Cherry Candy Cane Potholder

An Easy Free Knitting Pattern from Liz @PurlsAndPixels

Knit a festive holiday pot holder with this incredibly quick and simple free knitting pattern. This oversize pot holder made in Lion Brand Yarn’s super bulky Wool-Ease yarn makes a lovely decoration for your party or a gift for the host of your Christmas festivities. Shown in the color “Hudson Bay,” this quick knitting project is reminiscent of cherry candy canes. It can make a fun holiday piece, but is subdued enough to be used year-round. Use it to display bowls of yummy food and vases of fresh-cut flowers. 

About this Quick Knitting Pattern

This extra-thick, oversize potholder is made by doubling up strands of super bulky yarn. When using a self-striping yarn, as recommended, make sure you use a single dye lot and line up the striping colors before you begin knitting. Using two skeins from the same dye lot ensures you will have enough yarn for a complete square; however, you may try dividing one skein equally in separate balls.

Cherry Candy Cane Potholder Knitting Pattern

This pattern is suitable for beginners. It is worked in garter stitch, a knitting stitch made entirely of knit stitches. The trickiest part is lining up the yarn stripes from two skeins of yarn so that they match when knit together. Take care to line up the yarn colors before you knit, and you’ll be off to an excellent start.

A note about heat: I use these pot holders under potted plants, flower vases, and the like. I don’t advise using them as oven mitts, but if you try it, please be safe. These may not be heat resistant. With the yarn I’ve recommended, these pot holders are only a little heat resistant, so be very careful if you are going to try and use them as oven mitts; the yarn can scorch with very high heat.

Materials

Two 87-Yard Skeins of Lion Brand Yarns Wool-Ease Thick and Quick, Hudson Bay (or your preferred color). Alternatively, divide one 87-yard skein into two matching balls, ensuring the yarn colors will line up when knit with two strands held together.

• One potholder uses about 87 yards (5 oz.)

No. 17 (12MM) 32-inch circular needles or 14-inch straight needles (or size needed to obtain gauge)

Measuring tape

Tapestry needle

Gauge

7 stitches and 11 rows in stockinette = 4 inches

Abbreviations

k = Knit.

Instructions: Cherry Candy Cane Potholder

(10 inch x 10 inch square)

Knit with 2 strands held together. Using two skeins from the same dye lot, line up the colors from the two balls so that the colors match when held together.

Row 1: Cast on 20.

Rows 2 through 34: k 20. (20 stitches)

Row 35: Bind off.

Print the Free Cherry Candy Cane Potholder Knitting Pattern

Printable Cherry Candy Cane Potholder pattern PDF by Liz @PurlsAndPixels

More Holiday Craft Ideas

Love DIY Christmas and holiday projects? Find more handmade holiday craft ideas at my Holiday Pattern Roundup Post.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

©2017, Liz Chandler of PurlsAndPixels.

This pattern is for personal use, gifting, and charitable donation of completed items. You may also sell items made using this pattern. Do not copy this pattern and distribute it. If you’d like to share the pattern, refer your friends to my website, purlsandpixels.com, so they may obtain a copy.

If you find any errors or have any questions, email purlsandpixels@gmail.com and I will do my best to help.

I’d love to see your finished work! Tag your photos with @PurlsAndPixels on Twitter or Instagram.

Little Frog Knitting Pattern

A Free Knitting Pattern from Liz @PurlsAndPixels

Knit this little frog for your favorite person. This little knitted toy is a great project for left over yarn, using only about 20 yards.

How this Little Knit Frog is Made

This little frog is knit in three main pieces. You’ll make his body first, then make and sew his legs on. I have included instructions for crochet eyes, but you can also substitute small buttons for eyes. I chose Caron Simply Soft in Kelly Green to make this guy, but try him in your favorite worsted weight yarn and color.

