Crochet cow hat pattern
Ready to crochet a cute animal hat for the whole family? This crochet cow hat pattern is a cozy top-down hat with sweet cow ears, small horns, and fun spots. The hat is made with worsted weight yarn and simple repeats, then the face pieces are added at the end for the perfect cow look. With baby, toddler, child, and adult sizes included, it’s easy to make matching hats for gifts, dress-up, or everyday wear. Scroll down for the free crochet pattern.
Looking for more cute designs? Explore my full collection of crochet animal hat patterns.
If you love barnyard-inspired designs, you can also browse my farm animal crochet hat patterns for more cows, pigs, chickens, goats, and other fun favorites.
Quick answer
This crochet cow hat pattern is worked in the round from the top down to make a cozy beanie using worsted weight yarn (#4) and an I-9 (5.5 mm) hook for the hat. The pattern includes baby, toddler, child, and adult sizes. Finish by adding the cow pieces (snout, nostrils, eyes, patches, horns, and ears).
Why you’ll love this pattern
- It includes four sizes so you can make matching cow hats for everyone.
- The hat body is a simple top-down design—easy to get a smooth, comfy fit.
- The cow details are sewn on at the end, so you can place them exactly where you want.
- It’s a fun project for gifts, dress-up, photos, and farm-themed days at school.
Who this pattern is best for
This cow hat is great for:
- Crocheters who are advanced beginner level and ready to do a little shaping + simple sewing
- Anyone making a family set (baby through adult)
- Gift makers who want a cute, handmade animal hat
- Dress-up lovers, photo prop makers, and farm animal fans
How the hat is constructed
The hat starts at the crown with a magic circle and increase rounds, then you’ll work even rounds to finish the hat. After the hat is done, you’ll crochet the cow details separately and sew them on: snout, nostrils, eyes, patches, horns, and ears. This keeps the hat body simple and makes it easy to adjust the final look.
Crochet cow hat pattern details
Here’s everything you need to know before you start—skill level, materials, sizing, and gauge—so the cow hat fits well and the face details land in the right spot.
Skill level
Advanced beginner — You’ll use basic stitches in the round plus simple shaping for the face pieces, then sew the details onto the hat.
Materials needed
- Crochet hook size I-9 (5.5 mm) — for the hat
- Crochet hook size H-8 (5 mm) — for the snout, nostrils, patches, eyes, horns, and ears
- Worsted weight yarn (#4) — in black, white, and tan
- Yarn needle — for weaving in ends neatly
- Scissors — to cut your yarn
- Stitch markers (optional) — helpful for keeping track of rounds and stitch counts
Finished size
This cow hat pattern includes four sizes.
- Baby — 14–15 inches (36–38 cm) head circumference, 6 inches tall (15 cm)
- Toddler — 18–19 inches (46–48 cm) head circumference, 7 inches (18 cm) tall
- Child — 19–20 inches (48–51 cm) head circumference, 7.75 inches (20 cm) tall
- Adult — 20–23 inches (51–58 cm) head circumference, 8 inches tall (20 cm)
How to adjust the fit of this crochet hat
Need a better fit before sewing on the cow face pieces? Try the quick tweaks below, then check out my crochet hat sizing guide for extra help.
To adjust the height:
Add or remove rounds in the hat body before finishing the hat. This is the easiest way to make the hat taller or shorter without changing the look.
To adjust the width:
The crown rounds control the width.
- For a slightly larger hat, add one extra increase round before working even rounds.
- For a slightly smaller hat, stop increasing one round earlier.
To fine-tune fit (the safest quick fix):
If the hat feels tight, go up a hook size. If it feels loose, go down a hook size. Checking gauge first makes this even easier.
Gauge
15 stitches and 9 rows = 4 inches (10 cm)
If your swatch has too many stitches, try a larger hook.
If your swatch has too few stitches, try a smaller hook.
