Criss-Cross Bucket Hat - Free Crochet Pattern

The Criss-Cross Bucket Hat is a free, beginner-friendly crochet pattern for a summer bucket hat/sun hat. Within this post you can find the pattern for five sizes of hats, tips about the pattern, and a yarn giveaway!

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A few months ago, I worked up a gorgeous blanket pattern by Kirsten Holloway Designs using her Secret Garden squares. I learned a lot from making the blocks for this blanket, including how to complete a crocheted cross stitch. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of this stitch technique at first because it can be a little tricky to get used to, but I grew to love it.

When my awesome friend, Alexandra of Yarn Crafts & Coffee, came to me with an idea for a yarn giveaway featuring bucket hat patterns, I immediately thought of the idea to use cross stitches to create a fun design in contrasting colors. I was inspired by an adorable dress my daughter received as a gift from our neighbor’s when they returned from their trip to Brazil. The dress was predominantly white with criss-crossed stitching in rainbow colors.

For my first iteration of the Criss-Cross Bucket Hat, I decided to make it predominantly white, just like the dress, with some cross-stitching in rainbow colors. It turned out just like I imagined, and I’m in love with this cute summer hat for my daughter!

To provide the best pattern I could for you, I also worked up several other sizes of this criss-cross bucket hat pattern. You will find five size options for this hat, so you can make a variety of sizes for your family members or to sell at craft shows. I planned for the hats to have a loose fit, so the sizes may run a little larger. If you would like a tighter-fitting hat, be sure to size down.

YARN GIVEAWAY!

In celebration of the start of summer, I am teaming up with Yarn Crafts & Coffee, Cre8tion Crochet, and Crochet Aweigh to give one lucky winner some free yarn!

One winner will get $30 to spend on yarn, notions and/or boutique items from the Yarn Crafts & Coffee Shop! The yarn shown in the photo is Berroco Seaspun.

I am running this giveaway together with Yarn Crafts & Coffee, Cre8tion Crochet, and Crochet Aweigh. It will appear on each of our blogs, but there will be only 1 winner.

Special Note: Alexandra (the owner of Yarn Crafts & Coffee that is running the giveaway) has two cats. They do not mingle with the yarn, but you may find cat hairs on the yarn you receive – it’s hard to avoid.

International Makers: If you are outside the US, you can still enter to win. A digital prize may be supplemented for the yarn depending on shipping rate and duties.

I included several ways to enter (through the Rafflecopter below). To be entered in the giveaway, you only need to complete one task, but the more you do, the better your chances. Some of them you can come back and do again once a day! Last time to enter will be Sunday 06/30/24 at 11:59pm EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*The Rafflecopter works. I receive a lot of messages each time I run a giveaway stating it’s not working. If you can’t see it, please check your browser in case you have any apps/settings that may prevent it from showing, or try clearing your cache. Entering via the Rafflecopter is the only way to gain entries.

What Supplies Do You Need to Crochet a Criss-Cross Bucket Hat?

Cotton Worsted Weight Yarn – Make sure both your main color and contrast color are the same thickness.
H8/5 mm Crochet Hook
Scissors
Yarn Needle

Notes about Materials

I used a variety of different brands and colors of worsted weight cotton yarn when making my sample criss-cross bucket hats. For the medium size, I used We Crochet Dishie in White for the main color and Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Cotton Print in Brights for the accent color. For the extra large size, I used Lily Sugar and Cream in Soft Ecru for the main color, Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Cotton in Aqua for the top accent row, and Yarn Bee Cotton Et Lin in Cyan for the bottom accent row.

I recommend using a H8/5 mm crochet hook for this pattern. I used my We Crochet Dots hook, but I would also highly recommend a Clover Amour ergonomic hook. I purposely went with a slightly larger hook size to allow for small gaps between my stitches. My goal in doing this is to allow for more air flow in the hat since it is meant to be worn in the summer time. If you notice these gaps between your stitches, that’s a good thing. Base your hook size off of the gauge information provided later in the pattern to be sure you have the right hook and tension.

How Can I Package My Criss-Cross Bucket Hat?

You can find some super cute care instruction tags to put on your finished hat over on the Yarn Crafts & Coffee blog! This printable would be a great addition to hats in your market selections or for gifting.

What Size is the Criss-Cross Bucket Hat?

This pattern is availabe in five sizes ranging from extra small to extra large. The following chart shows the finished measurements of each size hat.

Hat Size	Diameter of Top Circle	Length of Middle Section	Length of Brim
Extra Small (Baby)	5 inches	2.5 inches	1.5 inches
Small (Child)	5.75 inches	2.75 inches	1.75 inches
Medium (Teen)	7 inches	3 inches	1.75 inches
Large (Adult)	7.75 inches	3 inches	1.75 inches
Extra Large (Large Adult)	8.5 inches	3 inches	2.25 inches

Gauge (Essential)

Using a H8/5 mm crochet hook and worsted weight cotton yarn, a magic ring with 8 HDC should measure 3/4 inch in diameter.

Abbreviations (US Terms)

Ch – Chain
Sl St – Slip Stitch
HDC – Half Double Crochet
HDC INC – Half Double Crochet Increase
BLO – Back Loop Only
FLO – Front Loop Only
FO – Finish Off

Special Stitches

Cross Stitch – To complete a cross stitch, you need to skip the first stitch, double crochet in the second stitch, and then double crochet in the stitch that you had previously skipped.

Here is a great video tutorial by Hooked by Robin that explains how to complete a cross stitch.

