Every summer I promise myself I will finally be a "hat person," and every summer it is a handmade hat that actually makes it happen. A good crochet sun hat does something no shop-bought hat quite manages: it fits your head exactly, it shades your face and shoulders properly, and it carries that soft, slightly boho charm that makes even a plain sundress look like an outfit you planned. Beach days, market mornings, gardening afternoons, long lunches outside — a wide brim is simply summer's best accessory.
So here are twenty of my favourite sun hat designs for you, all genuinely free and all truly sun hats — wide brims, floppy brims, raffia straw-look brims and lacy cotton brims, no beanies and no buckets in sight. I have noted the yarn, the sizing and the honest little details for each one as we go. Pick your favourite, grab some cotton or raffia, and let's get you shaded in style.
1. The Raffia Hat With Two Brim Widths
We are starting with the hat that looks most like it came from a chic little beach boutique: Joanne Loh's raffia sun hat at Craft Passion. It is worked in raffia yarn with a fine 2.5 mm hook, and the pattern generously gives you two brim widths — a neat five-inch brim for everyday, or a dramatic six-inch brim when you want full shoulder shade — sized to fit head circumferences from 21 to 23 inches. A length of fishing line is threaded through the brim edge to stiffen and shape it, and there is a leather cord so you can tweak the fit, plus optional lace trim for a softer finish. The complete pattern is free on her site with the kind of careful, photo-rich instructions Craft Passion is known for. In natural raffia it goes with absolutely everything in a summer wardrobe.
Pattern: Crochet Sun Hat by Joanne Loh at Craft Passion — Get the free pattern
2. The Classic Cotton Hat That Needs No Wire
If the idea of threading wire into a brim makes you nervous, Crochet Dreamz has your hat. This classic sun hat holds its shape with cleverness instead of hardware: it is worked at a deliberately tight gauge with staggered increases, so the brim stands up crisply all by itself with no wire and no starch. The free version on her blog includes the women's size in full, worked in a sturdy cotton like Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton, and the clean, simple lines make it the perfect first sun hat if you have only made flat projects before. It is the sort of hat you will reach for daily — school run, dog walk, farmers' market. Make it in white for maximum cool, or in a soft denim blue to live with your jeans.
Pattern: Crochet Sun Hat by Crochet Dreamz — Get the free pattern
3. The Beginner Wide Brim in Doubled Cotton
Jenny and Teddy wrote this pattern for the crocheter who has never made a hat before, and it shows in the best way — every step is calm, clear and encouraging. The Beginner Wide Brim Sun Hat is worked in Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton held double, which makes the fabric satisfyingly sturdy and the rounds grow quickly under your 3 mm and 4 mm hooks. The result is a clean, classic wide brim with real structure, the kind of hat that looks far more advanced than it is. The full pattern is free on her blog, and once you have made one you will understand hat construction well enough to tackle anything else on this list. Start here if you are new; you will finish the weekend with a hat, I promise.
Pattern: Beginner Wide Brim Sun Hat by Jenny and Teddy — Get the free pattern
4. Bella Donna: The Wired-Brim DROPS Classic
DROPS Design's Bella Donna is the elegant European take on a sun hat: worked top-down in their linen-blend Bomull-Lin or cotton Paris yarn, in sizes S/M through L/XL, with a length of steel wire worked around the brim edge so you can shape the brim exactly how you like it — flat and formal, or dipped at the front like a film star. That wire is the secret of every expensive-looking straw hat, and here it costs you nothing but a little patience on the final round. The full pattern is free on the Garnstudio site, as DROPS patterns always are, with the diagram support DROPS fans rely on. In the natural linen shade it is pure Riviera. This is the hat for long lunches and slow coastal walks.
Pattern: Bella Donna (DROPS 247-3) by DROPS Design — Get the free pattern
5. The Big Floppy One From Heart Hook Home
Sometimes you do not want structure; you want flop. The Floppy Sun Hat from Heart Hook Home is worked entirely in double crochet from a magic circle — round after round of soothing, television-friendly stitching — and then the brim is built with steady increases until it falls into those soft, glamorous waves. The complete written pattern is free on her blog, and if your brim turns out softer than you'd like, a whisper of corn-starch stiffener is her old-fashioned fix. It is a wonderfully forgiving project for newer crocheters because the stitch pattern never changes; only the counts do. Wear it with oversized sunglasses and enjoy being slightly mysterious at the beach.
