Do you want to build a snowman? This holiday season, add a little whimsy to your holiday decor with this sweet free holiday knitting pattern. When it comes to free knitted amigurumi patterns, this adorable snowman is a festive and fun way to make your season just that much brighter. He features a tiny knit pom pom hat, a free knit scarf pattern and even the tiniest little skein of Red Heart Yarn. You will squeal at just how cute this little guy is.
Not only will you have a fun knit toy for the holiday season, he will also represent your love of knitting for everyone to see. He’d make a great gift for the person who taught you how to knit, too! Everyone is going to ask you to make one for them, just watch…
Knitting Snowman Pattern
Skill: Intermediate
Snowman measures about 12½” (32 cm) tall, not including pompom hat.
RED HEART® Super Saver®: 1 skein each of
- 316 Soft White A
- 3953 Butterfly B
- 3950 Charcoal C
- 358Lavender D
- 726 Coral E
Knitting Needles:
- 4mm [US 6] double pointed needles or circular needles (for snowman)
- 5mm [US 8] double pointed needles or circular needles (for scarf and hat only).
Other Notions:
- Stitch marker
- Four ½” (13mm) buttons (for sweater front)
- Two ¾” (19mm) black faceted sew on rounds (for eyes)
- Sewing needle and black sewing thread, yarn needle.
- For stuffing: Polyester stuffing, knee high stocking, pellet stuffing (or other weighted stuffing).
- For snowman to hold: Two bamboo skewers, two wooden beads to fit on end of skewers, white craft glue.
- For mini skein: Copy of mini Red Heart label, craft scissors and cellophane tape.
GAUGE:
22 sts = 4” (10 cm); 31 rounds = 4” (10 cm) in Stockinette stitch (knit every round) using smaller needles. CHECK YOUR GAUGE. Use any size needles to obtain the gauge
ABBREVIATIONS
- A, B, C, D, and E = Color A, Color B, Color C, Color D, and Color E
- k = knit
- k2tog = knit next 2 sts together
- p = purl
- st(s) = stitch(es)
- [ ] = work directions in brackets the number of times specified
- * = repeat whatever follows the * as indicated.
Special Stitch
kfb (Knit into front and back) = Knit next st but do not remove from needle, knit into back loop of same st and remove from needle.
Pattern Stitches
Seed Stitch (over an odd number of sts) Row 1: *K1, p1; repeat from * to end of row. Repeat Row 1 for Seed st.
Seed Stitch (over an even number of sts) Row 1: *K1, p1; repeat from * to end of row. Row 2: *P1, k1; repeat from * to end of row. Repeat Rows 1 and 2 for Seed st.
1×1 Rib (over an odd number of sts) Row 1 (right side): K1, *p1, k1; repeat from * to end of row. Row 2: Knit the knit sts and purl the purl sts to end of row. Repeat Row 2 for 1×1 Rib.
1×1 Rib (over an even number of sts) Row 1 (right side): *K1, p1; repeat from * to end of row. Row 2: Knit the knit sts and purl the purl sts to end of row. Repeat Row 2 for 1×1 Rib.
Notes
- Snowman is worked in one piece beginning at top of head.
- Head and bottom section are worked in rounds to Stockinette stitch (knit every round). The mid-section, which resembles a cardigan sweater, is worked back and forth in rows of Seed stitch.
- When working in rounds you can work with double pointed needles, with a single circular needle using the magic loop technique, or with two circular needles, whichever you prefer.
- Arms are worked separately and sewn to snowman.
- Snowman is stuffed using a knee-high stocking to maintain the roundness of the snowman sections.
SNOWMAN
Head
With smaller needles and A, cast on 6 sts.
Place marker for beginning of round and prepare to work in rounds.
Round 1 (right side): Kfb in each st around—12 sts.
Round 2: Knit.
Round 3: [K1, kfb] 6 times—18 sts.
Round 4: Knit.
Round 5: [K2, kfb] 6 times—24 sts.
Round 6: Knit.
Round 7: [K3, kfb] 6 times—30 sts.
Round 8: Knit.
Round 9: [K4, kfb] 6 times—36 sts.
Round 10: Knit.
Round 11: [K5, kfb] 6 times—42 sts.
Round 12: Knit.
Round 13: [K6, kfb] 6 times—48 sts.
Round 14: Knit.
Round 15: [K7, kfb] 6 times—54 sts.
Round 16: Knit.
Round 17: [K8, kfb] 6 times—60 sts.
Rounds 18-37: Knit 20 rounds.
Round 38: [K8, k2tog] 6 times—54 sts.
Round 39: [K7, k2tog] 6 times—48 sts.
Round 40: [K6, k2tog] 6 times—42 sts.
