Loom Knit Ponytail and Bun Hat

Make a loom knit ponytail and bun hat so you can keep warm this winter without messing up your hairstyle by following this simple tutorial.

This will fit most average-sized adults and teens. For small children, you may want to use a 7.5-inch loom.

I like Loops and Threads yarn because it’s chunky and fills in the gaps between the stitches pretty well but is also stretchy. It also comes in a ton of colors, so if you don’t like my peppermint pink a white, any color combo will do.

Try Hogwarts house colors for Harry Potter fans, your child’s school colors, or go crazy with a rainbow.

How to make a loom knit ponytail and bun hat

Supplies

• 9.3-inch round knitting loom
• Knitting loom hook (included with most knitting looms)
• US size K crochet hook
• Chunky yarn (I used about 50 yards each of Loops and Threads “Think Pink” and Loops and Threads “Off White”)
• Scissors
• Elastic ponytail holder

Instructions

Loom knitting is fairly easy once you get the hang of it. If you’re totally new to loom knitting you might want to start with a regular loom-knit hat. This one has color changes, which aren’t too tricky but are slightly harder than making a hat from a single ball of yarn.

This hat is striped and chose pink and white from my yarn stash for two reasons. First, I wanted to use up some of my stash because I have so much yarn! Second, I wanted this to be cute and look like peppermint for winter.

Step 1: Start the yarn.

With the main yarn color (mine is pink) tie a slipknot with a few inches of tail and loop it over the anchor peg.

Begin e-wrapping around the knitting loom. I go clockwise, but there’s no reason you can’t go counter-clockwise if that’s more comfortable. The yarn should be snug, but not tight.

After you’ve gone around the loom once, go around a second time so that there are two loops on each peg.

While holding your working end of the yarn so it doesn’t unravel, use the metal hook to pull each bottom loop up over the top loop and the peg. This should be easy. If you’re having trouble, the yarn is probably too tight.

Continue adding rows to the loom by e-wrapping a row and pulling the bottom row up over the top. After 3 or 4 rows, untie the loop on the anchor peg and let the tail hang.

Step 2: Creating the brim.

After the knitted section is about 2 inches long, it’s time to make a brim.

First, take that tail from the beginning and fold it up inside the knitted section.

Take the bottom loops of the hat, fold them up and hook them back on the pegs. This should create a double-layer of knitted yarn with the tail hidden inside.

With two loops on your pegs, e-wrap around the loom to create a third row.

Use the hook to pull 2 rows up over the top row. This might be a bit trickier than pulling up one row.

You’ll end up with a closed-in brim and just one row on the pegs again.

Step 3: Switching yarn colors.

I left my pink yarn attached, but you can cut it with a 4-inch tail if you prefer. Otherwise, just keep the end of the yarn tight and wind it out of the way.

With the second color (white) repeat the process that you did at the beginning.

Tie a slipknot with a tail onto the anchor peg.

Wrap the white yarn around the pegs, just as you did with the pink yarn. There should be two rows of yarn e-wrapped – one pink and one white.

Use the metal hook to pull the bottom loops up over the top looks. Repeat the process and add rows to the white until that section is about 2 inches.

Use the same switching method to switch back to the pink yarn and knit about 2 more inches in that color.

I left all of my yarn attached until the end to keep it from unraveling. Once your hat is about 6 inches tall, leave a 36-inch tail and cut it.

Step 4: Finishing the hat.

To finish the hat, you’re going to remove the final loops from the pegs and crochet them onto a ponytail holder. This creates a nice even top that’s the perfect size.

Slide the first loop off of its peg and onto the crochet hook. Pass the loose yarn tail up from inside the ponytail holder and over the hook again.

Pull the end loop through the first loop on the crochet hook. That’s one.

For the second one, you’ve already got one loop on your crochet hook. Move the next loop from the peg to the hook, giving you a second loop.

Pull the yarn tail up through the ponytail holder and over the hook again. Pull the end loop through both other loops.

Repeat those steps with the rest of the pegs. As you go around the loom, the yarn will get very tight. Be careful not to drop a loop because the hat will come unraveled.

You’ll need to stretch the ponytail holder as you go. A brand new one will be harder to stretch than one you’ve used a few times, but I made mine with a new one.

After you get past the halfway point, the tension will ease again.

After you have removed every loop from the knitting loom pegs, pass the hoo through the fist loop you started crocheting. Yarn over and pull through both loops. Then yarn over again and pull completely through the loop to create a tail.

Step 5: Weaving in the tails.

At this point, your hat is complete but there are a few loose tails that need to be hidden.

For each one, simply weave it back through the hat. I like to pass mine up and back over the loops in the same row. This creates a line on the inside but is invisible on the outside.

Weave in 2 or 3 inches and then trim the extra yarn tail.

Now your ponytail and bun hat is ready to wear.

How to wear with a ponytail or bun hat

You can wear this hat two ways – with a ponytail or a bun. I haven’t decided which one I like better.

Either way, start by putting your hair up in a high ponytail. Put the hat on and then pull your hair through the hole.

If you’re wearing a ponytail, you may want to tidy up your ponytail or adjust it a bit.

If you’re wearing a bun, pull your hair out of the ponytail and wrap your bun however you typically do. The gap in the top of the hat leaves plenty of space to wrap a ponytail holder around your bun.

What’s next? Try these other fun and creative ideas on One Mama’s Daily Drama:

• Loom Knit Hat for Beginners
• Loom Knit Scarf Tutorial
• Chunky Crochet Scarf Tutorial