Pattern Notes

This pattern begins with a flat circle that creates the top of the hat. The pattern is worked in joined rounds. To prevent a slanted join within the flat circle, I used a trick that I learned from the amazing Alexandra of EyeLoveKnots, Cre8tion Crochet, and Yarn Crafts & Coffee. Instead of increaasing in the first stitch, only place one stitch at that space. After working the rest of the round the way you normally would, put the missing stitch in the same space as the original chain one. You will notice that I implemented this trick in the pattern.

The second portion of the pattern involves making the cylindrical part of the hat that comes down over the head. This portion begins with stitches worked in the back loop only to allow the hat to make a clear edging from the top to the side. After several rounds of just HDC, you will create the criss-cross portion of the pattern using crocheted cross stitches. If you aren’t familiar will cross stitches, be sure to check out the special stitches section above for more information about this stitch.

For the brim, you will begin by working in the front loop only, making alternating half double crochets and half double crochet increases. This portion of the brim is what causes it to be wavy like a sun hat rather than as straight as a standard bucket hat. The following rounds do not involve as many increases so there isn’t too much of a ruffle to that brim.

I used my discretion in determining appropriate brim lengths for each size of the hat. If you would like a longer or shorter brim, feel free to adjust the pattern accordingly to meet your preferences.

Criss-Cross Bucket Hat Crochet Pattern

Extra-Small Criss-Cross Bucket Hat Crochet Pattern

Round 1 – Create a magic ring, ch 1, HDC 8 in ring. Pull yarn to close. Sl st to first HDC to join (8)

Round 2 – Ch 1, HDC, [HDC INC] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (16)

Round 3 – Ch 1, HDC 2, [HDC INC, HDC] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (24)

Round 4 – Ch 1, HDC 3, [HDC INC, HDC 2] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (32)

Round 5 – Ch 1, HDC 4, [HDC INC, HDC 3] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (40)

Round 6 – Ch 1, HDC 5, [HDC INC, HDC 4] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (48)

Round 7 – Ch 1, HDC 6, [HDC INC, HDC 5] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (56)

Round 8 – Ch 1, HDC 7, [HDC INC, HDC 6] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (64) – At this point, the flat circle should measure 5 inches in diameter.

Round 9 – Ch 1, HDC around in BLO, sl st to first HDC to join (64)

Round 10 – Ch 1, HDC around, sl st to first HDC to join (64)

Round 11 – Ch 1, HDC around, sl st to first HDC to join (64)

Round 12 – *Switch to accent color* Ch 1, Cross Stitch 32 times, sl st to first DC to join (64)

Round 13 – *Switch to main color* Ch 1, HDC around, sl st to first HDC to join (64)

Round 14 – *Switch to accent color* Ch 1, Cross Stitch 32 times, sl st to first DC to join (64)

Round 15 – *Switch to main color* Ch 1, HDC around, sl st to first HDC to join (64)

Round 16 – Ch 1, In FLO – HDC 2, [HDC INC, HDC] x 31, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (96)

Round 17 – Ch 1, HDC 16, [HDC INC, HDC 15] x 5, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (102)

Round 18 – Ch 1, HDC 17, [HDC INC, HDC 16] x 5, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (108)

Round 19 – Ch 1, HDC 18, [HDC INC, HDC 17] x 5, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join. FO. (114)

Small Criss-Cross Bucket Hat Crochet Pattern

Round 1 – Create a magic ring, ch 1, HDC 8 in ring. Pull yarn to close. Sl st to first HDC to join (8)

Round 2 – Ch 1, HDC, [HDC INC] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (16)

Round 3 – Ch 1, HDC 2, [HDC INC, HDC] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (24)

Round 4 – Ch 1, HDC 3, [HDC INC, HDC 2] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (32)

Round 5 – Ch 1, HDC 4, [HDC INC, HDC 3] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (40)

Round 6 – Ch 1, HDC 5, [HDC INC, HDC 4] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (48)

Round 7 – Ch 1, HDC 6, [HDC INC, HDC 5] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (56)

Round 8 – Ch 1, HDC 7, [HDC INC, HDC 6] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (64)

Round 9 – Ch 1, HDC 8, [HDC INC, HDC 7] x 7, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (72) – At this point, the flat circle should measure 5.75 inches in diameter.

Round 10 – Ch 1, HDC around in BLO, sl st to first HDC to join (72)

Round 11 – Ch 1, HDC around, sl st to first HDC to join (72)

Round 12 – Ch 1, HDC around, sl st to first HDC to join (72)

Round 13 – Ch 1, HDC around, sl st to first HDC to join (72)

Round 14 – *Switch to accent color* Ch 1, Cross Stitch 36 times, sl st to first DC to join (72)

Round 15 – *Switch to main color* Ch 1, HDC around, sl st to first HDC to join (72)

Round 16 – *Switch to accent color* Ch 1, Cross Stitch 36 times, sl st to first DC to join (72)

Round 17 – *Switch to main color* Ch 1, HDC around, sl st to first HDC to join (72)

Round 18 – Ch 1, In FLO – HDC 2, [HDC INC, HDC] x 35, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (108)

Round 19 – Ch 1, HDC 18, [HDC INC, HDC 17] x 5, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (114)

Round 20 – Ch 1, HDC 19, [HDC INC, HDC 18] x 5, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join (120)

Round 21 – Ch 1, HDC 20, [HDC INC, HDC 19] x 5, HDC in same st as ch 1, sl st to first HDC to join. FO. (126)

Medium Criss-Cross Bucket Hat Crochet Pattern