How to Measure Your Head for a Winter Hat

Most people have never measured their head, and there has never been much reason to. The hat industry decided decades ago that one size would fit everybody, and shoppers went along with it, because what is the alternative when every hat on the rack is the same size?

The alternative is a hat that fits. That is the whole reason we make five sizes instead of one. But five sizes only help if you know which one is yours, and finding out takes about sixty seconds and a piece of string.

This guide covers the measurement itself, what the number means, how it converts to traditional hat sizing, the mistakes that produce a wrong answer, and how fit changes across fleece, merino and brimmed styles. If you only read one section, make it the one about sizing up, because that single mistake accounts for almost every hat that comes back to us.

Why one-size-fits-all does not

A one-size beanie is not designed to fit you. It is designed to stretch far enough to sit on the largest head it is likely to meet. All that stretch results in a hat that squeezes your head quite a bit, which over time becomes uncomfortable.

Howleys are designed from the ground up to ensure maximum comfort. Because our hats are cut & sewn to size, it fits with just a bit of stretch to provide all day comfort.

A hat cut to a size sits where you put it and stays there, because it was built around a head roughly the shape of yours rather than around the biggest head in the land!

What you need to measure

You will also want a mirror, or somebody to help. Measuring the back of your own head by feel is where most bad numbers come from, because you cannot see whether the tape has ridden up.

A soft tailor's tape measure is ideal, the kind used for sewing. If you do not have one, any of these will work:

What will not work is a rigid metal tape from the toolbox. It cannot follow the curve of your skull; it lifts away at the back, and it will consistently give you a reading that is too large. That reading then sends you a size up, and the size up is exactly the mistake we are trying to help you avoid.

The measurement, step by step

1. Start at the centre of your forehead

Place the end of the tape in the middle of your forehead, roughly a finger's width above your eyebrows. This is close to the widest point of your skull, and it is where the band of a winter hat actually sits when the hat is worn properly.

2. Take the tape around the back, over the occipital bone

Run the tape around the sides of your head, passing just above your ears, then across the back. You are aiming to cross the occipital bone, which is the bump at the lower back of your skull, rather than passing above it.

3. Pull it snug, not tight

The tape should lie flat against your head all the way round with no gaps or slack, but it should not be compressing anything. If you can feel pressure, ease off until you cannot.

4. Read the number where the tape overlaps

Note it down to the nearest eighth of an inch, or the nearest half centimetre if you prefer metric.

5. Do it again

Measure two or three times. If your readings differ by more than a quarter inch, take a third and use the middle value. Small variations are normal and usually come from tape placement rather than from your head changing shape between attempts.

Measure with your hair the way you normally wear it in winter. If you wear it up in a bun or a ponytail under a hat, measure with it up, because that is the head the hat has to fit.

What the number means

Head circumference is the honest measurement and the one we work from. You will also see hat sizes given as numbers like 7 or 7 1/4, which is the traditional fitted hat system used for baseball caps and western hats.

The conversion is simple arithmetic. Hat size is circumference divided by pi, or roughly circumference divided by 3.14. A 22-inch head comes out at a size 7. Here is the full range most adults fall into:

Most adult heads land somewhere between 21 and 24 inches. If yours falls outside that range, nothing is wrong with you. It means one-size hats have been failing you for years, and you almost certainly already knew that.

Take your number to the size chart on any Howley product page and match it to XS, S, M, L or XL. The chart on the site is the authority, not this table, because our fit differs slightly between the fleece styles and the brimmed styles.

The mistake almost everyone makes

Here is the part worth reading twice.

Our hats run larger than people expect, and roughly 95 percent of our returns come from customers who guessed their head size based on other clothing sizes.

Our hats are cut to fit rather than cut to stretch.

So when your measurement is on the border between two sizes, take the smaller one. That is the opposite of the advice you will get almost anywhere else, and it comes from several years of watching what comes back and reading why.

Other things that skew the number

Glasses. They do not change your measurement, but they change how a hat feels. If you wear glasses, a correctly sized hat should sit above the arms without pushing them into the sides of your head. A hat that presses the arms down is too tight, not too small in the wrong place.