Crochet abbreviations
- dc = double crochet stitches
- hdc = half double crochet stitches
- hdc2tog = half double crochet decrease
- sc = single crochet stitches
- ch/chs = chain/chains
- st/sts = stitch/stitches
- sl st = slip stitch
Pattern notes
- Use an I-9 (5.5 mm) crochet hook for the hat
- Use an H-8 (5 mm) crochet hook for the snout, nostrils, patches, eyes, horns, and ears
- Rounds 1-5 of the hat are the same for all sizes
- The pattern is worked in the round from the top of the hat down
- Repeat the instructions between the asterisks (*) for the rest of the round
- Unless otherwise stated, the face pieces are the same for all sizes
- The pattern is written in US crochet terms
Printable PDF pattern
If you prefer an easy, print-friendly version of this crochet cow hat pattern, a printable PDF is available in my Etsy shop. The PDF includes the full pattern instructions in a clean, ad-free format, making it perfect for printing or saving on your device.
Quick links
Rounds 1-5
Baby size
Toddler size
Child size
Adult size
Cow snout
Cow nostrils
Cow patches
Cow eyes
Cow horns
Cow ears
Adding the smile
Finishing
FAQs
Crochet cow hat pattern instructions
Rounds 1-5 are the same for all sizes.
Rounds 1-5
Round 1: Magic circle, ch 2, 11 dc, join with sl st to the top of the first dc (11 stitches)
Round 2: Ch 2, 2 dc in each st, join (22 stitches)
Round 3: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next st*, join (33 stitches)
Round 4: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 2 sts*, join (44 stitches)
Round 5: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 10 sts*, join (48 stitches)
Baby size
Rounds 6-14: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (48 stitches)
Fasten off and weave in your ends.
Toddler size
Round 6: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 11 sts*, join (52 stitches)
Round 7: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 12 sts*, join (56 stitches)
Rounds 8-17: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (56 stitches)
Fasten off and weave in your ends.
Child size
Round 6: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 11 sts*, join (52 stitches)
Round 7: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 12 sts*, join (56 stitches)
Round 8: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 13 sts*, join (60 stitches)
Rounds 9-18: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (60 stitches)
Fasten off and weave in your ends.
Adult size
Round 6: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 11 sts*, join (52 stitches)
Round 7: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 12 sts*, join (56 stitches)
Round 8: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 13 sts*, join (60 stitches)
Round 9: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 14 sts*, join (64 stitches)
Rounds 10-19: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (64 stitches)
Fasten off and weave in your ends.
Cow snout
Use tan yarn.
Round 1: Ch 12, hdc in 3rd ch from hook, hdc in next 8 chs, 4 hdc in last ch. Working along the backside of the chain, hdc in 9 chs, join (22 stitches)
Round 2: Ch 2, 2 hdc in first 2 sts, hdc 7, 2 hdc in next 4 sts, hdc 7, 2 hdc in last 2 sts, join (30 stitches)
Round 3: Ch 2, 2 hdc in first 3 sts, hdc 9, 2 hdc in next 6 sts, hdc 9, 2 hdc in last 3 sts, join (42 stitches)
Round 4: Ch 2, 2 hdc in first 4 sts, hdc 13, 2 hdc in next 8 sts, hdc 13, 2 hdc in last 4 sts, join (58 stitches)
Stop here for the baby size. Continue to round 5 for the toddler-adult sizes.
Round 5: Ch 2, 2 hdc in first 5 sts, hdc 19, 2 hdc in next 10 sts, hdc 19, 2 hdc in last 5 sts, join (78 stitches)
Sew the snout onto the hat.
Cow nostrils
Make 2 using black yarn.
Round 1: Magic ring, ch 2, 9 dc, join with sl st to the top of the first dc (9 stitches)
Sew the nostrils to the snout.
Cow patches
Make 2 using black yarn.
Round 1: Magic circle, ch 2, 9 dc, join with sl st to the top of the first dc (9 stitches)
Round 2: Ch 2, 2 dc, 2 hdc, sl st, 2 sc, 2 dc, 2 sc, sl st, 2 hdc, 2 dc, join (16 stitches)
Round 3: Ch 2, 2 dc, dc, 2 hdc, hdc, sl st, 2 sc, sc, 2 dc, dc, 2 sc, sc, sl st, 2 hdc, hdc, 2 dc, dc, join (23 stitches)
Sew the spots onto the hat as seen in the pictures.
