Crochet a Cactus Beanie for your Baby! – Newborn to Toddler Sizes
Welcome back to another delightful crochet project! Today, we have an absolutely adorable, wonderfully quirky, and beautifully textured pattern for the littlest ones in your life: the Crochet Cactus Beanie! If you love crafting sweet nursery accessories that perfectly capture playful handmade charm while offering a fun, creative design to keep tiny heads warm during chilly days, this brilliant little plant-themed hat is going to be your next favorite make.
This fantastic baby beanie pattern is wonderfully adaptable and perfect for unforgettable handmade baby shower gifts, allowing you to whip up beautiful, lovable baby garments in no time that will keep baby snug and be cherished as a family keepsake for years! While the instructions highlight a specific beautiful, green cactus look, you can easily adjust the color variations depending on the worsted weight yarn used—swap out classic greens for magical pastels, bright pinks, or vibrant bold hues to create a whimsical, personalized baby accessory! Grab your hooks, settle into your favorite crafting spot, and let’s dive into making this wonderfully playful, cozy little hat!
MATERIALS
- 5.0-mm (H-8 USA, 6 UK) Crochet Hook
- DK, #3 Light Yarn in green (see Sizes & Yardage), and white (2 yds/2m)
- Tapestry Needle
- One Pompom
Yarn Suggestions
I used both Paintbox Yarns Simply DK (color Lime Green, 128) and Schachenmayr Soft&Easy (color Apple, 72).
Feel free to use any equivalent DK-weight yarn.
Abbreviations (US Terms)
BLO – Back Loop Only
Ch – Chain
FSC – Foundation Single Crochet
Hdc – Half Double Crochet
RS – Right Side
Sc – Single Crochet
Sl St – Slip Stitch
St – Stitch
WS – Wrong Side
Yo – Yarn Over
Special Stitches
Back Loop Only Stitches
Learn how to crochet Back Loop Only (BLO) stitches in this blog post, and read further down for a special note about BLO sl sts!
Foundation Single Crochet
Check my step-by-step tutorial on how to foundation single crochet.
Third Loop Half Double Crochet
For a detailed explanation, see this post on how to crochet in the third loop.
BLO Slip Stitches
In this pattern, you will have to BLO sl st in order to create the brim of the beanie.
Slip stitches always require a little bit of extra attention because it is very easy to miss them!
Especially the first slip stitch of a row tends to hide very well, and you risk missing it at the end of the following row. So, make sure to count your stitches in order not to lose any.
In the example shown in the picture, you can see the 5 slip stitches at the beginning of row 2. You see that when working on row 3, you need to pay extra attention to that last hidden slip stitch.
Since it is very difficult to actually see the BLO of that st, what I do is simply “fish” the loop out with my hook. I know the loop is there, so I just stab my hook in the work and find the loop!
Gauge
Make a gauge swatch as follows:
Ch 19.
Row 1. Sc in the second ch from your hook and in each ch across. (18 sts)
Row 2. Ch 1 (does not count as a st), turn. BLO hdc across.
Row 3. Ch 1, turn, third loop hdc across.
Row 4-5. Ch 1, turn. BLO sc across.
Repeat Rows 2-5, then rows 2-3 once more.
18 sts for 11 rows in 4″ (10 cm)
Cactus Beanie – Free Crochet Pattern
Ch 29 (32, 35, 38).
Row 1. Sc in each back bump. (28 (31, 34, 37) sts)
Alternatively, FSC 28 (31, 34, 37).
Row 2 (WS). Ch 1 (does not count as a st here and in the rest of the pattern), turn. BLO sl st 5 (5, 6, 6), BLO hdc 17 (18, 20, 22), BLO sc 6 (8, 8, 9). (28 (31, 34, 37) sts)
Row 3 (RS). Ch 1, turn. BLO sc 6 (8, 8, 9), third loop hdc 17 (18, 20, 22), BLO sl st 5 (5, 6, 6). (28 (31, 34, 37) sts)
Row 4. Ch 1, turn. BLO sc 28 (31, 34, 37). (28 (31, 34, 37) sts)
Row 5. Ch 1, turn. BLO sc 23 (26, 28, 31), BLO sl st 5 (5, 6, 6). (28 (31, 34, 37) sts)
Keep repeating rows 2-5 until you reach row 45 (49, 53, 57) (or until you reach your desired width. The width should be slightly smaller than the head circumference).
Fasten off leaving a tail of approximately 30″ (75 cm) for seaming.
Assembly
Using the mattress stitch or your favorite method, seam the first and last rows together.
For a neater result, I suggest you work your seam with the wrong side out.
Pass a length of yarn through the top of the beanie and cinch it closed.
