Free Knitting Patterns

Thousands of free patterns for every kind of knitter

Jumpers and cardigans, hats and cowls, socks, shawls, blankets, toys and baby knits can all be found in this collection, and every one downloads free as a PDF you can print or read from your phone. The designs come from familiar British yarn brands as well as independent designers, so you will find both the traditional matinee coat written in the classic style and the modern seamless yoke with a schematic and a full size table. Sizing, tension and yarn quantities are stated on each pattern page, which makes it straightforward to shop your own stash before you shop anything else.

Starting from the yarn you already own

Most knitters browse the wrong way round. If you have five balls of aran in a cupboard, filter by weight first and the collection shrinks to things you can actually cast on tonight. The ball band gives you the weight and the recommended needle size; the pattern gives you a tension over 10cm. If those two roughly agree, you are in business. Where they do not, a tension square will tell you whether to change needle size, and for accessories such as hats and scarves a small difference matters far less than it does on a garment.

Picking your next project

• Quick wins: chunky hats, cowls and simple mitts. Forgiving on tension and finished in a couple of evenings.
• Building skills: a top-down raglan jumper, which teaches increases, seamless construction and the useful habit of trying on as you go.
• Portable: socks on double-pointed or small circular needles, with heel turning as the one genuine puzzle to solve.
• A challenge: lace shawls charted rather than written, and stranded colourwork where you manage two yarns at once.
• Long haul: a blanket in squares or strips, ideal for picking up between other projects.

What You'll Need: Needles, notions and yarn

A 4mm needle covers the bulk of DK knitting, 5mm suits aran, and 6mm upwards handles chunky. Circular needles are worth owning even for flat knitting, since the cable carries the weight of a blanket. Beyond needles, you'll want stitch markers, a row counter, a blunt tapestry needle for seaming, and a tape measure. Yardage varies enormously: a hat may need 100 to 200 metres, an adult scarf 300 to 500, and an adult jumper anywhere between 900 and 1,800 metres depending on size, length and yarn weight. Buy by metres, not by ball count, and add a spare ball for garments.

Techniques worth learning, in a sensible order

Cast on, knit, purl and cast off get you started. Next come increases and decreases, which unlock shaping, then working in the round on circular or double-pointed needles. After that: picking up stitches for bands and collars, mattress stitch for invisible seams, cables (easier than they look, since they are only stitches worked out of order), simple lace with yarn overs, and stranded colourwork. Blocking is the last and most underrated step: washing and pinning a finished piece evens out stitches and opens lace in a way nothing else can. Opt for a mild, no-rinse detergent to protect fibers and minimise handling during this crucial step.

Care and finishing

Keep the ball band, or photograph it, because it holds the washing instructions you will want later. Superwash wool and acrylic go through a machine on a wool cycle; untreated wool prefers a hand wash in lukewarm water with no agitation, rolled in a towel and dried flat. Never hang a wet knit. Sew seams with a length of the project yarn if it is smooth, or a plain matching yarn if it is fluffy, and weave ends in along the direction of the stitches so they stay hidden.

Questions from knitters

Can I download the knitting patterns as a PDF? Yes. Free patterns download instantly as PDFs, and they stay saved in your account so you can reprint them.

Are the patterns written for UK knitters? Sizing, yarn weights and terminology follow UK conventions on most designs, and each PDF states which it uses. Watch for US needle sizes and the fact that US worsted sits between our DK and aran.

What should a first project be? Something flat and small. Try the free beginner knitting patterns, or a garter stitch scarf.

Do I really need a tension square? For hats and scarves, not always. For any garment, yes: a half-stitch difference over 10cm becomes several centimetres across a chest.

Where are the baby knits? Grouped in the free baby knitting patterns collection, sized from premature upwards.