Crochet Mesh Hats: Openwork Styles for Summer

Openwork crochet hats are the summer answer to the winter beanie. Worked in fine cotton thread with big open spaces between the stitches, they sit lightly on the head, let the air through, and look far more delicate than the amount of yarn they actually use.

They are also fast. A mesh hat is mostly holes, so there is far less fabric to make than a solid beanie — a few evenings rather than a few weeks.

What Makes a Mesh Hat

Almost every hat on this page is built the same way: a flat circle at the crown that stops increasing once it reaches the right width, then straight sides down to the brim.

The open look comes from chain loops between the stitches. Instead of working one stitch into every stitch, you work a stitch, chain two or three, skip a space, and work the next one. That chain is what creates the diamond — and because the chains do most of the work, the hat grows quickly.

The edges are usually finished with a picot or a small shell to stop the brim curling and give it that scalloped finish.

Styles Worth Trying

The diamond net. The most common version, and the easiest to adapt. Even rows of chain loops make a regular lattice. The pink hat above and the green one below are both this.

Beaded edges. Threading small beads onto the yarn before you start, then sliding one into place as you work the final round, gives weight to the brim so it hangs properly. It is a tiny amount of extra work for a large change in how finished the hat looks.

Pineapple and shell edging. Instead of a flat picot brim, the bottom rounds open out into fans. This turns a close-fitting cap into something closer to a sun hat.

Colour is doing half the work. The same pattern reads completely differently in hot pink, olive, navy or cream. A bright solid looks modern and graphic; cream and ecru look like something inherited. Make the first one in a colour you can see easily — openwork in a dark thread is genuinely hard to count.

Crochet Hat Size Chart

Openwork stretches more than solid fabric, so aim for the smaller end of each range and let the mesh do the rest.

Size	Head circumference	Finished hat height
Newborn	13–14 in (33–36 cm)	5.5 in (14 cm)
3–6 months	14–17 in (36–43 cm)	6 in (15 cm)
6–12 months	16–19 in (41–48 cm)	6.5 in (16.5 cm)
Toddler (1–3 yr)	18–20 in (46–51 cm)	7 in (18 cm)
Child (3–10 yr)	19–20.5 in (48–52 cm)	7.5 in (19 cm)
Teen / Adult S	20–22 in (51–56 cm)	8 in (20 cm)
Adult M	21.5–22.5 in (55–57 cm)	8.5 in (21.5 cm)
Adult L	23–24 in (58–61 cm)	9 in (23 cm)

Measure around the head just above the ears, then make the hat about 1 inch (2.5 cm) smaller than that measurement so it grips.

Which Thread to Use

These hats are worked in fine mercerised cotton — the kind sold as size 3 or size 5 crochet thread — with a small hook, usually 2.5 to 3.5 mm. Mercerised cotton has a slight sheen and, more importantly, enough body to hold the open spaces open. A soft, limp yarn will let the mesh collapse.

You can make the same hat in a standard worsted cotton with a 4 mm hook. It will be chunkier and less delicate, but much easier to see while you learn the stitch pattern — a sensible first version.

A Note on Difficulty

These are not beginner hats. Openwork means counting chain spaces rather than stitches, and a miscount shows immediately as a lopsided hole. Fine thread and a small hook also make everything less forgiving.

If you have never crocheted before, start with how to read a crochet pattern and a flat square, then come back. If you can already work a circle in the round and read a pattern, you will be fine — and the US vs UK crochet terms chart explains the terms these patterns use.