January can be a really stressful time, so let’s take a time out. Check out these free patterns for knit flowers and get ready for the nearly instant gratification that they will bring! These are super fast projects that are really fun to knit and even more fun to display and admire, plus they are great project for leftover yarn. I can see the beautiful bouquets now!
Do you know how to knit flowers? If you have never knit a beautiful flower before, then it might be a bit intimidating. But if you are familiar with the basic knitting stitches (the knit stitch and purl stitch) and shaping techniques (increasing and decreasing) then you’re off to a good start. Remember, flowers in nature aren’t perfect so don’t expect yours to be either!
Keep it traditional with patterns for knit flowers that are based on actual flowers like bluebells, daffodils, and roses. Or go wild with imaginative designs that think outside the realism box with fun colors and interesting shapes. Whether you are looking for the one, the other, or both, you are sure to find inspiration in this curated collection of free patterns for knit flowers!
You can use a knit flower as an embellishment for hats or other items, place one at the corner of a blanket, use in your hair or any other way you choose! Most of the time you will need a tapestry needle (also called a yarn needle) when making a knitted flower.
You might notice that many of the patterns for knit flowers we are featuring today don’t specify what yarn you should use. That’s the beauty of it! These designs present an excellent opportunity to dip into your scraps basket and just have fun with it. Thinner yarns will produce smaller, more delicate flowers and thicker yarns will produce larger, more sturdy flowers. The best part is that each flower takes such a very small amount of yarn, so you can use up even your smallest balls of yarn leftover from other projects.
Are you ready to start knitting your own beautiful yarny blooms? Scroll down to see our stunning collection of free patterns for knit flowers!
Daffodils
There’s nothing like a pop of yellow color to pick you up on a dreary winter day. This daffodil pattern is knit in 4 parts: a simple icord stem, the light brown piece (called a “spathe”), the pretty pale flower petals, and the warm yellow trumpet standing proudly out from the center.
Designer: ODDknit
Yarn: (DK Weight #3)
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Sunflower
Ask 10 people what their favorite flower is and I bet at least one of those answers will be a sunflower! This iconic autumn flower is mostly worked flat using basic stitches. The stem is made from icord knit on dpns. A bamboo skewer is inserted into the icord to keep the sunflower standing up straight and tall.
Designer: fluff & fuzz
Yarn: Hayfield Bonus DK (DK Weight #3)
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Lavender
If you have ever turned to lavender for a calming presence like in a candle or a bath bomb, then you already know the power of these precious blooms. These knit versions are just as adorable as the real thing and I especially love the use for them shown here as present toppers. What a unique way to make a gift extra special!
Designer: Rosários 4
Yarn: Rosários 4 Lisboa (Light Fingering Weight #0)
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Bluebells
Can you hear the bluebells ringing? The free knitting pattern for these knit flowers has instructions for 2 sizes of bluebells. Each bluebell is knit in back and forth rows and then seamed and sewn onto the stem using the yarn tail. Whip up a bunch to make a beautiful bouquet or add them onto a festive wreath for your front door!
Designer: Frankie Brown
Yarn: (DK Weight #3)
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Poinsettia
If you have knit Christmas flowers on your mind, then I’m sure you are thinking of Poinsettias. These classic and festive blooms are great to have around the house for holiday decorations. The flower pattern is worked flat using just basic stitches, so even a beginner knitter could give this pattern a go.
Designer: Planet June
Yarn: (Worsted Weight #4)
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Fabulous Floral Knit Fridgies
Add magnets to the back of some knit flowers and you have yourself an adorable set of “fridgies” otherwise known as fridge magnets. Pretty and practical, fridgies can be used to hold pictures, shopping lists, or reminder notes. The flower pattern is knit flat in garter stitch, rolled, and sewn and includes a leaf.
Designer: Lily Sugar‘n Cream
Yarn: Lily Sugar’n Cream Solids & Denim (Worsted Weight Yarn #4)
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Rolled Rose
Knit roses may not smell as sweet as the real thing, but they are still seriously beautiful! The subtle shifts of color in this Rolled Rose design are achieved by using a self striping yarn in shades of pink. The pattern is available in video format (which is excellent news for beginners) and it calls for the garter stitch.
Designer: Naztazia
Yarn: Red Heart With Love Stripes (Aran Weight #4)
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Spring Tulip
Step away from the realism for a moment and embrace the beauty of these colorful spring tulips. Their oversized petals and short stems give them a charming cartoon-like quality that would work well for a child’s bedroom decoration or for a get-well-soon bouquet. The pattern is knit in the round.
Designer: Jen Lucas for The Knitting Circle
Yarn: Red Heart Soft Baby Steps and Lion Brand Basic Stitch Premium (Aran Weight #4)
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Double Daisy
Can you add a second round of petals to a daisy pattern to double your fun? At least, that’s the idea behind this fun Double Daisy design. The center is knit in squishy, textured garter stitch and the petals show the wrong side of stockinette stitch. There are also bonus patterns for primroses and snowdrops on the same page.
Designer: Lesley Stanfield
Yarn: (DK Weight #3)
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Floral Flair
You have your pick of the flower field with the Floral Flair collection of patterns. The carnation (top right), lily (top left), and rolled rose (center) are all available as free knitting patterns. (The other two are crocheted) Whether you pick one or combine all three, there’s no going wrong with these blooms!
Designer: Lynda Cyr
Yarn: Red Heart Chunky (Super Bulky Weight #6)
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Pansies
Pretty pansies are all about the colors, so you should feel comfortable changing colors if you are going to tackle this pattern. Although I will let you in on a little secret. The zig zag lines of blue in the middle of the white section of the flower petals are actually made using duplicate embroidery stitch.