Round 41: Knit.
Stuff Head
Firmly stuff the toe of the knee-high stocking with polyester stuffing. Shape the toe it into a tight round ball. Insert ball into head to check for desired fullness. Adjust amount of stuffing, as needed. When satisfied with fullness and firmness, tie stocking in a knot close to the top of the ball. Insert ball into head. Leave the remaining part of the stocking unstuffed for mid-section and bottom section.
Mid-Section
(Cardigan Sweater)
Row 42 (right side): *K2, kfb; repeat from * across, TURN—56 sts. Note: Work now proceeds back and forth in rows.
Row 43 (wrong side): *K7, kfb; repeat from * across—63 sts.
Row 44-68: Work in Seed st for 25 rows.
Row 69: Knit.
Rows 70 and 71 (waistband): Work in 1×1 Rib for 2 rows.
Bottom Section
Note: Work now resumes in rounds.
Round 72 (right side): Knit.
Place marker for beginning of round and prepare to work in rounds.
Round 73: [K6, kfb] 9 times—72 sts.
Round 74: Knit.
Round 75: [K7, kfb] 9 times—81 sts.
Rounds 76-95: Knit 20 rounds.
Round 96: [K7, k2tog] 9 times—72 sts.
Round 97: [K6, k2tog] 9 times—63 sts. Round 98: Knit.
Round 99: [K7, k2tog] 7 times—56 sts.
Stuff Mid-Section
Stuff next section of knee-high stocking in same manner as for head and insert into mid-section. Leave the remaining part of the stocking unstuffed for bottom section.
Round 100: Knit.
Round 101: [K26, k2tog] twice—54 sts.
Round 102: [K7, k2tog] 6 times—48 sts.
Round 103: Knit.
Round 104: [K6, k2tog] 6 times—42 sts.
Round 105: Knit
Round 106: [K5, k2tog] 6 times—36 sts.
Stuff Bottom Section
Fill last section of knee-high stocking with about 1 cup of pellets (weighted stuffing) and tie a secure knot in the end of the stocking. Plump out the snowman, around this weighted area using polyester stuffing as needed. Stuffing can be added through front sweater opening or through the bottom of the piece. Continue adding stuffing, as needed, while working the remaining rounds of this section.
Round 107: [K4, k2tog] 6 times—30 sts.
Round 108: [K3, k2tog] 6 times—24 sts.
Round 109: [K2, k2tog] 6 times—18 sts.
Round 110: [K1, k2tog] 6 times—12 sts.
Round 111: [K2tog] 6 times—6 sts.
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread tail through remaining stitches as you remove them from the needle. Finish stuffing snowman. Pull tail to close opening. Knot securely, weave in and trim tail. Sew front of sweater closed.
ARMS (make 2)
With smaller needles and A, cast on 6 sts.
Place marker for beginning of round and prepare to work in rounds.
Round 1 (right side): Kfb in each st around—12 sts.
Round 2: Knit. Round 3: [K1, kfb] 6 times—18 sts.
Rounds 4-16: Knit 13 rounds.
Round 17: [K4, k2tog] 3 times—15 sts.
Round 18: Purl.
Note: Work now proceeds back and forth in rows.
Row 19 (right side): K2tog, p1, [k1, p1] 6 times, TURN—14 sts.
Row 20 (wrong side): *K1, p1; repeat from * across.
Row 21-54: Work in Seed st for 34 rows.
Note: Work now resumes in rounds.
Round 55: Knit. Place marker for beginning of round and prepare to work in rounds.
Round 56: [K2tog] 7 times—7 sts.
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread tail through remaining stitches as you remove them from the needle. Pull tail to close opening. Knot securely, weave in and trim tail. Sew edges of Rows 19-54 together, stuffing arm moderately as you sew.
NOSE
With smaller needles and E, cast on 9 sts.
Place marker for beginning of round and prepare to work in rounds.
Rounds 1-4: Knit 4 rounds.
Round 5: K2tog, k5, k2tog—7 sts.
Round 6: Knit.
Round 7: K2tog, k3, k2tog—5 sts.
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread tail through remaining stitches as you remove them from the needle. Knot securely, then weave tail back through nose to beginning round, to be used later for sewing nose to snowman. Stuff nose with a small amount of same colored yarn.
SCARF
With larger needles and B, cast on 10 sts. Work back and forth in rows. Work in Garter st (knit every row) for 80 rows or until piece measures about 20” (51 cm) from beginning, or desired length. Bind off, leaving a tail about 12” (30.5 cm) long for attaching to mini skein later. Weave in and trim beginning yarn tail
HAT
Ribbed Band
With larger needles and D, cast on 52 sts. Work back and forth in rows.
