! Swatch before starting!~
Sizes (appx finished circumference): newborn (13ins), 0-3mths (14ins), 3-6mths (15ins), 6-12mths (16ins), toddler (17ins), child (18ins)
Happy Hippo Hat Pattern
Newborn
Earflaps
Cast on 4sts
Row 1 – purl across
Row 2 – K1 M1 K2 M1 K1 (6sts)
Row 3 – purl across
Row 4 – K1 M1 K4 M1 K1 (8sts)
Rows 5 & 7 – purl across
Rows 6 & 8 – knit across
Cast on 8 sts and cut yarn leaving enough for weaving in ends. Set aside. Repeat for other earflap casting on 8sts but do NOT cut yarn. With the right side facing out, join in the round. You should now have 32sts on your needles.
Hat Body
Knit in the round until your work measures appx 3.5ins from the cast on sts in between the earflaps.
Decrease rounds
Round 1 – (k2tog k2) repeat around (24sts)
Round 2 – knit around
Round 3 – (k2tog k1) repeat around (16sts)
Round 4 – k2tog around (8sts)
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn and pull through the remaining sts.
Nose
With right side facing, pick up 8sts.
Row 1 – p1 m1 p6 m1 p1 (10sts)
Rows 2 & 4 – knit
Rows 3 & 5 – purl
Row 6 – k1 ssk k4 k2tog k1 (8sts)
Row 7 – p1 p2og p2 p2tog tbl p1 (6sts)
Bind off knitwise. Tack down the nose with your larger buttons.
Ears – make 2
Cast on 10sts
Rows 1 & 3 – knit
Rows 2 & 4 – purl
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn leaving a long enough tail to sew the ears onto the hat (appx 8-12ins) and pull through the sts. Sew the ears at the top of the hat.
Weave in all ends. Add the small buttons for eyes. Cut 3 pieces of yarn appx 30ins long. Fold them in half and pull a loop through the bottom of the earflap. Pull the ends through this loop and secure. Now braid loosely to desired length. Clip ends. Repeat on the other side.
0-3mth
Earflaps
Cast on 4sts
Row 1 – purl across
Row 2 – K1 M1 K2 M1 K1 (6sts)
Row 3 – purl across
Row 4 – K1 M1 K4 M1 K1 (8sts)
Rows 5 & 7 – purl across
Rows 6 & 8 – knit across
Cast on 9 sts and cut yarn leaving enough for weaving in ends. Set aside. Repeat for other earflap but cast on 10 sts and do NOT cut yarn. With the right side facing out, join in the round. You should now have 35sts on your needles.
Hat Body
Knit in the round until your work measures appx 4ins from the cast on sts in between the earflaps.
Decrease rounds
Round 1 – (k2tog k3) repeat around (28sts)
Round 2 – knit around
Round 3 – (k2tog k2) repeat around (21sts)
Round 4 – (k2tog k1) repeat around (14sts)
Round 5 – k2tog around (7sts)
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn and pull through the remaining sts.
Nose
With right side facing, pick up 10sts.
Row 1 – p1 m1 p8 m1 p1 (12sts)
Rows 2, 4 & 6 – knit
Rows 3 & 5 – purl
Row 7 – p1 p2og p6 p2tog tbl p1 (10sts)
Row 8 – k1 ssk k4 k2tog k1 (8sts)
Bind off knitwise. Tack down the nose with your larger buttons.
Ears – make 2
Cast on 10sts
Rows 1 & 3 – knit
Rows 2 & 4 – purl
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn leaving a long enough tail to sew the ears onto the hat (appx 8-12ins) and pull through the sts. Sew the ears at the top of the hat.
Weave in all ends. Add the small buttons for eyes. Cut 3 pieces of yarn appx 30ins long. Fold them in half and pull a loop through the bottom of the earflap. Pull the ends through this loop and secure. Now braid loosely to desired length. Clip ends. Repeat on the other side.