Designer: Undermost Salamander
Yarn: (DK Weight #3)
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Gerbera Daisy
While traditional daisies are all white and yellow, the Gerbera variety come in many, many different colors. This presents an excellent opportunity to go hog wild with your scraps basket and experiment with lots of different flower color combinations. Can you imagine a big bouquet filled where each flower is a unique shade? Beautiful!
Designer: ODDknit
Yarn: (DK Weight #3)
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Tulips
Some roses are red, some tulips are blue, but not these blooms! This detailed tulip design is a bright and sunny yellow color. The pattern has many different parts and pieces for you to knit separately that are then joined together to form one lovely tulip. You can decide whether to knit them with the petals partly open or fully closed.
Designer: ODDknit
Yarn: (DK Weight #3)
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Pinwheel Flowers
Origami style Pinwheel Flowers may not exist in real life, but that doesn’t make them any less fun to knit! These playful knit flowers are made all in one piece using garter stitch. They are then folded and seamed to recreate that iconic pinwheel shape. They’re a lovely size for a brooch or for the front of a handmade greeting card.
Designer: Frankie Brown
Yarn: (DK Weight #3)
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Florely
If you are not a fan of knitting icord, then just grab a thin wooden dowel instead. A wooden bead helps hold the flower on the dowel and it also serves as the peduncle of the flower. You could even get a little fancy with it and choose a sparkly gem or beadstone instead of the plain wooden bead.
Designer: Jancacha’s Designs
Yarn: (Fingering Weight #1)
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Crocuses
These pretty and playful crocuses are fun and quick to knit in the round. The manageable size makes it hard to stop at just one, so you might just find yourself knitting a whole bouquet. Part of the quickness of the design can be attributed to the aran weight yarn that’s recommended for the pattern.
Designer: Yarn Birdy
Yarn: Wolle Rödel Universal Acrylic (Aran Weight #4)
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Berkshire Blossoms
There can be some added pressure when making knit flowers based on real life flowers to make them really look similar to the originals. You can take some of that pressure off by selecting patterns for knit flowers that live firmly in the land of fantasy like these Berkshire Blossoms knit with garter stitch and complete with pom pom centers.
Designer: Ms. Ellaneous
Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire (Aran Weight #4)
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Cherry Blossoms
Tiny cherry blossoms are always found in little bunches on their branches so you will need to knit more than one! Lucky for you, they are extra quick to knit because the pattern only has 10 rounds, 4 of which are icord. The link below has the pattern for the blossoms and there you’ll find another link to get to the twig pattern.
Designer: ODDknit
Yarn: (DK Weight #3)
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Knitted Decor Roses
Here’s another one of our free patterns for knit flowers that breaks out of the icord stem mold. This design uses a thin wooden dowel that is accented with a swirling strand of yarn for an additional bit of whimsy and color. The pattern calls for knit and slip stitches. It is made in one long piece and then it is rolled up and sewn together.
Designer: Creative Crochet Workshop
Yarn:Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice (Worsted Weight Yarn #4)
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Forget Me Not
Afternoons spent making knit flowers can be a great time to practice a bit of mindfulness. Especially in the case of the Forget Me Not flower which holds a lot of symbolism. The stem and center of the flower are knit in the round all in one piece and then the individual petals are added on afterwards by picking up stitches along the edges of the center.
Designer: Bitter Yttrium Designs
Yarn: Cygnet DK (DK Weight #3)
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Peace Poppy
The Peace Poppy design is knit in much the same way as the Forget Me Not flower. The main differences are the size and shape of the petals and the use of seed stitch in place of stockinette. I do love a bit of seed stitch in my knitting because it makes for such a fun and squishy bit of texture.
Designer: Bitter Yttrium Designs
Yarn: Cygnet DK (DK Weight #3)
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Lavender Flower
Here’s another design for Lavender flowers for you. This one calls for a nice aran weight yarn so the blooms have a good size that’s great for making bouquets and other floral decorations. The pattern may look complex, but it only uses knit, purl, and slip stitches.
Designer: Roberta Leah
Yarn: by Nicole Studio Classic (Aran Weight #4)
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Simple Knitted Flower
The designer of these stunning Simple Knitted Flowers offers a little challenge: “bet you can’t knit just one!” They do look addictively quick and simple to make so I can totally see where she’s coming from. My favorite thing about this flower design is the use of colorful variegated yarns. These unique yarns create the most unique blooms!
Designer: aeroplane knitted
Yarn: (Sport Weight #2)
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Calla Lilies
The three calla lilies shown here are called the good, the gilded, and the goth after their color schemes. The designer states that these pretty flowers would be a good choice for a bridal bouquet and I’m inclined to agree! You can make some of your own by knitting in the round with some use of short rows.
Designer: Heather Broadhurst for Knitty
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Wildflower D.K. (DK Weight #3)
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Knit a Rose
Choosing a tweed yarn for your knit flowers results in such a lovely and unique coloring for your finished blooms. I will certainly be using the unique coloring of this rolled rose for inspiration in my future endeavors making knit flowers, won’t you?
Designer: Kerstin Treber-Koban
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed (DK Weight #3)
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That was just what I needed today to beat a bit of the winter blues and I hope that you found what you needed too! Did you have a favorite design from this list? Tell me all about your favorite knit flowers in the comments below!
Don’t forget, sharing is caring! Send this free knitting pattern round-up to all your knitting friends so they can join in on the fun too! Bookmark this page or save the link to your Pinterest board for amazing knitting patterns.
I’ll see you next week for another free knitting pattern round-up. Make sure to follow the blog so you never miss a post. <3
Happy Knitting!
Amanda