Materials

• 16 yards (about .3 ounces) of Caron Simply Soft worsted weight yarn, Kelly Green (or your preferred color) [‘Color 1”]
• 4 yards of Caron Simply Soft worsted weight yarn, Charcoal (or your preferred color) [“Color 2”] OR two small dark buttons
• Small handful of Polyfill toy stuffing
• No. 5/3.75 MM circular or straight knitting needles in any length (or size needed to obtain gauge)
• Size G/4.0 MM crochet hook (optional)
• Stitch marker
• Tapestry needle

Abbreviations

• k = Knit.
• p = Purl.
• ** = Repeat the pattern between the asterisks.
• make 1 = Pick up the strand between the stitch just worked and the next stitch from front to back with the left needle and knit into the back of it.
• k2tog = Knit two together.
• ssk = Slip, slip, knit. [Slip two stitches as if to knit. Insert left needle from left to right into the fronts of the two slipped stitches. Pull working yarn through both stitches with right needle to knit together.]
• sl1pwyif = Slip one stitch purlwise with yarn in front.
• sl1kwyib = Slip one stitch knitwise with yarn in back.
• sc = single crochet

Gauge

20 stitches and 28 rows in stockinette = 4 inches on No. 5/3.75 MM needles

Instructions: Little Knit Frog

(measures approximately 3” x 2”)

 Frog Body

(Knit in the round with Color 1. Use stitch marker to keep track of the beginning/ends of your rows by placing it in the first stitch of each row/round.)

Row 1: Provisionally cast on 8. Join round.

Row 2: k 8 (8 stitches).

Row 3: k 8 (8 stitches).

Row 4: k1, make 1, k2, make 1, k2, make 1, k 2, make 1, k1 (12 stitches).

Row 5: k 12 (12 stitches).

Row 6: k1, make 1, k4, make 1, k2, make 1, k 4, make 1, k1 (16 stitches).

Row 7: k 16 (16 stitches).

Row 8: k1, make 1, k6, make 1, k2, make 1, k 6, make 1, k1 (20 stitches).

Rows 9 thru 16: k 20 (20 stitches).

Row 17: k1, make 1, k8, make 1, k2, make 1, k 8, make 1, k1 (24 stitches).

Row 18: k 24 (24 stitches).

Row 19: k1, make 1, k10, make 1, k2, make 1, k 10, make 1, k1 (28 stitches).

Row 20: k 28 (28 stitches).

Row 21: k1, ssk, k8, k2tog, k2, ssk, k8, k2tog, k1 (24 stitches).

Row 22: k24 (24 stitches).

Row 23: k1, ssk, k6, k2tog, k2, ssk, k6, k2tog, k1 (20 stitches).

Row 24: k20 (20 stitches).

Row 25: k1, ssk, k4, k2tog, k2, ssk, k4, k2tog, k1 (16 stitches).

Row 26: k16 (16 stitches).

Row 27: k1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k2, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1 (12 stitches).

Row 28: k12 (12 stitches).

Row 29: ssk, k2tog, ssk, k2tog (4 stitches).

Cut yarn leaving 12-inch tail and bind off with Kitchener’s stitch.

Stuff the frog body with a small bit of Polyfill, but don’t overstuff.

Move the stitches from your provisional cast on to knitting needles, and close the frog with Kitchener’s stitch. Weave in loose ends.

Frog Back Legs

(Knit flat with Color 1, turning after each row. Make 2.)

Row 1: Cast on 11 stitches. Turn.

Row 2: sl1pwyif, p10 (11 stitches).

Row 3: sl1kwyib, k10 (11 stitches).

Row 4: sl1pwyif, p10 (11 stitches).

Row 5: sl1kwyib, make 1, k9, make 1, k1 (13 stitches).

Row 6: sl1pwyif, p12 (13 stitches).

Row 7: sl1kwyib, k12 (13 stitches).

Row 8: sl1pwyif, p 12 (13 stitches).

Row 9: sl1kwyib, ssk, k7, k2tog, k1 (11 stitches).

Row 10: sl1pwyif, p10 (11 stitches).

Row 11: sl1kwyib, ssk, k5, k2tog, k1 (9 stitches).

Row 12: sl1pwyif, p8 (9 stitches).

Row 13: sl1kwyib, ssk, k3, k2tog, k1 (7 stitches).

