These 14 Free Hat Knitting Patterns Are for the Birds (In the Best Way)

Love birds? These free bird hat knitting patterns are sure to make you smile!

Some people are cat people. Others are dog people.

And then there are the weirdos among us who are bird people.

While I currently am the proud slave of a sweet black terrier mix named Winnie, I am truly a bird person. I’m one of those strange people who enjoy bird songs serving as my alarm clock. I could spend hours watching brightly-colored birds flitting around and gobbling down seeds at a bird feeder.

And in my youth, I bonded with a cockatiel named Raja, probably moreso than I ever did to a dog or a cat.

To this day, whenever I see a macaw or a cockatiel at a pet store, I become iron shavings to a magnet. I think I might be some sort of bird whisperer, because I’ve quieted down a couple of squawking macaws just by talking to them.

If I didn’t have a homicidal terrier that lives to hunt small critters, I’d have a bird in my house now!

Birds and Knitting

Thanks to my lifelong love affair with birds, I adore bird knitting patterns. My favorite bird is the owl, so I’ve knitted quite a few owl-y kinds of patterns (like hats, mitts, and headbands).

I’m so happy that so many knitting designers also love birds! If you search on Ravelry for anything bird-related, you’ll likely find a very long list of patterns. Today I’m narrowing them down just to bird hat knitting patterns.

I expected owl hats to be the most popular kind of all bird hat knitting patterns; however, I failed to take into account the Angry Bird. This isn’t surprising… nearly everyone with a smartphone has played Angry Birds at one time or another!

When I first put this collection together, I found only 2 kinds of bird-shaped hat patterns, Angry Birds and owls. Since then, though, I’ve also found a penguin, a chick, and a “Twitter” bird. I’m delighted to add these to the collection.

Meanwhile, several more bird hat knitting patterns feature bird images. They appear through colorwork, cables, or just sewing. All are unique and beautiful and a great way to show your bird love!

Bird Hat Knitting Patterns: Bird-Shaped

Angry Birds: As stated above, this is the most popular knitting pattern for bird hats. It features the popular and famous gaming bird, with possibilities for both red and black varieties.

Owl Hat: Here’s one style of owl hat, with big eyes and cute little ears.

Tweedy Owl Hat for Knitters: Here’s another, and this one has adorable tassle-style ears.

Tweet: Designer Thelma Egberts created this hat pattern so it would resemble the Twitter mascot. If you knit it in different colors, you could easily change it into a love bird or a cardinal!

Cheeping Chick: These adorable hats fit newborns as written. But you can easily cast on more stitches and make it fit any size head. Like “Tweet,” you can change the color of the hat and create a different bird.

Penguin Pal Hat: The remarkable quality about this darling hat is that all the magic happens through colorwork, rather than through stitching on eyes, beaks, and so on. But still, it works — just look at this sweet hat, and you’ll envision a chubby waddling penguin!

Bird Hat Knitting Patterns: Bird Images

Angry Bird Hat: If you know a child who would prefer to show his/her Angry Birds love in a slightly more subtle way, you can knit this charming beanie featuring the funny face of an Angry Bird.

Lofty Bird Hat: This is a gorgeous hat featuring beautiful white bird designs. While this could conceivably be knit in any colors, I just love the neutral shades in the photos.

Put a Bird on It: This is a riff off a “Portlandia” episode in which two characters put birds on everything possible to make it more “artsy.” The twist comes in taking a very rugged-looking hat and popping a bird onto it. Clever and cute!

Little Bird Hat: I love this hat. It’s dotted with several adorable “little birds” that look like a distant flock of birds flying through the sky. Subtle but so sweet!

Who?: This, of course, is an owl hat. I am a huge fan of any knitting pattern that uses cables in this manner to create little owls, and this hat is no exception.

Lysti Hat: Even if you don’t love peacocks, this hat is irresistible. (I might be wrong about the kind of birds depicted in this hat, but they look like peacocks to me!) The colorwork is a stunning work of art.

Penguins Galore Hat: I don’t see how anyone can look at this hat and not smile at the sweet row of penguins.

Blooming Rooster: Finally, if you know someone who absolutely loves roosters, you absolutely must make this gorgeous hat.

Whether you’re a bird person, a bird whisperer, or just someone who likes to hear the birds sing once in a while, I’ll bet you’ll find one of these bird hat knitting patterns perfect for you or a loved one.