Chunky yarn is the fastest way to a finished project. Thick yarn on big needles means fewer stitches, and fewer stitches means you can go from cast-on to wearing it in a day or two. The trouble is that a 106-yard ball of chunky yarn doesn’t go very far, so the real question is what you can make with the amount you have.
Here are ten free patterns for chunky yarn, sorted from smallest to biggest: mitts, slippers and hats that take less than a skein, cowls and scarves that take two or three, and blankets you buy yarn for by the bag. Every pattern gets the same card, so you can see at a glance who designed it, the skill it asks for, how many yards, which needles, the size, how long the designer says it takes, and one honest thing to watch for before you cast on.
How these cards work. Every figure on a card comes from the designer’s own pattern page. Where a designer doesn’t say something, the card says so rather than guessing. We don’t copy designers’ photos, so click through to see each finished piece on the designer’s own page, which is also where the instructions are.
Quick picks: match the pattern to the yarn you have
- Less than 70 yards left: the fingerless gloves, the slippers or the ribbed beanie.
- Two partial skeins in different colours: the two-colour Larisa hat or the Christmas stocking.
- Two full skeins of Thick & Quick: the Everlasting cowl.
- You have never knit before: the garter stitch scarf, which is the knit stitch and nothing else.
- You want a blanket without committing to one: knit the bubble blanket in its one-ball lovey size first.
Before you start: what “chunky” actually means
Yarn labels number their weights from 0, the finest, to 7, the thickest. “Chunky” usually means 5 (bulky) or 6 (super bulky), and the very thickest yarns are 7 (jumbo). Most patterns below were designed in super bulky, but the names are not used consistently: one designer here calls a yarn super bulky that another calls jumbo. So trust the gauge on the designer’s page over the word on the label, and see our guide to yarn weights. If you want to use a yarn you already have instead of the one the designer names, our guide to substituting yarn explains how to swap.
Small and quick: mitts, slippers and hats
1. Chunky Fingerless Gloves (Determination)
Two small rectangles in rib and seed stitch, knit flat and seamed with a gap left for your thumb. The designer says you can knit a pair in a couple of hours while using up leftover yarn.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Beginner |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 35 to 45 yards; the designer suggests Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick |
| Needles | US 11 (8 mm) straight needles |
| Size | One size, 4 x 6.5 in finished |
| Time | A couple of hours, per the designer |
the thumb gap comes from where you stop seaming, so read the seaming note before you sew. One size only.
2. Chunky Knit Slippers (Gray Day)
Slippers knit toe up, first in the round and then flat with short rows for the heel, finished with optional pom-poms. The pattern covers US shoe sizes 4 to 11.5 in four widths, and the designer counts 64 sizes in all.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Advanced beginner, with 4 videos |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 40 to 45 yards; the designer suggests We Are Knitters The Wool |
| Needles | US 17 (12 mm) circular, 24 in cable or longer |
| Sizes | US shoe 4 to 11.5, narrow to extra wide |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
this one asks for magic loop and short rows, so it is the trickiest of the small projects here. The videos cover both.
3. Chunky Ribbed Beanie (Just Breathe)
A plain rib beanie knit in the round from the brim up, with a short crown decrease. The designer calls it a fun, fast knit for when your big project is in time out.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Beginner, with a video |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 55 to 65 yards; the designer suggests We Are Knitters The Wool |
| Needles | US 15 (10 mm) circular, 16 in and 24 in cables, or double-pointed needles |
| Size | One size, for a 20 to 22 in head |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
you need either double-pointed needles or a longer cable for the crown, when the stitches get too tight for the short circular.
4. Two-Colour Chunky Hat (The Larisa)
A bulky hat with a band of stranded colourwork and a big pom-pom. The designer used two colours and says the hat took less than one skein of each.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy (advanced beginner) |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 1 skein each of two colours of Lion Brand Hometown USA (106 yards a skein) |
| Needles | US 15 (10 mm) circular, 16 in |
| Size | Adult woman, medium; to fit a 22 to 26 in head |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
this is two-colour stranded knitting, so you carry one yarn behind the other. The designer says it suits anyone learning to knit with more than one colour. You also need a pom-pom maker.
Cowls, scarves and a stocking
5. Chunky Cowl on Straight Needles (Everlasting)
A long strip in moss stitch, knit flat on two straight needles and sewn into a loop. It doesn't curl, it is reversible, and the four-row stitch pattern is easy to memorise.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Beginner |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 175 to 180 yards; the designer suggests Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick |
| Needles | US 15 (10 mm) straight needles |
| Size | 67 x 7 in before seaming |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
you need no circular needle at all, which is the point of this pattern. The only finishing is one seam joining the two ends.