Row 14: sl1pwyif, p2tog, k1, p2tog, k1 (5 stitches).

Row 15: sl1kwyib, k4 (5 stitches).

Row 16: sl1pwyif, p4 (5 stitches).

Row 17: Bind off.

Cut yarn, leaving a 12-inch tail and pull through.

Allow the legs to curl up into themselves a bit, as they naturally will. Sew both legs to the narrow end of the frog, leaving some of the curled edges inside.

Frog Front Legs

(Knit flat with Color 1, turning after each row. Make 1.)

Row 1: Cast on 14 stitches. Turn.

Row 2: sl1pwyif, p13 (14 stitches).

Row 3: sl1kwyib, k13 (14 stitches).

Row 4: sl1pwyif, p13 (14 stitches).

Row 5: Bind off in knit stitch pattern.

Cut yarn, leaving a 12-inch tail, and pull through. Allow the fabric to curl long-ways, with the purl-side facing out. With darning needle, sew to body in a “v” shape, with the point of the “v” ending under the frog’s “chin.” Sew one tight stitch across the middle point (the bottom of the “v”) to make the front feet appear separate. Weave in loose ends.

Frog Eyes

(Crochet with Color 2. Make 2.)

Row 1: Chain 2.

Row 2: sc4 into 1^st chain.

Print the Free Little Knit Frog Pattern

Printable little frog knitting pattern PDF by Liz @PurlsAndPixels

©2017, Liz Chandler of PurlsAndPixels. This pattern is for personal use, gifting, and charitable donation of completed items. You may also sell items made using this pattern. Do not copy and sell the pattern or use it for any commercial purpose. Thank you!

Find this on Ravelry to save for later.

I’d love to see how he turns out! Share your little knit frog pictures by tagging @PurlsAndPixels on Twitter and Instagram.

Lucky Clover Cozy

A Free Knitting Pattern from Liz @PurlsAndPixels

Knit an adorable sweater for your favorite bottle or coffee cup. This little green knit coffee cozy has a big white shamrock on each side. Knit your own bottle cozy or coffee cozy from my free patterns and charts here.

How this Coffee Cozy is Made

Here you will find two separate, but similar knitting patterns. One pattern is for a lucky clover beer and bottle cozy. The other knitting pattern shows you how to make a lucky clover coffee cozy. The coffee cozy is four rows wider, so it should fit most tall, handle-less coffee cups. The bottle cozy will fit most 16-20 ounce bottles of beer, water, soda, or even baby bottles.

These adorable cozies are made with two basic stitch patterns, that are knit in the round: the knit, purl rib, and the stockinette stitch. The four leaf clover pattern is knit into the cozy using a fair isle technique and carrying the two colors along together as you work.

This cozy is a quick project that is perfect for scrap yarn that has been left over from another project. You only need between .6 and .8 ounces or 19 -21 yards of yarn to make this minimalist coffee cozy. If you need help figuring out how much scrap yarn you have left, my post on yarn math might be useful.

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn to design the pattern, which is a basic, acrylic, worsted-weight yarn. Try any solid color you like, or mix it up with a variegated or patterned yarn. You can substitute almost any worsted weight yarn in almost any material, like sheep’s wool, alpaca, cotton or even a silk-blend for this project.

Materials

• One 315-Yard Skein of Caron Simply Soft worsted weight yarn in Green and One Skein of Caron Simply Soft worsted weight yarn in White
  • Each cozy uses about 21 yards of (.8 oz.) total (You will need about .4 oz of white and .4 oz of green)
• No. 3/3.125 MM double point needles (DPNs) (or two sizes smaller than needles used to obtain gauge)
• No. 5/3.75 MM double point needles (DPNs) (or size needed to obtain gauge)
• One stitch marker
• Measuring tape
  
• Tapestry needle

Abbreviations

k = Knit.

p = Purl.

** = Repeat the pattern between the asterisks.

Gauge

20 stitches and 28 rows in stockinette = 4 inches on No. 5/3.75 MM needles

Instructions: Lucky Coffee Cozy

(4.5 inches tall and fits cups 9-11 around)

Knit in the round. Use stitch marker to keep track of the beginning/ends of your rows by placing it in the first stitch of each row/round.

