Latest 2026 Hat Trends Report for Crochet and Knitting

Happy New Year, creative friend!

I’ve been busy updating pages on this website to make them current for 2026. In particular, I’m working on revising my top picks lists so that the items you’ll see on this list reflect both the current trends, and items that are currently available.

So what, exactly, are the current craft trends right now as 2026 unfolds?

Let’s discuss a few of the top trends I’ve noticed so far:

Trending Crochet and Knitting Projects

To a large degree, knitting and crochet trends typically follow mainstream fashion trends and interior design trends.

So, if we hope to understand what the knitting and crochet trends will be like this year, we first have to examine what the mainstream fashion designers and interior designers are doing.

There isn’t always going to be a knitted or crocheted version of whatever the hottest fashion trends du jour happen to be — but in many cases, there could be a crocheted or knitted version.

And, in some cases, the crocheted or knitted version is the trendiest version.

Since hats and scarves have historically been some of the most popular crochet and knitting projects amongst my website visitors, the first thing I did was take a look at the current hat trends as we head into 2026.

2026 Hat Trends: Beanies Dominate

Beanies are the trendiest hat silhouettes for knitters and crocheters to make in January of 2026.

To figure this out, I looked at a bunch of different sources including fashion industry trend forecasts and the current collections of high-end European and American fashion designers. I also looked at various fashion media websites and fashion journalists’ editorial coverage of Fashion Week events and runway fashion shows.

I also took a look at Google Trends and other relevant keyword research tools to see what search queries sizable numbers of people are searching for information about.

There is a danger in using Google Trends and search engine queries to figure out what the current trends are.

This is because there can be a massive disconnect between what information people search for and what people actually do.

You can search for beanies without actually buying one.

Furthermore, you can search for crochet beanie patterns, and then download ten of them, and buy yarn to make a few dozen of them — and then never make a single beanie.

(You’ve probably never done that, and if you have, no judgement from me. Haha!)

You know that old cliche: “Talk is cheap.” Searching is cheap, too.

So, before we consider search data in any decision making we do, we have to wrap our heads around how searching is not the same as doing or wearing or making or buying. Searching is just searching. It does not always result in action; sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t.

And you can also do, wear, and make without searching at a search engine. So it’s important to keep in mind that search data can’t account for all the people out there who make decisions and take action without searching the internet first — or, at least, without using a search engine first. There are lots of those folks out there.

In particular, a lot of younger people are not search engine users. They’re likely to skip searching at a search engine, and instead, go directly to a retailer they trust — or go to their preferred social media network to ask their friends’ opinions. So, search data won’t give you any insight into what these people are thinking or doing. Boomers and Xers tend to use search engines more than the younger generations do.

All that said, in many cases, searching is an activity that does precede doing, wearing, making and / or buying. So search data isn’t always predictive of actual trends, but it often correlates with trends.

With that in mind, I typically look at search trends to see if they corroborate the other trend indicators I find.

And, search trends can also be an interesting way to uncover interesting niche trends that I would overlook otherwise. So, they are useful. They just aren’t the only thing, or even the first thing, to consider.

After comparing a lot of data, I determined that the top hat styles for knitters and crocheters are as follows:

• Beanies
• Balaclavas
• Berets
• Bucket hats

For years now, more people in the United States have been searching for crochet beanie patterns than knit beanie patterns. This trend continues as we head into 2026.

(It is important to note that this does not take into consideration all the different possible variations on ways you could search for these items — i.e. “crocheted beanie patterns,” “knitted beanie patterns,” “beanie patterns to crochet,” “beanie patterns to knit,” etc.)

Worldwide, Balaclavas Are Trending Up in 2026

In the USA, Interest in Berets Is Trending Up Slightly

In the USA, the amount of search interest in berets has remained fairly constant over the past couple of decades. There have been minor fluctuations in interest, but overall, berets have been a mainstay in many Americans’ wardrobes.

That said, search interest in berets has been increasing slightly in America in the recent past. So if berets appeal to you, now’s a fantastic time to knit or crochet one.

Worldwide, other hat styles seem to be somewhat eclipsing berets in popularity, although there are still plenty of people across the globe who wear this classic hat silhouette.

Pillbox Hats

Some high-end fashion designers are showing pillbox hats in their current ready-to-wear collections, but this has apparently not yet caught on as a top trend with the Google-searching public. We will see if this becomes a popular mainstream hat style in 2026 and the coming years; but for now, pillbox hats are popular with a comparatively small group of the top trendsetters in the world’s fashion capitals and major cities.

I don’t know of any pillbox crochet or knitting patterns to recommend. But I’ve shared my top picks for the best crochet hat pattern books in 2026 HERE, if you’re interested in checking them out.

Here’s a list of a few other hat styles that are trending in 2026. However, these hat styles do not seem to be particularly popular for knitting and crocheting right now, even though they theoretically could be crocheted or knitted:

• Cowboy and cowgirl hats (hmmm. Cowperson hats?)
• Top hats
• Sombreros
• Trucker hats
• Shapkas and trapper hats

Thanks for checking out this 2026 hat trends report. I hope you found it useful and interesting.

You’re invited to come back in a few days to find more 2026 craft trend reports!

Over to You:

Which style of hat(s) will you be knitting, crocheting and / or wearing in 2026? Let’s talk about it in the comments.