How To Add Braided Straps to a Knit or Crocheted Hat

I often create knit and crochet hat patterns that call for some handy braided chin straps for either a bit of form or function. (If you have a 10 month old who has recently discovered how to yank every hat off their head, you know exactly why some braided straps are pretty handy.)

So today I'm going to outline this easy technique for adding simple chin straps to the earflaps of a beanie.

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Related: 27+ Free Crochet Beanie Patterns

HAT STRAP SUPPLIES

• (12) pieces of yarn about 16-20" long (depending on if the hat is for a child or an adult--you can always trim them at the end)
• (2) 4" pieces of yarn
• scissors
• crochet hook

1. Separate your yarn strands into groups of two. At the bottom center of one earflap, use your crochet hook to pull one set of two strands through the bottom stitch on the crochet hat.

2. Skip one stitch to the left and thread two more strands through the next stitch.

3. Skip one stitch to the right and thread two more strands to the next stitch. (So your three different braid sections are spanning a total of five stitches.)

4. Braid the strands until you're just shy of the length of strap you'd like.

5. Wrap one of the 4" pieces of yarn around the braid and tie a knot. Wrap the pieces around again and tie a couple of tight knots. Trim the excess yarn from both the tie and the braided strap.

6. Strap that hat on and head outside!

Check out some our favorite knit and crochet hat patterns for some free pattern inspiration!