Pattern: Floppy Sun Hat by Heart Hook Home — Get the free pattern
6. The Cleo Fedora That Packs Flat
A fedora, but make it crochet — and make it packable. Jess Coppom's Cleo Fedora at Make and Do Crew is worked in Lion Brand Rewind, a soft tape yarn that gives the hat its straw-like look while staying completely crushable, so it folds into a suitcase and springs back into shape at the other end. The pattern is free on her blog in women's small and large, with a full video tutorial if you like to crochet along, and the pinched fedora crown gives it a polished, city-ready edge most sun hats never manage. This is the one for holidays: beach in the morning, old town exploring in the afternoon, same hat. In the sandy neutral shade it looks like something from a designer resort collection.
Pattern: Cleo Fedora by Jess Coppom at Make and Do Crew — Get the free pattern
7. Let the Sun Shine, With a Lace Cord Tie
Kinga Erdem's "Let the Sun Shine!" hat is full of the thoughtful details that make a handmade hat feel heirloom. Worked in cotton yarn, the crown is built with front-post rounds that give it a subtle, cable-like texture, and a handmade Romanian point lace cord is threaded through an eyelet round so you can tie the hat snugly under your chin on breezy beach days. The complete pattern is free on her My Hobby is Crochet blog, with her usual clear photography at every step. It is poolside-perfect, garden-party-pretty, and practical in a way floppy hats rarely are — this one will not blow into the sea. Make it in sunshine yellow and try not to smile wearing it.
Pattern: “Let the Sun Shine!” Sun Hat by Kinga Erdem at My Hobby is Crochet — Get the free pattern
8. Summer Breeze, With a Crocheted Flower
Jenny and Teddy's Summer Breeze is the romantic of this collection: two strands of yarn held together build a soft crown, an openwork band of chain loops lets the air move around your head on the hottest days, and the pattern finishes with a layered crocheted flower to sew at the side. The whole pattern is free on her blog, and because the stitches are simple and the yarn doubled, it works up faster than you'd expect for something this pretty. That lacy band is not just decoration — on a still, heavy afternoon you will be grateful for every gap in it. Style it with a floaty dress and bare feet in the grass. Some hats shade you; this one also charms everyone who sees it.
Pattern: Summer Breeze Sun Hat by Jenny and Teddy — Get the free pattern
9. Sunny Vacation and Its Lobster-Stitch Edge
The second DROPS entry on our list earns its place with one beautiful detail: the brim of Sunny Vacation is finished with a round of lobster stitch — crab stitch, worked backwards — which gives the edge a firm, rope-like neatness that keeps the whole brim behaving. The hat itself is worked top-down in double crochet in DROPS Paris cotton, in sizes S/M through L/XL, and the full pattern is free on Garnstudio. It is a clean, unfussy design, which makes it a brilliant canvas: add a ribbon band, a brooch, or a strip of Liberty fabric tied in a bow. In coral or turquoise it is pure holiday. If your crochet tends to ripple at the edges, that lobster-stitch round will tidy everything up like magic.
Pattern: Sunny Vacation (DROPS 247-4) by DROPS Design — Get the free pattern
10. The Handy Little Me Raffia Hat
This is the pattern to reach for when you want the true straw-hat look. Handy Little Me's summer hat is worked in King Cole Raffia with a 5 mm hook, and the ribbon-like raffia yarn gives you that crisp, natural, slightly rustling texture that reads as a bought straw hat from three paces away. The pattern is free on her blog with a printable version, written to fit most women comfortably, and raffia is tougher than it looks — this hat will survive seasons of being tossed in beach bags. If you have never crocheted with raffia before, her tips will get your tension settled within a few rounds. Pair it with a white shirt dress and you have the whole summer uniform sorted.