3-6mths
Earflaps
Cast on 4sts
Row 1 – purl across
Row 2 – K1 M1 K2 M1 K1 (6sts)
Row 3 – purl across
Row 4 – K1 M1 K4 M1 K1 (8sts)
Rows 5 & 7 – purl across
Rows 6 & 8 – knit across
Cast on 10 sts and cut yarn leaving enough for weaving in ends. Set aside. Repeat for other earflap but cast on 11 sts and do NOT cut yarn. With the right side facing out, join in the round. You should now have 37sts on your needles.
Hat Body
Knit in the round until your work measures appx 4.5ins from the cast on sts in between the earflaps.
Decrease rounds
Round 1 – K2tog k5, k2tog k6, k2tog k5, k2tog k6, k2tog k5 (32sts)
Round 2 – (k2tog k2) repeat around (24sts)
Round 3 – knit around
Round 4 – (k2tog k1) repeat around (16sts)
Round 5 – k2tog around (8sts)
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn and pull through the remaining sts.
Nose
With right side facing, pick up 11sts.
Row 1 – p1 m1 p9 m1 p1 (13sts)
Rows 2, 4 & 6 – knit
Rows 3, 5 & 7 – purl
Row 8 – k1 ssk k7 k2tog k1 (11sts)
Row 9 – p1 p2tog p5 p2tog tbl p1 (9sts)
Bind off knitwise. Tack down the nose with your larger buttons.
Ears – make 2
Cast on 10sts
Rows 1 & 3 – knit
Rows 2 & 4 – purl
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn leaving a long enough tail to sew the ears onto the hat (appx 8-12ins) and pull through the sts. Sew the ears at the top of the hat.
Weave in all ends. Add the small buttons for eyes. Cut 3 pieces of yarn appx 30ins long. Fold them in half and pull a loop through the bottom of the earflap. Pull the ends through this loop and secure. Now braid loosely to desired length. Clip ends. Repeat on the other side.
6-12mth
Earflaps
Cast on 4sts
Row 1 – purl across
Row 2 – K1 M1 K2 M1 K1 (6sts)
Row 3 – purl across
Row 4 – K1 M1 K4 M1 K1 (8sts)
Row 5 – purl across
Row 6 – K1 M1 K6 M1 K1 (10sts)
Rows 7 & 9– purl across
Rows 8 & 10 – knit across
Cast on 10 sts and cut yarn leaving enough for weaving in ends. Set aside. Repeat for other earflap but cast on 10 sts and do NOT cut yarn. With the right side facing out, join in the round. You should now have 40sts on your needles.
Hat Body
Knit in the round until your work measures appx 5ins from the cast on sts in between the earflaps.
Decrease rounds
Round 1 – (k2tog k3) repeat around (32sts)
Round 2 – knit around
Round 3 – (k2tog k2) repeat around (24sts)
Round 4 – (k2tog k1) repeat around (16sts)
Round 5 – k2tog around (8sts)
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn and pull through the remaining sts.
Nose
With right side facing, pick up 10sts.
Row 1 – p1 m1 p8 m1 p1 (12sts)
Rows 2, 4 & 6 – knit
Rows 3, 5 & 7 – purl
Row 8 – k1 ssk k6 k2tog k1 (10sts)
Row 9 – p1 p2og p4 p2tog tbl p1 (8sts)
Bind off knitwise. Tack down the nose with your larger buttons.
Ears – make 2
Cast on 10sts
Rows 1 & 3 – knit
Rows 2 & 4 – purl
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn leaving a long enough tail to sew the ears onto the hat (appx 8-12ins) and pull through the sts. Sew the ears at the top of the hat.
Weave in all ends. Add the small buttons for eyes. Cut 3 pieces of yarn appx 30ins long. Fold them in half and pull a loop through the bottom of the earflap. Pull the ends through this loop and secure. Now braid loosely to desired length. Clip ends. Repeat on the other side.