6. Chunky Garter Stitch Scarf (Boundless)
The designer's pick for your very first knitting pattern: a long scarf in nothing but the knit stitch. A second version adds a slipped-stitch edge that looks more polished once you're ready.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional in her shop) |
| Skill | Beginner |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 310 to 320 yards; the designer suggests Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick |
| Needles | US 17 (12 mm) circular, 24 in cable or longer (knit flat) |
| Size | 13 x 68 in |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
it takes over 300 yards, so this is a multi-skein scarf even though it is easy. The designer says you can cast on more or fewer stitches to change the width.
7. Bulky Knit Balaclava
A hooded ski mask knit in the round with no seams: rib at the neck, stockinette for the hood, and a ribbed face opening. The designer made it after seeing balaclavas on the runway.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Bulky (the supply list says bulky; the intro calls it super bulky) |
| Yarn | 3 skeins of Drops Eskimo, or any bulky yarn |
| Needles | US 11 (8 mm) circular, 16 in (24 in also works) |
| Size | Adult woman, 16.5 in tall x 10.5 in wide |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the designer's page names two different weights, so knit a gauge swatch before you start (her gauge is 12 stitches and 16 rows to 4 in). The crown decreases need magic loop.
8. Chunky Christmas Stocking
A full-size stocking knit flat in two colours and seamed, with no heel turn: the foot is shaped with simple increases and decreases. Start it now and it's hanging by December.
| Designer | Kristen McDonnell, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free, with a free video (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Not stated by the designer |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 200 yards in total, 100 yards each of two colours; the designer suggests Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick |
| Needles | US 11 (8 mm) circular, 29 in or longer (knit flat) |
| Size | 8 x 18 in |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the designer says to change colours only on the right side so the stripes stay clean, and to leave a long tail when you cut each colour for seaming. The skill level isn't stated, but the video covers every increase and decrease.
Blankets
9. Chunky Bubble Stitch Blanket
A textured blanket with raised bubbles in a second colour, framed in garter stitch. It comes in six sizes, and the smallest, a 12-inch lovey, takes a single ball.
| Designer | Kristen McDonnell, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free, with a free video (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Not stated by the designer |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in 106-yard balls: 1 ball for the lovey, 2 for the stroller size, 11 for a 40 x 60 in throw, 27 for a twin |
| Needles | US 11 (8 mm) circular; length depends on the size |
| Sizes | Six, from a 12 in lovey to a 70 x 90 in twin |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
it is not reversible: the bubbles only show on the right side. The designer uses a smaller needle than the yarn label asks for so the bubbles pop, so don't size up. Start with the lovey and you'll know if you want to make the throw.
10. DIY Chunky Knit Throw
An oversized throw in wide stripes that alternate garter stitch and seed stitch, two colours and two beginner stitches. The designer calls it a perfect first project.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Basic (beginner) |
| Yarn weight | Jumbo, per the designer (other designers call the same yarn super bulky) |
| Yarn | 11 skeins of We Are Knitters The Wool, about 957 yards (6 in one colour, 5 in the other) |
| Needles | US 19 (15 mm); a circular needle helps with the weight, knit flat |
| Size | 50 x 60 in |
| Time | The designer says a weekend; her step list says 3 days, 4 hours 30 minutes |
eleven skeins of jumbo yarn make a heavy blanket on your lap as you knit. The designer suggests a circular needle to carry the weight.
What you’ll need
Chunky yarn needs big needles, and several of these patterns use a circular needle even when you knit flat, because it holds more stitches and takes the weight of the work. The things that come up again and again:
- Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, the yarn suggested for five of the ten patterns
- A US 15 (10 mm) 16-inch circular needle for the ribbed beanie and the Larisa hat
- A US 17 (12 mm) circular needle for the slippers and the garter scarf
- A pom-pom maker for the Larisa hat (and the slippers’ optional pom-poms)
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More to knit from what you have
- One ball of something and no plan? Here is what to knit with one skein of yarn.
- Bits of chunky left over after a blanket? Try what to knit with leftover yarn.
- Most of these make good presents. See more quick knitted gifts you can finish in a weekend.
- Knitting for someone small? Here is what to knit for a baby.
- Browse every project sorted by yarn weight.
- Crochet as well as knit? Our sister site has a whole shelf of knitting patterns at Daily Crochet.