Pattern: Crochet Summer Hat by Handy Little Me — Get the free pattern
11. Jenny's Floppy, in Fine Sport Weight
Most sun hats are worked in cotton or raffia, but Kristin Omdahl proves a fine yarn can do it beautifully. Jenny's Floppy Sun Hat is crocheted in simple half double crochet spirals with a lightweight sport weight yarn and a small 3.25 mm hook, so the fabric drapes like cloth rather than standing stiff — and then a length of millinery wire is crocheted into the very last round to give that soft brim a professional, shapeable edge. The complete pattern is free on her site with a full stitch glossary, which makes it a gentle introduction to wired brims if you have never tried one. The finished hat is featherlight, which your neck will thank you for by hour three of a garden party. It is elegance without effort, and it folds down to almost nothing in a tote bag.
Pattern: Jenny’s Floppy Sun Hat by Kristin Omdahl — Get the free pattern
12. Summer Harmony: Squares First, Then the Brim
Here is the cleverest construction on the list. DROPS' Summer Harmony begins as a strip of joined crochet squares that form the band of the hat; you then work upwards from the squares to close the crown, and downwards from them to grow a roughly eight-centimetre brim in soft Safran cotton. Two colours alternate through the rounds, so the squares read like a little tiled mosaic around your head. The full pattern, charts included, is free on Garnstudio, and if you enjoy motif work this is a deeply satisfying weekend project. It has a gentle retro, almost cloche-adjacent charm from some angles — wear it with a tea dress and feel transported. Square by square, it becomes the most interesting hat you own.
Pattern: Summer Harmony (DROPS 139-8) by DROPS Design — Get the free pattern
13. The Big Floppy Two-Colour Showstopper
If your taste runs dramatic, Life and Yarn's Big Floppy Wide Brim Sun Hat is your headline act. It is worked in two colours with a generous, sweeping brim that shades your face, neck and shoulders all at once, and the pattern is free on her blog in sizes small and large with the full round-by-round instructions written out. That wide two-tone brim photographs like a dream — this is the hat for beach photos, boat days and every sun-drenched holiday snap. Despite its size it is a straightforward make, mostly calm rounds once the crown is established. Add a pair of big earrings and a simple swimsuit and the outfit is done. Nobody will believe you made it in a weekend.
Pattern: Big Floppy Wide Brim Sun Hat by Life and Yarn — Get the free pattern
14. The Purple Raffia Statement
Who says a sun hat has to be beige? The Purple Raffia Sun Hat at Crochet Corner is worked in a variegated purple King Cole Raffia, in single crochet throughout, so the colour shifts ripple gently around the crown and brim like watercolour. The pattern is free on the Bel Appetit crochet site, and it includes the option of tucking craft wire into the brim if you want a crisper, more sculpted silhouette. All that single crochet makes it a sturdy, dense hat with genuinely good shade — no lacy gaps for the sun to sneak through. It is a joyful make for anyone whose summer wardrobe leans colourful. With a plain white sundress underneath, the hat becomes the whole story.
Pattern: Purple Raffia Sun Hat by Crochet Corner — Get the free pattern
15. Sunny Smiles: Lace, Eyelets and a Twined Tie
Sunny Smiles is the prettiest of the DROPS hats here — a lace sun hat in their Paris cotton, worked top-down from charts so the eyelet pattern opens up like little suns across the crown. A twined string, made from two twisted lengths of yarn, is threaded up and down through the last eyelet row and tied at the side, which is both a charming detail and a genuinely useful wind-proofing trick. The full charted pattern is free on Garnstudio, as always. Chart readers will fly through it; if charts are new to you, this is a kind, small project to learn on. In soft lemon or sky blue it is summer itself, worn on your head.
