The things you knit for your home get used every day. A potholder by the stove, a basket on the shelf, a blanket over the arm of the sofa: they are small, they are practical, and nobody needs to know their size or their favourite colour.
Here are ten free patterns for the kitchen, the table, the shelves and the sofa, from coasters you can make from scraps to a lap blanket for autumn evenings. Each card tells you how much yarn it needs, what size it comes out, and the one thing to watch before you start.
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: start where you are
- You have an afternoon: the farmhouse potholder.
- You have a bag of scraps: the mug rugs.
- You have one skein: the cotton placemat or the seed stitch basket.
- You want a gift for a tea drinker: the pom pom tea cosy.
- You are thinking about Christmas: the chunky cable table runner.
- You want something big and cosy: the Fall Cuddler blanket.
Before you start: think about the wash
Home knits get handled, spilled on and washed far more than a hat or a scarf. That is why most of the kitchen patterns here use cotton: it is sturdy, it washes well and it copes with heat. For anything that sits near a stove or under a hot pot, stay with the yarn the designer chose, or one made of the same fibre.
The kitchen and the table
1. Farmhouse Knit Potholder
A thick, textured cotton square in three sizes. The designer says you can start and finish one in a day, and the large size works as a trivet for hot dishes.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Beginner, with a second advanced-beginner version on the same page |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky cotton |
| Yarn | 13 to 47 yards, by size; she suggests Paintbox Yarns Recycled Big Cotton |
| Sizes | Three: 5, 7 and 9 inches square |
| Needles | US 15 (10 mm), knit flat on straight needles |
| Time | A few hours, per the designer |
use a thick cotton. The designer picks cotton because it is sturdy and holds up with heat, which is the whole job of a potholder. Gauge is not critical here, so don't worry about matching it exactly.
2. Knit Mug Rugs
Little garter stitch coasters with a fringe, in three looks: striped, colour block and solid. The designer made them from scraps left over from another project and calls them a perfect stash buster.
| Designer | Jessica, Mama in a Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free printable is optional on Etsy) |
| Skill | Easy+; she says they are completely beginner friendly |
| Yarn weight | Worsted |
| Yarn | Scraps; her samples use Lion Brand Re-Up in grey and ecru (70 g skeins) |
| Size | About 5 by 4.5 to 5 inches |
| Needles | US 7 (4.5 mm) |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
if this is your very first project, make the solid one, as the designer suggests. The stripes carry the yarn up the side every two rows, which is one more thing to keep track of.
3. Linen Stitch Dishcloth
A thin, woven-looking cloth in two colours. Linen stitch is a two-row repeat that the designer calls easy to memorise, and the cotton dries quickly after washing up.
| Designer | Kristen McDonnell, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | The small size is free on the designer's page; an ad-free PDF and a yarn kit are sold in her shop |
| Skill | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Worsted cotton |
| Yarn | 63 yards for the small: 21 in colour A and 42 in colour B; her samples use Queensland Coastal Cotton |
| Sizes | Small 8 by 8 inches; she also lists 12 by 12 and 12 by 18 inches |
| Needles | US 7 (4.5 mm) straight |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
this is the one intermediate pattern on the list, because it uses slipped stitches and colour changes. The designer recommends wet-blocking it overnight to open up the texture.
4. Easy Cotton Placemat
A full-size placemat in washable Pima cotton, with a garter border and a simple four-row texture. One ball makes one placemat, so a set is easy to plan.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy; she says it is ideal for beginners |
| Yarn weight | Worsted cotton |
| Yarn | 1 ball per placemat; she used We Are Knitters The Pima Cotton (100 g, 232 yards). Buy 4 to 6 for a set |
| Size | 12 by 17 inches |
| Needles | 5 mm (US 8) straight |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
row 4 leaves one stitch over before the border, and the written row on the page is missing its repeat marks. The designer explains exactly how it works out in her reply in the comments, so read that before you start.
5. Simple Pom Pom Tea Cosy
A soft tea cosy knit in two pieces and stitched together, with gaps left for the handle and the spout, and a crown of pom poms on top.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy; she pitches it at advanced beginners |
| Yarn weight | Bulky, or two strands of DK held together |
| Yarn | 2 balls of bulky yarn, 50 g each (she used a John Lewis merino blend), plus DK scraps for the pom poms |
| Size | Fits a teapot 18 inches around |
| Needles | The supply list says 6 mm (US 10); the instructions and the intro say 5.5 mm (US 9) |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
measure round your teapot first, because the cosy is sized for 18 inches. The page gives two different needle sizes, so knit a small swatch and check it against her gauge of 12 stitches and 16 rows to 4 inches.