[Using no. 3 DPNs] In Green, Row 1: Cast on 50 stitches. Divide onto 3 DPNs. Join, taking care not to twist stitches. *k 1, p 1* x 25 (50 stitches).

Rows 2 thru 7: *k 1, p 1* x 25 (50 stitches).

[Switch to no. 5 DPNs] Start applying the knitting chart, switching between green and white yarn. Begin at the bottom right corner and work to the left, while knitting in this pattern: Rows 8 thru 28: k 50 (50 stitches).

[Switch to no. 3 DPNs] Rows 29 thru 35: *k 1, p 1* x 25 (50 stitches).

[Switch to no. 5 DPNs] Row 36: Bind off.

Weave in ends. Block if desired.

Printable lucky clover coffee cozy knitting pattern and chart PDF by Liz @PurlsAndPixels

Instructions: Lucky Bottle Cozy

(4.5 inches tall and fits bottles 7-8 inches around)

Knit in the round. Use stitch marker to keep track of the beginning/ends of your rows by placing it in the first stitch of each row/round.

[Using no. 3 DPNs] In Green, Row 1: Cast on 50 stitches. Divide onto 3 DPNs. Join, taking care not to twist stitches. *k 1, p 1* x 23 (46 stitches).

Rows 2 thru 7: *k 1, p 1* x 23 (46 stitches).

[Switch to no. 5 DPNs] Start applying the knitting chart, switching between green and white yarn. Begin at the bottom right corner and work to the left, while knitting in this pattern: Rows 8 thru 28: k 46 (46 stitches).

[Switch to no. 3 DPNs] Rows 29 thru 35: *k 1, p 1* x 23 (46 stitches).

[Switch to no. 5 DPNs] Row 36: Bind off.

Weave in ends. Block if desired.

Printable lucky clover bottle cozy knitting pattern and chart PDF by Liz @PurlsAndPixels

Size Notes

These are one-size-fits-most patterns.

The coffee cozy should fit most hot and hold coffee cups that don’t have handles. The bottle cozy should fit most 16 to 20 ounce bottles.

Care

Hand-wash cold separately and lay-flat to dry.

©2017, Liz Chandler of PurlsAndPixels.

This pattern is for personal use, gifting, and charitable donation of completed items. You may also sell handmade items created using this pattern. Do not copy this pattern and distribute it. If you’d like to share the pattern, refer your friends to my website, purlsandpixels.com so they may obtain a copy.

If you find any errors or have any questions, email purlsandpixels@gmail.com and I will do my best to help.

I’d love to see your finished work! Tag your photos with @PurlsAndPixels on Twitter or Instagram.

Rice Stitch Baby Blanket

A Free Knitting Pattern from Liz @PurlsAndPixels

This rice stitch baby blanket is a great way to practice your knitting and purling skills. The rice stitch makes a fabric with two lovely textures on either side. This will make a soft and cuddly blanket that would make an excellent baby shower gift. It is also a great way for a new or expecting mother just learning to make something for her little one. Make this with a solid color yarn for a classic minimalist heirloom blanket. Or you can spice it up with a variegated version of worsted weight yarn like Simply Soft Paints.

Looking for a larger size? Get the Free Rice Stitch Afghan Knitting Pattern (the perfect cozy throw blanket) free at this link.

How this Simple Baby Blanket is Made

Below, I will give you instructions for making the same blanket in two ways. Beginners can make this blanket with the Broken Rib Stitch, since it is all knits and purls. You can also knit it in rice stitch, to help you learn how to knit through the back loop. This can be good practice; as you “ktbl” and twist stitches intentionally, you will learn to spot twisted stitches more easily. This will help you spot mistakes in your other projects.

As you can see, the Rice Stitch has slightly more twist in the fabric. It also tends to curl a tiny bit less than the Broken Rib Stitch, but not noticeably. Either pattern you follow will result in the nearly the exact same blanket, so choose what is best for you.