Pattern: Sunny Smiles (DROPS 178-42) by DROPS Design — Get the free pattern
16. The Packable Raffia Hat in Three Sizes
Wan at KnitCroAddict designed her sun hat specifically to be packed, squashed and lived in — and raffia is the perfect fibre for the job. Worked in paper raffia with a 3 mm hook, the pattern is written for women's small, medium and large, and the brim finishes with a decorative cluster-stitch edging round that gives the plain raffia a little crafted flourish. The complete pattern is free on her blog, video tutorial included, and she is honest that raffia asks for patience and a few breaks — your hands will thank you, and the durable result is worth it. This is the hat that lives in your car all summer, ready for every unplanned sunny hour. Tough, light and genuinely good-looking: a rare trio.
Pattern: Crochet Sun Hat by Wan at KnitCroAddict — Get the free pattern
17. Lace Band, Floppy Brim, Zero Fuss
Jenny and Teddy's third appearance on this list is their floppy brim design, and it might be the most wearable of the three: a solid, comfortable crown, a band of easy lace worked around the sides to let the breeze through, and then a wide floppy brim that falls in soft folds. The sample is shown in a smooth cotton DK, and the full pattern is free on her blog. That combination — solid top for shade, lacy band for air — is exactly what a long day outdoors actually needs. It dresses down with shorts and a tee or up with a maxi dress without missing a beat. If you only make one hat from this list for everyday wear, make it this one.
Pattern: Floppy Brim Sun Hat by Jenny and Teddy — Get the free pattern
18. Garden Girl: The Clean Everyday DROPS Hat
Garden Girl is DROPS doing what DROPS does best: a clean, unfussy, perfectly proportioned basic. Worked top-down in double crochet in Bomull-Lin or Paris cotton, in sizes S/M and M/L, it has no lace, no charts and no drama — just a smooth crown, a sensible brim and a shape that suits absolutely everyone. The full pattern is free on Garnstudio, and the design includes the option of adding little ties and loops if you want to secure it for cycling or breezy cliff walks. This is the hat to make in multiples: one in stone, one in white, one in that leftover terracotta you have been saving. Simple patterns earn their keep, and this one will be on your head all season.
Pattern: Garden Girl (DROPS 209-8) by DROPS Design — Get the free pattern
19. The One-Day Raffia Floppy
Need a hat by tomorrow? See Love Share's floppy sun hat is famous among its makers for being a one-day project — two balls of raffia, a 3.5 mm hook, and a top-down spiral worked in the back loops only, which gives the fabric a subtle ribbed texture and a beautiful drape. The pattern is free on her blog and written for one size that fits most women, and that back-loop texture makes plain raffia look quietly expensive. It is not the hat for a total beginner — the instructions assume you know your way around a spiral — but confident crocheters will have it off the hook before dinner. Natural raffia, big brim, zero fuss: this is the beach hat, perfected. Make it today, wear it all summer.
Pattern: Crochet Floppy Sun Hat by See Love Share — Get the free pattern
20. The Everyday Cotton Sun Hat
We are finishing where every good hat collection should: with a dependable everyday classic. Handy Little Me's second sun hat design is a clean, timeless shape worked in continuous spiral rounds of single crochet, using two hook sizes to keep the crown snug and the brim smooth — the kind of quiet construction detail that makes a hat sit properly and stay put. The pattern is free on her blog, and in a washable cotton it becomes the hat you grab without thinking: school run, allotment, beach walk, repeat. Because the silhouette is so simple, it is also the easiest hat on this list to personalise — add a ribbon, a contrasting final round, or a little crocheted band. Twenty hats in, this is the one that will quietly get worn the most.
Pattern: Sun Hat Crochet Pattern by Handy Little Me — Get the free pattern
Conclusion
And that is twenty sun hats, my friend — raffia and cotton, wired brims and floppy brims, lace eyelets, joined squares and one very packable fedora, every single one free and every single one made to shade you properly. If you are new to hats, start with the Beginner Wide Brim, the Crochet Dreamz classic or the Garden Girl; if you want a showpiece, the Craft Passion raffia with its six-inch brim or the two-colour Big Floppy are calling your name. Whichever you choose, remember the sun hat's golden rule: the best hat is the one you actually wear, so pick the brim that suits your life and make it in a colour you love.
Now tell me — are you team structured raffia or team soft and floppy, and which of these twenty is going on your hook first? I read every comment, and I cannot wait to see your makes!
