Stitches

What size circular knitting needles do I need to make a hat?

I have size 15 circular knitting needles to make a hat, with a 16" long cord. It looks really little and the cord doesn't look long enough....What size circular knitting needles do I need to make a hat, and adult hat? If it helps my head is 22" around...the normal size...The needles just look small.

Public Comments

1. You can use the 16" needles for a hat 22" in circumference--the stitches will scrunch up on the cable between the needles. Since you asked my opinion, I buy really long circular needles--48" in length or more. One can always pull the excess flexible cable out of the way to knit small tubes, and it works better for me than scrunching the stitches up on a short needle or changing needles in the middle of a project because the shaping made the item too small for the circular needle.
2. 16" circular needles are the correct size for knitting a hat. Usually you only use a size 8 or 9 when knitting with a worsted weight yarn to knit a hat. Size 15 needles would be to large unless you are using a bulky weight yarn or double stranding, unless you want a loose knit hat for decoration and not for warmth.