Linked Hearts and Diamonds Messy Bun Beanie Hat

I love how messy bun hats allow you to wear your hair up, keep your head warm and, with so many fun designs available, look so fashionable and stylish.

With my long hair and always being cold in the winter I really wanted one for myself but, not wanting to make just any bun hat, I had to come up with my own unique design.

After a lot of research, experimenting and a few prototypes, here is my final design.

This stunning, linked hearts paired with diamonds messy bun hat.  I love how it turned out – it’s so comfortable and fits perfectly!

UPDATE: A matching Infinity Scarf is now available!

I started working on this design a few months ago, spent a lot of time on it then decided to set it aside to work on summer projects. Now it’s getting towards the end of summer and everyone is starting to think about autumn, I thought it’s time to finish this off and get it out there.

In this post I share with you the details of the design process and of course the pattern for the messy bun, which includes a closed-top beanie option.

I’ve also made a downloadable, PDF of this pattern which is available on Ravelry. For a small fee, you can enjoy an ad-free, printer friendly copy with extra photos to help you follow the pattern.

My first step in the design process was to figure out how messy bun hats were made. I needed to find out how many rows I would need to skip at the top of the hat and how to put the hair elastic in.

I found a few simple messy bun hat patterns available on other blogs, and since I learn better by doing, I tested out the first few row of a pattern, crocheting around the hair elastic and increasing to make the top of the hat.

My design actually finishes at the top, so this trial gave me some idea on how much to decrease by and when to put in the hair elastic and finish.

Next I knew I wanted a pretty and textured stitch for the body of the hat. I’d noticed the diamond stitch a few months earlier, thought it would look great and was keen to try it out. Not having done this stitch before I needed to go and learn how to do it.

I found a beautiful diamond stitch beanie pattern available for free and thought it might help, but I guess I’m not that good at reading patterns because I couldn’t make sense of it!

I turned to YouTube where I found tutorials on how to do the diamond stitch working back and forth and once I got the idea I was able to make it into rounds.

I think the biggest challenge in designing this hat was making the stitch counts work together. The diamonds are a four stitch repeat, while the hearts were seven.

For my first prototype I went ahead and included nine hearts then skipped three stitches to get fifteen diamonds.

This first attempt still turned out pretty well and I was able to improve my design from it. I knew I needed to get the calculations right and also felt the diamonds were too thin and stretched, especially for a winter hat. Another, easier to fix issue, was that the bottom brim was too narrow resulting in the hearts landing across my forehead and my ears poking out.

For the second prototype I made the hearts thicker. I also increased the number of them up to twelve, then changed the border so they were packed closer together.

Changing the border meant that the hearts were now a five stitch repeat, and, making the total number sixty, it fit perfectly with the four stitch repeat of the diamond stitch. I also tested out adding the hearts border to the back back loops of the hearts and made the brim of the hat wider which moved the hearts up.

This second attempt came out near perfect, except the edges of the hearts were curled over and they were leaning to the side a little.

To fix these issues, I just had to go back to working in the back loop only, rather than the back back loop, of the hearts. I moved where I started that bottom border along one stitch to fix the slant and also changed the stitches at the top slightly to secure the hearts more.

The pattern you see below is my final design. I’ve included some photos of the steps and detailed instructions for the unusual stitches.

I think you will need intermediate skills for this and some patience and perseverance. I really enjoyed making it and I hope you will too. I’ve also included instructions on how to close the top and make this into a beanie hat.

The finished product is well worth the effort and will be a perfect as a gift if not for yourself. This hat is unique so should also sell well online or at craft fairs.

You are welcome to sell the items you make with this pattern, just give me, Krazy Kabbage, a mention and link back to my website. You must use your own photos.

If you prefer a downloadable, printable copy of this pattern with extra photos to help you make it, you can buy it for a small price in my Ravelry Store.

I would love to see the hats that you make with this pattern, so if you share on social media please tag me @krazykabbage.

Also, I’d really like to know what you think of this design and pattern so please leave a comment 🙂

Please use the share button to share this pattern with others. If you use Pinterest, I’ve made some pretty pins that will look great on your Pinterest boards 🙂

Anyway, here’s the pattern!