Toddler
Earflaps
Cast on 4sts
Row 1 – purl across
Row 2 – K1 M1 K2 M1 K1 (6sts)
Row 3 – purl across
Row 4 – K1 M1 K4 M1 K1 (8sts)
Row 5 – purl across
Row 6 – K1 M1 K6 M1 K1 (10sts)
Rows 7 & 9– purl across
Rows 8 & 10 – knit across
Cast on 11 sts and cut yarn leaving enough for weaving in ends. Set aside. Repeat for other earflap but cast on 12 sts and do NOT cut yarn. With the right side facing out, join in the round. You should now have 43sts on your needles.
Hat Body
Knit in the round until your work measures appx 5.5ins from the cast on sts in between the earflaps.
Decrease rounds
Round 1 – (K2tog K12) 2 times K2tog K13 (40sts)
Round 1 – (k2tog k3) repeat around (32sts)
Round 2 – knit around
Round 3 – (k2tog k2) repeat around (24sts)
Round 4 – (k2tog k1) repeat around (16sts)
Round 5 – k2tog around (8sts)
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn and pull through the remaining sts.
Nose
With right side facing, pick up 12sts.
Row 1 – p1 m1 p10 m1 p1 (14sts)
Rows 2, 4, 6 & 8– knit
Rows 3, 5, 7 & 9– purl
Row 10 – k1 ssk k6 k2tog k1 (10sts)
Row 11 – p1 p2og p4 p2tog tbl p1 (8sts)
Bind off knitwise. Tack down the nose with your larger buttons.
Ears – make 2
Cast on 10sts
Rows 1 & 3 – knit
Rows 2 & 4 – purl
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn leaving a long enough tail to sew the ears onto the hat (appx 8-12ins) and pull through the sts. Sew the ears at the top of the hat.
Weave in all ends. Add the small buttons for eyes. Cut 3 pieces of yarn appx 30ins long. Fold them in half and pull a loop through the bottom of the earflap. Pull the ends through this loop and secure. Now braid loosely to desired length. Clip ends. Repeat on the other side.
Child
Earflaps
Cast on 4sts
Row 1 – purl across
Row 2 – K1 M1 K2 M1 K1 (6sts)
Row 3 – purl across
Row 4 – K1 M1 K4 M1 K1 (8sts)
Row 5 – purl across
Row 6 – K1 M1 K6 M1 K1 (10sts)
Rows 7 & 9– purl across
Rows 8 & 10 – knit across
Cast on 12 sts and cut yarn leaving enough for weaving in ends. Set aside. Repeat for other earflap but cast on 13 sts and do NOT cut yarn. With the right side facing out, join in the round. You should now have 45sts on your needles.
Hat Body
Knit in the round until your work measures appx 5.5ins from the cast on sts in between the earflaps.
Decrease rounds
Round 1 – (k2tog k3) repeat around (36sts)
Round 2 – knit around
Round 3 – (k2tog k2) repeat around (27sts)
Round 4 – (k2tog k1) repeat around (18sts)
Round 5 – k2tog around (9sts)
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn and pull through the remaining sts.
Nose
With right side facing, pick up 13sts.
Row 1 – p1 m1 p11 m1 p1 (15sts)
Rows 2, 4 & 6 – knit
Rows 3, 5 & 7 – purl
Row 8 – k1 ssk k9 k2tog k1 (13sts)
Row 9 – p1 p2og p7 p2tog tbl p1 (11sts)
Bind off knitwise. Tack down the nose with your larger buttons.
Ears – make 2
Cast on 10sts
Rows 1 & 3 – knit
Rows 2 & 4 – purl
Do NOT bind off. Cut yarn leaving a long enough tail to sew the ears onto the hat (appx 8-12ins) and pull through the sts. Sew the ears at the top of the hat.
Weave in all ends. Add the small buttons for eyes. Cut 3 pieces of yarn appx 30ins long. Fold them in half and pull a loop through the bottom of the earflap. Pull the ends through this loop and secure. Now braid loosely to desired length. Clip ends. Repeat on the other side.