Helmets and hard hats. If the hat is going under a bike helmet, a ski helmet or a hard hat on site, you want a low-profile fit rather than extra room. That is what the Low-G House Hat Skullcap and the Golf Helmet Merino Cap Liner are built for. Do not size up, as a loose hat under a helmet will shift.

Long or thick hair. Measure it as you will wear it. If you sometimes wear it down and sometimes up, measure both ways. If there is more than half an inch between them, size for the way you wear it most often in winter.

Kids. The same methods apply.

Measuring somebody else for a gift. Do it while they are sitting down, from behind, and be prepared to explain yourself! If that is impossible, know that about 50% of Howley wearers have a medium-sized head. Additionally, a safe gift options are the highly adjustable, The BLVD brimmed hat, which covers a wide range through its fit system, comfortable up to a 7 1/2, which is about a 23 1/2 inch head.

The same number fits differently in different fabrics

A measurement is a starting point, not the whole answer. What the hat is made from changes how that number behaves on your head.

Polartec fleece. The Original Howley uses a raised pile knit with real give in it. It settles onto your head and holds position without squeezing, and it comes in XS through XL across nine colours. This is the style where sizing down at the boundary is most often correct.

Merino wool blend. The House Hat and the Low-G House Hat Skullcap have a softer, slightly lighter weight. Again, take the closer fit rather than the roomier one.

Brimmed fleece. The Boss Howley in Standard (up to 7 ½) and Max (7 ½ & up) sizing with a choice of 2 or 3-inch brim. It uses a patent-pending fit system in a single size that sits comfortably up to a 7 ½, so it adapts across a wider range of head shapes than a knit can manage without going loose on any of them. The measurement decides the crown, and your face and frame decide the brim.

Hardshell. The BLVD works differently again. It uses a patent-pending fit system in a single size that sits comfortably up to a 7 ½, so it adapts across a wider range of head shapes than a knit can manage without going loose on any of them.

How to check the fit when it arrives

Put it on! First impressions of a hat are usually right. You will immediately know if the fit is comfortable.

It fits if: it sits where you put it without adjustment, you stop noticing it, and it leaves no mark when you take it off.

It is too small if: there is a pressure line across your forehead, it pushes your glasses into your head, or you feel it after an hour.

It is too big if: you are pulling it back down more than once an hour, it moves when you look down, or it sits high on the crown rather than around it.

If it is wrong, send it back. That is what the returns process is for, and every return we get teaches us something about how these are fitting in the real world.

Keep the number

Heads do not change much after your twenties, so this is a measurement worth keeping. Put it in your phone next to your shoe size. It will save you from every one-size-fits-all hat for the rest of your life, and it makes buying hats as gifts considerably less of a gamble.

Then find your size. Everything is handsewn in New Jersey, and the Original Howley is backed by our lifetime guarantee, so once you know your number, you are set for good.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average head size for an adult?

Most adult heads measure between 21 and 24 inches, which is roughly a 6 3/4 to a 7 5/8 in traditional hat sizing. There is a wide normal range, and being outside it is common. We have found about 50% of our customers who purchase in person find the Medium is the appropriate Howley size.

Where exactly should the tape sit?

Around the widest part of the head: about a finger's width above the eyebrows at the front, just above the ears at the sides, and across the occipital bump at the back.

Should I size up or down if I am between sizes?

Down. Our hats run larger than most people expect, and the large majority of our returns come from customers who sized up.

Can I measure my head without a tape measure?

Yes. Use string, a shoelace or a strip of paper, mark where it overlaps, then lay it flat against a ruler.

Does hair affect hat size?

It affects the fit rather than the head. Measure with your hair styled the way you will wear it under the hat in winter.

How do I convert head circumference to a hat size?

You can find your Howley size directly on our size chart.

Do winter hats stretch over time?

Knit and fleece hats relax slightly with wear, which is another reason not to size up. You’ll find Howleys will conform to your head and become more comfortable with time.