This hat is easily customizable, and the pattern includes lots of suggestions/alternate versions of pieces to create your own unique cat hat! You can make a few well-known cats as well as completely original cats! The first cat I made was based on Daijin from Suzume, but you can – and should – make all sorts of cats! Calico cats! Tuxedo cats! Yellow cats! Siamese cats! Cats! Cats! Cats!

The hat is two layers thick, so it’s warm and squishy. It’s made by creating a long tube shape with two closed ends and then folding it in on itself and securing the ends together. Don’t worry if this is confusing because there are lots pictures and also some video links to help you out! Companion video HERE.

The hat is one size fits most adult heads and it’s intended to be a bit big, but it shouldn’t be too hard to resize to meet your needs by adjusting your hook size and/or yarn.

I would consider this an INTERMEDIATE or ADVENTUROUS BEGINNER pattern. It will NOT teach you to crochet but it is a good way to PRACTICE new skills if you’re just starting out! The pattern assumes you know or are capable of looking up the required stitches, etc.

Tools and Materials
• US size G (4.25mm) crochet hook for the body of the hat and US size F (3.75mm) hook for the details
• Stitch marker (optional, but recommended for the crown of the hat and some other pieces because they are worked in continuous rounds)
• Yarn needle, for attaching parts and such
• Desired colors for project in worsted weight yarn: if making a solid colored cat you need a MAIN color for the body, feet, tail, outside of ears, EYE color for the eyes, as well as PINK for the nose/inside of ears, BLACK for the pupils, and WHITE for the eye highlights
o The color you will need the most of is MAIN, if you’re doing a cat that is just one color. TWO (2) 6oz/170 g/315yd skeins should be enough (this is a regular Caron Simply Soft skein, so two of those or a single larger skein of something else).
• Stuffing material, for stuffing the feet, tail and cheek fluff
• (Optional) pins, for holding pieces in place during positioning and attaching – I use bobby pins
• (Totally optional) mannequin head – it’s REALLY helpful for positioning the parts and attaching them, imho, especially since the hat is two layers thick.

Abbreviations/Skills Needed
• rnd/rnds: round/rounds
• st/sts: stitch, stitches
• ch: chain
• sc: single crochet
• hdc: half-double crochet
• dc: double crochet
• tc: treble crochet (only needed for crescent moon shape)
• inc: increase
o assume sc inc/dec unless specified as another st
• dec: decrease
• sl: slip stitch
• BLO: back loops only
• FLO: front loops only

Running stitch or whip stitch will work for attaching the pieces. Use whatever looks/feels right to you. I tend to use running stitch when attaching flat pieces to a surface and whip stitch when joining pieces with dimension.

The gauge is approximately 3 sc sts/inch and 3 sc rows/inch for the main body of the hat (or 3 sc sts/2cm and 2 sc rows/2cm). The detail pieces are approximately 5 sc sts/inch and 4 sc rows/inch. A finished hat as patterned with the mentioned gauge is about 10” (25cm) across with a 20” (50.5cm) circumference and 9” (22.5cm) tall when lying flat, excluding the ears/other details in these measurements. It is very stretchy!