Springorchid Files

Pick a knitted owl pattern from this owl knitting patterns collection. It has patterns for knitted flat and knit in the round.

Owls are wise animals and are favourite knitted toys for children. Knowing how to knit a few could prove useful for knitters who have children to knit for. What am I saying? Even adults love owls. 🙂

The first two patterns are knitted flat in one piece and sewn up. The rest are knitted in the round in a variety of ways.

I like knitted owls because there are fewer parts to work with. Some of the patterns like Amanda’s stuffy owl only has 1 piece.

The patterns are arranged according to the level of difficulty.

Free Owl Knitting Patterns List

1. Amanda’s Stuffy Owl

Designed by Amanda Berry, Stuffy owl is knitted in one piece, folded in half and sewn up.

The eyes and beak are added after the knitting is done using the duplicate stitch, also known as Swiss darning. This technique gives the features a pop-up effect. I like. The colourwork chart is included.

Other knitting skills you need to know include: stockinette stitch, increase 2 by knitting into front and back (KBF) and decrease by knitting 2 together, and mattress stitch.

The pattern is well written with helpful instructions for making up. For example, Amanda tells you to sew up using mattress stitch and that the cast-off and cast-on edges make up the bottom of the owl. She presented pictures of the bottom and side seams of the finished project so that you know what to expect.

Get the free pattern at Lovecrafts.com [affiliate link].

2. Easy Plush Owl Knitting Pattern

Designed by Gina Michele, Easy Plush Owl is knitted using Lionbrand Wool-Ease Thick and 8mm needle. The main body is knitted flat in one piece, folded in half and sewn up. The instructions are exactly the same as Amanda’s Stuffy Owl.

However, that’s where the similarity ends.

Easy Plush Owl’s eyes, beak and wings are knitted separately. Eyes are crocheted circles, although they can be knitted (if you know how) or cut out felt. The cast on the row is missing from the pattern but it should be obvious since the first row says to purl 15 stitches. 🙂 Gina did not say how to sew up the seams which I think could affect the shaping and finishing of the owl. Other than that, this is an easy and quick knit.

This is a free web-based pattern available at Gina-michele.com.

3. Owl Puffs

Designed by Jenna Krupar, owl puffs are tiny birds knitted in the round. Jenna used worsted weight yarn with 5mm double-pointed or circular needles.

These knitted owls look simple to make but you need to know how to increase by knitting in the front and back and the Kitchener graft stitch to close the top.

The pattern is well-written. Why? Because it is short and sweet. Very easy to follow.

It is a free Ravelry PDF pattern available at Ravelry.

4. Big Snowy Owl Knitting Pattern

When Purl Soho called Snowy Owl big, they meant it. This is a humongous project, as big as an adult cat. It requires Super Bulky yarn and US size 15 needles. I tried knitting this with a worsted weight yarn. It still works.

It is knitted in the round. The beginning increases is similar to the owl puffs but Snowy has a longer body and clever shaping for the ears. It is knitted in a single colour and used a simple textured stitch to give the owl’s body more interest.

The eyes are knitted circles and attached to the body afterwards. I find it a tad challenging to place them in the right place so that they would not look funny. The beak is knitted by picking up stitches directly between the eyes.

It was a little awkward in the beginning but I got the hang of it soon. The pattern is well-written. There are even questions and answers in the comment section which are helpful.

A free web-based pattern with a print-friendly feature available at Purlsoho.

5. Little Black Owl Knitting Pattern

Designed by Katknits, Little Black Owl is basically a knitted ball with felt circles and black buttons as eyes using chunky weight yarn and 5mm needles.

The body is really quite straightforward especially if you already know how to knit in the round and do increases and decreases. The wings are knitted separately and attached. The ears are stitches picked up from the head and knitted in shape.

The eyes are cut out felt and black buttons. The beak is yellow felt. These are glued to the body. This is also the only finishing I do not like. I think they will fall off if children play with it. The remedy is simple though. Just stitched the felt pieces in place instead of glue and use child-safety eyes.

This is a free web-based pattern available at Justcraftyenough.com.

6. Cordell The Owl Knitting Pattern

Cordell is knitted in the round from bottom to head. The recommended yarn is Ondina from Mafil, a type of boucle yarn. Cordell has a ruffled look because of it. The needle sizes are 3.5mm and 4.5mm.

The cast-on and shaping of the body are similar to the other knit-in-the-round patterns here. The difference is the way the eyes, beak and wings are made up. Last but not least Cordell has feet and spectacles.

It is a free PDF download available at Ravelry.

7. Bubo

Designed by Corinne Fourcade, Bubo looks more like an owl-inspired cushion rather than a knitted toy owl.

The pattern contains instructions for 2 sizes and Corinne interspersed the instructions for both throughout the pattern. I am not sure that is a good idea because knitters might not realize they have just followed instructions for the wrong size.

Bubo looks simple but the gauge is given and, I suspect, needs to be followed. It also called for the Turkish cast-on which is a way to create a seamless cast-on. It is commonly used for toe-up socks where the cast-on stitches are fewer.

This pattern calls for a Turkish cast-on of 76 or 150 stitches (small and large Bubo). That’s a lot of stitches to manage. Challenging then.

Petitepurls.com is no longer an active site. This pattern is a free web-based pattern but is already archived at https://web.archive.org

We have come to the end of this post. If you have found it useful, do let me know by liking it or sharing it or leaving a comment about what you found useful. If you want to be notified of new content, join my Magic of Hand Knitting Facebook Page.

Happy knitting!