6. Chunky Cable Table Runner
A super chunky runner with garter edges and one squishy cable down the middle, made for the holiday table. Knit it longer and it becomes a scarf.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy, advanced beginner, per the skill line; the intro says it is for knitters ready to try a simple cable |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 3 balls of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (170 g, 106 yards each) |
| Size | 48 by 13 inches; 70 inches long for a scarf |
| Needles | 10 mm (US 15) straight, plus a cable needle and stitch markers |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
this is the only cable on the list, a four-stitch cross every eight rows. If the runner will be used every day, the designer suggests a cotton or cotton blend that stands up to washing.
Shelves and plants
7. Simple Knitted Basket
A small seed stitch basket for a desk or a shelf, knit in the round with a decreased base. The designer knits it tightly on smaller needles so it stands up on its own.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Advanced beginner |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 65 to 75 yards |
| Size | 6.5 inches wide by 6 inches tall |
| Needles | US 10.5 (6.5 mm) and US 11 (8 mm) 16-inch circulars; her extras list adds stitch markers, a cable needle and a J10 (6 mm) crochet hook |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
it needs knitting in the round with the magic loop method and one seam, as her skills list says. The small needles are what make it stand up, so going up a size will give you a floppy basket.
8. Jute Stitch Plant Pot Cover
A woven-looking sleeve for a small plant pot, knit in the round in a two-round stitch the designer says is easy to memorise. It makes a good first project in the round.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Beginner |
| Yarn weight | Listed as super bulky; she knits two strands of Knit Picks Simply Cotton Organic Worsted together |
| Yarn | 75 to 85 yards |
| Size | Fits a 5-inch-wide pot; 7.5 inches wide by 4.5 inches tall |
| Needles | US 9 (5.5 mm) 16-inch circular |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
measure your pot before you start: the cover is made for a 5-inch container. Hold the two strands of cotton together from the very first stitch.
The sofa
9. Hurdle Stitch Pillow
A striped cushion cover in hurdle stitch, which is just rows of knit and rows of knit one, purl one. The back is two overlapping panels, so the cover slips off for washing.
| Designer | Kristen McDonnell, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page, with a video tutorial |
| Skill | Not stated by the designer; she calls the stitch easy |
| Yarn weight | Bulky |
| Yarn | Yardage not stated; her samples use Bernat Maker yarn in two or three colours |
| Sizes | Two: for a 14-inch or a 20-inch square pillow form |
| Needles | US 11 (8 mm) 36-inch circular |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
buy the pillow form first and knit to match it. The cast-on and the number of repeats change with the size, and there are three pieces to seam at the end.
10. Fall Cuddler Chunky Blanket
A reversible lap blanket that moves through stockinette, double moss, reverse stockinette and rows of eyelets. The designer says it looks more complicated than it is, because every stitch in it is an easy one.
| Designer | Jessica, Mama in a Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free printable is optional on Etsy; Lion Brand sells a kit) |
| Skill | Easy enough for advanced beginners, per the designer |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 7 skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (170 g each), about 1,190 g in all |
| Size | Lapghan, 45 by 45 inches |
| Needles | US 15 (10 mm) 36-inch circular |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
beyond knit and purl, the eyelet rows need yarn overs and knit two together. If you change the width, the designer says the centre must stay a multiple of 4 stitches, plus the 7-stitch borders.
What you’ll need
Most of this list uses cotton for the kitchen and super bulky yarn for the sofa, so a few basics cover nearly everything:
- Worsted weight cotton yarn, for the mug rugs, the dishcloth and the placemat
- Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, the super bulky yarn behind the table runner and the Fall Cuddler blanket
- 16-inch circular needles for the basket and the plant pot cover (check the size on each pattern)
- A square pillow form, 14 or 20 inches, for the hurdle stitch pillow
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Where to go next
- Got a basket of odds and ends? Here is what to knit with leftover yarn.
- Got a single skein waiting? Here is what to knit with one skein of yarn.
- Knitting for people this time? See what to knit for her, what to knit for him and what to knit for a baby.
- Getting ready for the holidays? Try Christmas knits you can finish in one evening.
- Browse every project sorted by who it’s for.
- Crochet as well as knit? Our sister site has a whole shelf of knitting patterns at Daily Crochet.