This hat has 12 hearts, you can use any colors you like. For my hat I used 3 colors and repeated them in order.

The hat is an adult size and fits me comfortably. You may be able to make the hat in a smaller size by using a smaller hook and possibly thinner yarn.

This pattern uses US Terminology.

Hook – I/9 – 5.5mm

Yarn – Red Heart Super Saver in Grey Heather as the main color with a small amount of Perfect Pink, Minty and Orchid for the hearts.

You will also need a thick hair elastic (if making the messy bun) and a yarn needle.

Basic stitches – sl st, sc, hdc, dc, dc2tog.

Special stitches which include instructions – fptc2tog and dctcdc3tog cluster

First heart

Step 1: Ch 22. Sl st in back of 2^nd ch from hook. Ch 3. Being careful not to twist the chain, slip stitch to join in back of 1^st chain and ch 1.

Note: Use fingernails to pinch the loop and gently pull open enough to get your hook into. If you struggle with this you could work into the loop on the bottom of the foundation chain instead.

Step 2: Working in the back loops of the foundation chain, 2 hdc in next, 1 hdc in each of next 6. 3 hdc in next.

Step 3: 1 hdc in each of next 6. 2 hdc in next, 1 hdc in next, 2 hdc in next, 1 hdc in each of next 2.

Step 4: Skip over mini picco. 1 hdc in each of next 2, 2 hdc in last. Slip stitch to join in top of first hdc and fasten off.

Second to Eleventh hearts

Ch 22. Sl st in back of 2^nd ch from hook. Ch 3.

Place previous heart face up and drop the tail of current heart down through the center.

Being careful not to twist the chain, slip stitch to join in back of 1^st chain and ch 1.

Continue to work the heart in the same way as the first heart from Step 2 onward.

New hearts are joined to the right of the previous heart.

Twelfth Heart

Ch 22. Sl st in back of 2^nd ch from hook. Ch 3.

Lay your strip of hearts out in a horizontal line, check they are all face up and connected correctly. Drag the two ends of the line towards you and together to form a circle. The bottom points of the hearts should be pointing towards the center of the circle.

Drop the tail of your current heart down through the previous heart (the one on the right of the gap). Then snake the tail so it goes down through the first (left) heart. Gently drag the tail toward the center of the circle

Being careful not to twist the chain, slip stitch to join in back of 1^st chain and ch 1.

Continue to work the heart in the same way as the first heart from Step 2 onward.

Bottom section of hat

Turn hearts upside down, find the bottom point of a heart and locate the middle of the 3 stitches that make up that bottom point. Using the main hat color, join with a slip stitch in the back loop only and ch 1. (loop of stitch to right of stitch post)

Continuing to work in the back loops only, starting in next stitch, sc2tog, hdc in next.

Next is a [Dc tc dc 3 tog] cluster stitch. The first part is a dc in the next stitch, second is a tr through both hearts, last is a dc in the next stitch of the next heart.

Here is a step by step guide on how to do this cluster:

Part 1: YO, insert hook into next stitch, YO pull through, YO pull through 2 loops (2 loops on hook)

Part 2: Find bottom point of next heart count back 3 (mark this stitch – back loop only). YO twice, insert hook through marked stitch and next stitch. YO, pull through, YO pull through 2 loops, YO pull through 2 loops (3 loops on hook)

Part 3: YO, insert hook into next stitch, YO pull through, YO pull through 2 loops (4 loops on hook)

Part 4: YO, pull through all 4 loops to complete the cluster stitch.

Note: After a few hearts stop to check that the hearts look straight.

Hdc in next stitch, *Sc in next, sc 2 tog, hdc in next, cluster stitch across two hearts (as detailed above) hdc in next. Rep from * around ring of hearts. Slip stitch in top of first sc2tog. (total 60 stitches around)

Rnd 2: Ch 1, Sc in back loop only of each stitch around. Sl st to join in top of first sc.

Rnd 3: Ch 2, Dc in each stitch around (in both loops). Sl st to join in top of first dc.

Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc in next stitch.

Mark 1^st post: Looking at previous row, count back 2 dc posts. On the row below that, mark the previous sc post.

Mark 2^nd post: Look at previous row, count forward 2 dc posts. On the row below that, mark the next sc post.

*Fp Tc2tog around 1^st marked and 2^nd marked posts.

Here is a step by step on how to do this Fp Tc2tog – YO twice, insert hook around front of 1^st marked post, YO, pull through stitch, YO pull through 2 loops, YO pull through 2 loops. YO twice, insert hook around front of 2^nd marked post, YO, pull through stitch, YO pull through 2 loops, YO pull through 2 loops. YO pull through all remaining loops on the hook.

Working on current row: Sc2tog, sc in each of next 2 stitches.

Mark the next post by following instruction of ‘mark 2^nd’.

Repeat from * around. (last part of last fp tc2tog should be around same 1^st marked post)

After last fp tc2tog, sc2tog then sl st to join in top of first sc.

Video Tutorial of Diamond Stitch

Rnd 5: Ch 2, Dc in each stitch around. Sl st to join in top of first dc.

Rnd 6: Sl st in next, ch1, sc in each of next 2. Fp tc2tog around previous and next triangle points to make a diamond. *sc2tog, sc in each of next 2, fp tc2tog. Repeat from * around. After last fp tc2tog, join with sl st in top of first sc.

Rnd 7: Ch 1, Bp hdc around each stitch around. Sl st and fasten off or use invisible join for a neater finish.

Top Section of hat

Find the middle 2 stitches in the top center of a heart and count back 2. Mark back loop of stitch.

On the heart to the right, find the middle two stitches and count forward 2. Mark back loop of stitch.

Using your main hat color yarn, join with a slip stitch in the back loops only of the two marked stitches. Ch1

Continuing to work in the back loops only, Sc in the next stitch through current and previous hearts. *Hdc in next 2 stitches (current heart only) and sc in next stitch. Find center of next heart and count back 2. Hdc through both hearts. Sc through next stitch of both hearts. Rep from * around. Sl st to join in top of first sc. (60 stitches total)

Rnd 2: Ch 1, Sc in back loop only of each stitch around. Sl st to join in top of first sc.

Rnd 3: Ch 2, Dc in each stitch around (in both loops). Sl st to join in top of first dc.

Rnd 4: Ch 1, (mark posts the same as rnd 4 on bottom section of hat), *tc2tog around FP of 1^st and 2^nd marked to make triangle. Sc2tog, sc in each of next 2. Repeat from * around. Finish with sc2tog then only 1 sc and sl st to join in top of 1^st tc2tog. The diamond points should line up with those on the bottom section of the hat.

Rnd 5: Ch 2, * Dc2tog, Dc in each of next 2. Rep from * around. Sl st to join. (45 dcs)

Rnd 6: Sl st in next, ch 1, *tc2tog around front posts of previous and next tcs. Sc2tog, sc in next stitch. Rep from * around. Finish with sc2tog then sl st to join in top of first stitch.

Rnd 7: Ch 2, * Dc2tog, Dc in next stitch. Rep from * around. Finish with dc2tod and sl st to join. (30 dcs)

Rnd 8: Ch 1, sc in next, *tc2tog around front posts of previous and next tcs. Sc2tog. Rep from * around. After last tc2tog, sl st to join in top of 1^st tc2tog.

Choose how to finish

For a messy bun:

Rnd 9: Ch 1, take thick hair elastic. Sc in each stitch around catching hair elastic as you go. Sl st and fasten off.

For a beanie hat:

Rnd 9: Ch 2, dc2tog, dc in next around. Sl st to join.

Rnd 10: Ch 2, dc2tog around. Finish with partial dc sl st. Cut yarn leaving 12” tail. Use yarn needles to weave in tail and pull hole closed. Secure with knot and weave in remaining tail.

I hope you enjoyed this pattern. Don’t forget to share using the buttons below 🙂

If you’d like to feature this pattern on your website, you have my permission to use 1 photo as long as you provide a link back to my site.