No one’s fond of cold ears and we’re all pretty averse to icy wind blowing down their canals. So, here is a hat designed to protect these most vital appendages.

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

And you know that swathe at the back of your head that gets ignored by both hat and scarf? This hat covers that too! These are important practical issues but certainly not excuses to be uncute. In fact, these concerns for warmth and comfort may have inspired our sassiest hat yet!

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

For toastiness and style I turned to Purl Soho’s Super Soft Merino. This is one yarn you’ll welcome right up against your ears. Itch-free and wonderfully sumptuous, it also happens to make the best pom poms ever. So don’t leave the top of your Cozy Ear Flap Hat out in the cold!

Make your ears happy! -Whitney

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

UPDATE: New Sizes

APRIL 19, 2013

We’ve added new sizes! Now the Cozy Ear Flap is sized for everyone from little babies to big papas! -Whitney

Designed by Purl Soho designer, Whitney Van Nes.

Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoCozyEarFlapHat, and #PurlSohoSuperSoftMerino. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Materials

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

Purl Soho’s Super Soft Merino, 100% merino wool yarn. Each skein of this bulky weight yarn is 87 yards/ 100 grams. We used the colors Heirloom White, Oyster Gray and Yellow Yellow.

  • HAT ONLY: 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) skein(s)
  • HAT AND DIFFERENT COLOR POM POM: 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) skein(s) for the hat; and 1 skein for either size pom pom
  • HAT AND SAME COLOR BIG POM POM: 2 skeins
  • HAT AND SAME COLOR SMALL POM POM: 1 (1, 2, 2, 2) skein(s)

You will also need…

Gauge

12 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Sizes

Baby (Child’s Small, Child’s Large/Woman’s Small, Woman’s Large/Man’s Small, Man’s Large)

  • 14 (16, 18, 20, 22) inches in circumference.

Note: This hat is meant to fit snugly.

Notes

WHEN THE PATTERN SAYS TO “MAKE 1 LEFT PURLWISE”

Pick up the yarn between the last stitch you knit and the one you’re about to knit just as you would for a regular make 1 right, bringing the needle from back to front.

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

Then purl into the front of the stitch.

WHEN THE PATTERN SAYS TO “MAKE 1 RIGHT PURLWISE”

Pick up the yarn between the last stitch you knit and the one you’re about to knit just as you would for a regular make 1 left, bringing the needle from front to back.

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

Then purl into the back of the stitch.

(The photos in this pattern show the Child’s Large/Woman’s Small size.)

Pattern

Left Ear Flap

With the circular needles, cast on 3 (5, 5, 5, 7) stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.

Row 1 (right side): K1 (2, 2, 2, 3), make 1 right (m1r), k1, make 1 left (m1l), k1 (2, 2, 2, 3). [5 (7, 7, 7, 9) stitches]

Row 2 (wrong side): Purl.

Row 3: K2 (3, 3, 3, 4), m1r, k1, m1l, k2 (3, 3, 3, 4). [7 (9, 9, 9, 11) stitches]

Row 4: Purl.

Row 5: K3 (4, 4, 4, 5), m1r, k1, m1l, k3 (4, 4, 4, 5). [9 (11, 11, 11, 13) stitches]

Row 6: Purl.

Row 7: K1, m1r, knit to end of row. [10 (12, 12, 12, 14) stitches]

Row 8: Purl to last stitch, make 1 left purlwise (see Pattern Notes), p1. [11 (13, 13, 13, 15) stitches]

Sizes Child’s Large/Woman’s Small, Woman’s Large/Man’s Small, and Man’s Large Only

Rows 9 and 10: Repeat Rows 7 and 8. [— (—, 15, 15, 17) stitches]

Sizes Woman’s Large/Man’s Small and Man’s Large Only

Rows 11 and 12: Repeat Rows 7 and 8. [— (—, —, 17, 19) stitches]

All Sizes

Cut the yarn and put the Left Ear Flap on a stitch holder (or scrap yarn).

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

Right Ear Flap

With the circular needle, cast on 3 (5, 5, 5, 7) stitches.