Cow eyes
Make 2 using black yarn.
Round 1: Magic circle, ch 2, 9 hdc, join with sl st to the top of the first hdc (9 stitches)
Use scrap pieces of white yarn to add the eye sparkle. Sew the eyes to the hat.
Cow horns
Make 2 using tan yarn.
Round 1: Magic circle, ch 2, 6 sc, join with sl st to the top of the first sc (6 stitches)
Round 2: Ch 2, 2 sc in each st, join (12 stitches)
Baby:
Rounds 3–8: Ch 1, sc in each st, join
Toddler–Adult:
Rounds 3–10: Ch 1, sc in each st, join
Lightly stuff the horns with fiber fill and sew to the top of the hat.
Cow ears
Make 2 using white yarn.
Row 1: Ch 5, hdc in 3rd ch from the hook and in each rem ch, turn (3 stitches)
Row 2: Ch 2, 2 hdc, hdc, 2 hdc, turn (5 stitches)
Row 3: Ch 2, 2 hdc, hdc, 2 hdc, hdc, 2 hdc, turn (8 stitches)
Rows 4-6: Ch 2, hdc in each st, turn (8 stitches)
Row 7: Ch 2, hdc2tog, hdc, hdc2tog, hdc, hdc2tog, turn (5 stitches)
Row 8: Ch 2, hdc2tog, hdc, hdc2tog, turn (3 stitches)
Row 9: Ch 2, hdc3tog (1 stitch)
Single crochet around the entire shape and fasten off. Sew the ears onto the hat.
Adding the smile
Use black yarn to sew a smile onto the snout.
Finishing
Weave in all of your ends.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a different yarn than worsted weight (#4)?
Not if you want the hat to come out the same size with the face pieces fitting the same way. This pattern is written for worsted weight yarn (#4), and a different yarn weight will change the fit and can throw off the placement of the cow details.
What if my hat is coming out too small or too big?
Start with gauge. If there are too many stitches in your swatch, try a larger hook. If there are too few stitches, try a smaller hook.
Do I have to make all of the cow pieces?
No. For a simpler cow look, add the snout and eyes first. Add the ears, horns, and spots if you want a more detailed cow face.
Do the face pieces work for every size?
Yes, but placement may vary slightly by size. Pin the pieces on first, step back to check the look, then sew once everything feels centered.
How do I keep the pieces secure?
Use small stitches around the edges of each piece and weave in ends well with a yarn needle. For very young children, skip any details you’re concerned could be tugged on.
Can I sell hats made from this pattern?
Yes, you can sell finished hats made from this pattern. Please don’t copy or repost the written pattern as your own.
How should I wash the hat?
Follow the care instructions on your yarn label. In general, gentle washing and laying flat to dry helps the pieces keep their shape.
More free crochet farm animal hat patterns
Looking for more farm animal hats to crochet? Explore the rest of my free crochet farm animal hat patterns, including cute and beginner-friendly designs for babies, kids, and adults. These fun animal hats are perfect for gifts, dress-up, photo props, and matching sets. Click below to see more farm animal hat patterns on my blog.
If you’re looking for more cozy designs, be sure to explore my full collection of crochet hat patterns for babies, kids, and adults.
More free crochet animal hats
Love cute animal hats? You’re in the right place! This collection of free crochet animal hat patterns includes fun designs for every season and personality, from sweet farm animals to wild zoo favorites.
Each pattern is beginner-friendly and written in baby to adult sizes, so you can make matching hats for the whole family. They’re great for gifts, dress-up, photo props, school spirit days, and everyday cold-weather fun.
Pick your favorite animal and start crocheting a hat that makes everyone smile.
Let’s connect!
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📌 Don’t forget to pin this pattern for later!
Happy crocheting! 🧶
— Melissa