How to Finish the Crown of a Knit Hat: Tips for a Perfect Crown

Now that's a nice crown!

Over the weekend I shared a photo of the crown of a hat I had just knit on Instagram (the Nightcap Express) and the response was overwhelming! But what struck me most about the response from people was the "Likes" comments and thanks I received for sharing a random little tip in the Comments section. It got such a reaction I thought it would be worth sharing here! 

Tips for How to Perfect Your Crown

The comments I most received were about the fact that many knitters crowns don't look this tidy or even. I'll admit that it took me a number of years to figure this out for myself but there are two things to share today that I hope will make your crown shaping a better experience:

1) USE DPNS. 

I know this sounds like a no brainer but there are many knitters who complain that their crown shaping doesn't look good who also insist on using the Magic Loop method.

Now, I'm not a Magic Loop hater.

I LOVE Magic Loop; it's how I knit all of my socks and sleeves, but when it comes to the crown of a hat, Just Say No, kiddies! A sock doesn't try to be round as you knit, but the shaping of the crown of a hat, does. If you use Magic Loop (and don't like the out come) please try double pointed knitting needles. I know they're fiddly; I try to avoid them all costs, but truly truly truly, they're far superior for crown shaping if your current method doesn't work for you. 

Let it be known: that if you have great success with Magic Loop on the crowns, I'm not knocking it. If it works for you, go with it! This is just my recommendation for those who do not have even crowns who may be using Magic Loop.

2) FOR ALL THE MARBLES: GO DOWN A NEEDLE SIZE! 

When you are working on a 16" circular for the body of the hat, your knitting probably looks perfect and amazing and even. And then you switch to DPNs and it goes all wonky, right? That's the point at which I recommend going down a needle size. For example, I knit this above hat using a US 7 (4.5 mm) 16" circular. I was able to work the first two or three decrease rounds still using the 16" circular before the circumference became too small and I needed to change to the DPNs. When I reached for those new sticks, I went down to a US 6 (4 mm) set of DPNs to account for the fact that when I work on DPNs my stitches get looser (also likely because all of my circular needles are metal and my DPNs are all bamboo). 

So that's it, that's all! It's as simple as using the right tool and the right SIZE of tool! 

Do you have crown shaping tips?

By no means do I think that this is the only way to knit a crown; it's just my favorite and most successful method. Do you have any tips or tricks to share that made your crown shaping experience a better one?

Let me know in the comments below!