Repeat Rows 1-5 of Left Ear Flap. [9 (11, 11, 11, 13) stitches]

Row 6: P1, make 1 right purlwise (see Pattern Notes), purl to end of row. [10 (12, 12, 12, 14) stitches]

Row 7: Knit to last stitch, m1l, k1. [11 (13, 13, 13, 15) stitches]

Sizes Child’s Large/Woman’s Small, Woman’s Large/Man’s Small, and Man’s Large Only

Rows 8 and 9: Repeat Rows 6 and 7. [— (—, 15, 15, 17) stitches]

Sizes Woman’s Large/Man’s Small and Man’s Large Only

Rows 10 and 11: Repeat Rows 6 and 7. [— (—, —, 17, 19) stitches]

All Sizes

Next Row: With the purl side facing you, use a Cable Cast On to cast on 7 (7, 9, 9, 11) stitches.

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

With the purlside still facing you, purl to the end of the row. [18 (20, 24, 26, 30) stitches]

Joining the Ear Flaps

Knit the 18 (20, 24, 26, 30) stitches of the Right Ear Flap.

Then, making sure the knit side of both pieces are facing you, knit the first stitch of the Left Ear Flap to join the pieces.

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

Knit to the end of the Left Ear Flap. [29 (33, 39, 43, 49) stitches]

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

The Nape

Row 1: Purl.

Row 2: K1, ssk, knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1. (2 stitches decreased)

Rows 3 and 4: Repeat Rows 1 and 2.  [25 (29, 35, 39, 45) stitches]

Turn the work so the purl side is facing you, and use a Cable Cast On to cast on 17 (19, 19, 21, 21) stitches..

Joining Into Round

Turn the work so the knit side is facing you and, being careful to not twist the stitches, place a marker and join for working in the round. [42 (48, 54, 60, 66) stitches]

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

Knit until piece measures 4 1/4 (4 1/4, 4 1/4, 4 1/2, 4 1/2) inches from the last cable cast on edge. On the final round, place a marker after every 7 (8, 9, 10, 11) stitches. (5 additional markers placed)

The Crown

Note: Change to double pointed needles when you have too few stitches to fit on the circular needle.

Decrease Round: *Knit to 2 stitches before marker, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (6 stitches decreased)

Knit 1 round.

Repeat last two rounds 2 (3, 4, 5, 6) more times. [24 stitches]

Repeat Decrease Round every round 3 times. [6 stitches]

Cut the yarn and thread it through the 6 remaining stitches.

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

Weave in the ends.

Crochet Edge

Make a single crochet edge around the entire hat. Orient the hat so it is upside down and the back of the hat is facing you, start anywhere with a chain 1.

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

Make one single crochet for every stitch or row around the whole hat. Slip stitch into the beginning chain, cut the yarn and pull it through the remaining stitch.

Cozy Ear Flap Hat | Purl Soho

Pom Pom

For the smaller size pom pom use either the 2 1/2-inch template from the Clover pom pom maker or the green one from the Susan Bates kit. And for the larger pom pom, use either the 3 3/8-inch Clover template or the yellow Susan Bates one. (If you need help with your Susan Bates Pom Pom Maker, check out our Pom Pom Tutorial right here!)

Bring the tails of the pom pom into the inside center top of the hat. Tie a knot and weave in the ends.

Weave in any remaining ends and you’re done!

LEARN ABOUT SUPER SOFT MERINO + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS

The best reason to use Super Soft Merino for this project is because it is the dreamiest, cuddliest, toastiest yarn you can imagine! A single ply of 100% merino wool, Super Soft Merino has a nice, loose spin that shows off the softness of its fiber and keeps it nice and lightweight. Its gauge ranges from a chunky/bulky weight to super bulky weight (2.75-3.25 stitches per inch), making it a great choice for quick (and beautiful!) hand-knit gifts. And more… Super Soft Merino comes in over 30 amazing colors, too!

More Free Knitting Patterns

More Chunky/Bulky + Super Bulky-Weight Yarns

More Yarns With Similar Fibers

Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!