Neaten knitted edges with slipped stitches

To neaten the edges of the blanket, you’ll slip the first stitch off your needle as if to purl, without actually working the stitch. On the knit rows, you’ll hold your yarn in back of your work when you do this. I’ll abbreviate this as “sl1pwyib.” On the purl rows, you will hold the yarn in the front of your work when you slip the first stitch; this will be abbreviated “sl1pwyif.” You can find a full tutorial (with a video), which shows you how to neaten your edges with slipped stitches at this link.

Free Baby Blanket Knitting Pattern

Materials

• No. 8/5.0 MM 36” circular needles (or size needed to obtain gauge)
• Four skiens Caron Simply Soft Worsted Weight Yarn in your preferred color (pictured in “Pistachio,” “Heather Grey,” and “Pagoda” on this page)
• Tapestry needle

Abbreviations

• k = knit
• p = purl
• sl1pwyif = slip one stitch purlwise with yarn in front
• sl1pwyib = slip one stitch purlwise with yarn in back
• ktbl = knit through the back loop
• ** = repeat the pattern between the asterisks

Gauge

18 stitches and 24 rows in stockinette stitch = 4 inches by 4 inches square

Instructions: Rice Stitch Baby Blanket

(40 inches x 40 inches)

Use the Long-Tail Cast On method. Knit flat, turning after each row.

Row 1: Cast on 163 stitches. Turn.

Row 2: sl1pwyif, *k1tbl, p* x 81 (163stitches). Turn.

Row 3: sl1pwyib, k 162 (163 stitches). Turn.

Rows 4 – 240: Repeat Rows 2 and 3.

Row 241: sl1pwyif, *k1tbl, p* x 81. (163 stitches) Turn.

Row 242: Bind off in pattern of Row 3 with the same tension as the rest of the piece (do not bind of loosely like most other patterns call for). Cut yarn leaving an 8-inch tail and pull through. Weave in ends. Block if desired.

Instructions: Broken Rib Stitch Baby Blanket

(40 inches x 40 inches)

Use the Long-Tail Cast On method. Knit flat, turning after each row.

Row 1: Cast on 163 stitches. Turn.

Row 2: sl1pwyif, *k, p* x 81 (163 stitches). Turn.

Row 3: sl1pwyib, k 162 (163 stitches). Turn.

Row 241: sl1pwyif, *k, p* x 81 (163 stitches). Turn.

Row 242: Bind off in pattern of Row 3 with the same tension as the rest of the piece (do not bind of loosely like most other patterns call for). Cut yarn leaving an 8-inch tail and pull through. Weave in ends. Block if desired.

Get the PDF version of this Blanket Knitting Pattern.

 

Size Notes

This blanket will be a 40-inch by 40-inch square.

Care

If you use the materials called for in the pattern, your final product will be machine washable. To keep your baby blanket looking its best, hand wash or machine wash separately on delicate cycle in cold water. You may tumble dry on low heat or lay flat to dry.

Tip:

Keep this away from Velcro! Yarn and Velcro are never friends. Your blanket will absolutely snag if you lay it on a Velcro jacket or a toy with a Velcro seam. Other than that, these little blankets last for years if you make sure to wash them gently.

🛁 Read more Knitwear Care Tips

©2017, Liz Chandler of PurlsAndPixels. Revised 2018, 2025.

This pattern is for personal use, gifting, and charitable donation of completed items. You may also sell handmade items created using this pattern. Do not copy this pattern and distribute it. If you’d like to share the pattern, refer your friends to my website, purlsandpixels.com so they may obtain a copy.

If you find any errors or have any questions, email purlsandpixels@gmail.com and I will do my best to help.

I’d love to see your finished work! Tag your photos with @PurlsAndPixels on Twitter or Instagram.

Knitting Pattern Keepsake Book

Love this free blanket knitting pattern? You can find it in both of my books, Liz Chandler’s Knitting Guide (lessons and patterns) and Liz Chandler’s Knitting the Simple Things (patterns only). Add one to your knitting pattern book collection today. Shop Books at PurlsAndPixels.