- LevelIntermediate
- Time4-6 hours
- YarnWorsted
About This Pattern
This one is cheerful before you even pick up the hook. Bright yellow yarn, two little brown-and-black ears, a scatter of red cheeks — it reads as playful the second it comes off the needle. I think of it as a hat with a personality, not just a hat with a shape.
Your hands get a nice mix here: tight amigurumi-style shaping at the crown, then long stretches of plain single crochet to let your mind wander, then a fussier back loop only round to finish the brim. The ears ask for a clean color change and a little patience holding the yellow and brown lines straight. Nothing here is hard, but nothing is mindless either.
Set this hat on a shelf between projects and it still looks like it is smiling at you. On a kid running through the living room, the ears bounce with every step. It is the kind of piece that turns heads at pickup lines and family gatherings without anyone needing an explanation.
- Start the crown from a magic ring and increase steadily so the circle grows flat and even.
- Work several plain single crochet rounds once the increases are done to build the sides of the hat.
- Finish the brim with a back loop only slip stitch round to create a defined edge.
- Add sc-hdc-sc clusters into that same round for a scalloped, picot-like finish along the brim.
- Make each ear separately, starting with a small magic ring in brown yarn.
- Decrease the ear rounds down and stuff or leave flat before sewing everything to the hat.
- Finish with the eyes, cheeks, and any last seams to bring the whole face together.
On the desk
- Yarn in yellow for the main part of the hat, brown and black for the ear tips, and red for the cheeks.
- Crochet hook (size not specified, choose according to your yarn weight).
- Toy eyes or felt for eyes (optional).
Stitch shorthand
- sc — single crochet
- hdc — half double crochet
- blo — back loops only
Yellow mouse-ear crochet hat pattern for kids and adults
Hat Base
- Round 1
Start with 7 single crochet (sc) in a magic ring.
- Round 2(21)
Increase in every stitch around (14 stitches total). For Round 3: 1 sc, then increase repeat around (21 stitches).
- Round 4(28)
2 sc, then increase repeat around (28 stitches).
- Round 5(35)
3 sc, then increase repeat around (35 stitches). In Rounds 6-9: Sc all the way around for four rounds (35 stitches each round).
- Round 10
Back Loop Only (BLO) slip stitch in the first stitch. Next stitch, do 1 sc, 1 half-double crochet (hdc), and another sc all in the same stitch.Repeat this all the way around. Slip stitch and fasten off the yarn.
Leave enough yarn to attach the hat to your project, or make it detachable as desired.
Ears (Make 2)
- Round 1
With brown yarn, 6 sc in a magic ring.
- Round 2
Increase in every stitch around (12 stitches). For Round 3: Sc around, change to yellow yarn in the last stitch.
- Rounds 4–5
Sc around in the back loop only with the yellow yarn for a straight line between the colors.
- Round 6(10)
Sc around normally. In Round 7: 4 sc, then decrease, repeat twice (10 stitches).
- Round 8
Sc around, and perform a slip stitch in the last stitch. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.Attach the ears between Rounds 3 to 6 of the head, or wherever you feel is appropriate.
More shots
Where it goes
- A everyday character hat for cold-weather school runs, paired with a plain coat so the hat does the talking.
- A photo-prop piece for family pictures, worn with neutral outfits that let the yellow pop.
- A handmade gift for a young Pokemon fan, paired with mittens in a matching yellow or red.
- A craft-fair or market item displayed alongside other character amigurumi to show off color-change skills.
Color ideas
- Classic Pikachu Yellow across the whole hat base, brown on the lower ear rounds, black at the ear tips, and red for the cheeks.
- Softer palette version Keep yellow on the hat base and ear color-change rounds, but swap the red cheeks for a muted pink and keep the black ear tips small.
Care
Hand wash the finished hat in cool water if your yarn is animal fiber, or machine wash gentle in a bag if it is acrylic, then reshape while damp.
Lay it flat on a towel to dry rather than hanging it, so the ears do not stretch out of shape under their own weight.
Store folded flat with the ears tucked in, away from direct sun, so the yellow and red stay bright.
Assembly
- Step 1 Add toy eyes or cut eyes from felt and attach them.
- Step 2 Make and attach little red cheeks.
- Step 3 Sew everything together as instructed or as preferred.
Easy to get wrong
Increases drifting out of line
Count stitches at the end of each increase round before moving on so the 14, 21, 28, and 35 stitch totals actually land. If a round is off, unravel back to the last correct count rather than fudging the next round.
Losing the back loop only line
Slow down on the BLO rounds and check you are catching only the back loop, both on the hat brim and the ear color change. A missed front loop blends the edge instead of defining it.
Messy color change on the ears
Change to yellow on the last yarn-over of the final brown stitch so the new color starts clean. Weave the join tail in along the back loop only round where it will be hidden by the ridge.
Between the songs
- The satisfaction is in the shaping. You build the crown with four increase rounds that step up cleanly — plain increases, then one stitch between increases, then two, then three — so the hat grows in an even, predictable curve instead of a lumpy one. The back loop only slip stitch and picot-style brim gives the edge a defined ridge instead of a soft roll, which is a small technique with a big visual payoff. Then the ears repeat the whole logic in miniature: their own magic ring, their own increase round, and a back loop only color change that keeps the brown and yellow line crisp. Working the same skills twice, once big and once small, is what makes this pattern feel like a real technique builder rather than a one-off toy.
Listener questions
Do I need a specific hook size for this hat?
The pattern does not lock in a size, so choose a hook that matches your yarn weight and gives you a snug, even fabric. Work a small swatch first if you are unsure your tension will hold the increases flat.
Can I make the ears without the color change?
You can, but the two-tone brown-to-yellow line is what gives the ears their shape, so I would keep it if you want that classic look. If you skip it, just work the whole ear in one color and the construction stays the same.
What do I use for the eyes?
The pattern calls for toy safety eyes or felt cutouts, both optional, so pick whichever suits who will be wearing the hat. Felt is the safer route for younger kids since there are no small hard pieces.
How do I attach the ears and cheeks?
The pattern leaves final assembly up to you, sewing everything together as instructed or as you prefer. I like using the long tail left after fastening off each ear so I am not weaving in extra ends later.
Is the brim round actually tricky?
The back loop only slip stitch followed by the sc-hdc-sc repeat takes a little concentration but no special stitches beyond what is already in the pattern. Go slowly on your first repeat around and the rest will fall into rhythm.
Original pattern: https://crocheteverything.com/cozy-crochet-pikachu-hat-pattern-for-all-pokemon-lovers/
About the Author
Marisol QuinteroWho runs Crochet Obsessed, why a stitch count sits at the end of every round, how a pattern gets written here, and the things this site will never do.
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