Note: When changing color, do not cut old color. Carry colors not in use carefully up wrong side of piece when next needed.
Rows 1 and 2: Work in 1×1 Rib for 2 rows.
Row 3: With C, work in 1×1 Rib for 1 row.
Body
Note: Work now proceeds in rounds.
Round 4: With C, knit.
Place marker for beginning of round and prepare to work in rounds.
Round 5: With B, [k25, kfb] twice—54 sts.
Round 6: With B, knit.
Rounds 7 and 8: With C, knit 2 rounds.
Rounds 9-11: With B, knit 3 rounds.
Rounds 12 and 13: With D, knit 2 rounds.
Rounds 14 and 15: With B, knit 2 rounds.
Rounds 16 and 17: With D, knit 2 rounds. Cut D .
Round 18-20: With B, knit 3 rounds.
Rounds 21 and 22: With C, knit 2 rounds.
Round 23: With B, knit.
Round 24: With B, [k7, k2tog] 6 times— 48 sts.
Round 25: With C, knit.
Round 26: With C, [k2, k2tog] 12 times— 36 sts. Cut C .
Round 27: With B, [k1, k2tog] 12 times— 24 sts.
Work remainder of hat with B only.
Round 28: Knit.
Round 29: [K2tog] 12 times—12 sts.
Round 30: [K1, k2tog] 4 times—8 sts.
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread tail through remaining stitches as you remove them from theneedle. Pull tail to close opening. Knot securely. Sew edges of ribbed band together. Weave in and trim tails.
Pompoms
Cut 12” (30.5 cm) length of any color yarn and set aside. Hold three fingers extended and close together. Wrap D around fingers 40 times, then wrap C around fingers 40 times, and finally wrap B around fingers 40 times, for a total of 120 wraps. While wraps are still on fingers, slip the 12” (30.5 cm) yarn length under the wraps and slip the wraps off your fingers. Tie 12” (30.5 cm) length tightly around wraps. Hold yarn wraps tightly in fist with 12” (30.5 cm) tie dangling from bottom of fist and the looped wraps extending over top of closed fist. Using sharp craft scissors, carefully trim loops to form pompom. Grasp pompom by 12” (30.5 cm) tie and shake to fluff out. Make another pompom identical to the first. With the 12” (30.5 cm) ties, tie the two pompoms together. Leaving ends of ties free, apply a moderate amount of craft glue to knot and let dry. With ties and yarn needle attach pompom to hat.
MINI SKEIN OF YARN
Cut two 12” (30.5 cm) lengths of any color yarn and set aside. Hold four fingers extended and slightly spread. Wrap yarn color of your choice around fingers 50 times. While wraps are still on fingers, slip one of the 12” (30.5 cm) length under the wraps and slip the wraps off your fingers. Knot 12” (30.5 cm) length tightly around wraps. Hold wraps by tie and smooth out yarn so that it hangs straight. Slip second tie through opposite end of wraps and knot around wraps tightly. Apply a moderate amount of craft glue to knots and let dry. Weave ends through skein and trim. Set aside.
Label
Make a copy of the mini Red Heart label below. If needed, reduce image size to fit mini skein. Then print image on color printer. To reinforce label use clear cellophane tape placed carefully over image or image can be laminated. Trim label width and length to fit skein, wrap around middle of skein and tape securely.
FINISHING
Note: Whenever possible, use yarn tails still attached to pieces to sew the pieces in place. Using photograph as a guide, sew arms to shoulders of snowman near beginning of cardigan sweater. Sew hat to head. Sew nose to lower portion of head. With sewing needle and black thread, sew eyes above nose, and sew four black buttons evenly spaced down the button band of the cardigan sweater.
Snowman’s Knitting Needles
With craft scissors, cut the bamboo skewers to desired length (about 8” (20.5 cm) long). Glue a bead on the cut end of each skewer for knitting needle tops.
Place one snowman’s knitting needle in palm of each hand. Sew each hand closed around the needle. Place small amount of glue where hand grips the hook for extra security.
Tie scarf around neck, so that bind-off edge is facing the snowman’s knitting needles. Tack scarf in place using matching yarn, as desired. Insert the tip of each needle into about one half of the stitches on the bindoff edge to look as though snowman is in the middle of knitting a row. Glue the stitches to the needles using craft glue. Tie the long tail of bind-off edge to one end of the mini skein and weave loose end into the skein.
Weave in any remaining ends.
Where will your knit snowman live?
- Learn Garter Stitch with 13 Easy Scarf Knitting Patterns - February 8, 2023
- Video Tutorial: How to Knit the Bobble Stitch - February 7, 2023
- Seriously Sweet Valentine’s Knitting Patterns - January 26, 2023
