Knit Poinsettia Ornament

This post is brought to you by Lion Brand Yarn, which also provided yarn support. 

It’s ornament-making season, folks, and I’m so excited! 🤓 Grab your needles and hooks because each week for the next four weeks, another new knit or crochet ornament pattern is headed your way! Sorry to sneak this first one in just before Thanksgiving (my mother would be so disappointed I’m Christmasing before Turkeying is done…), but the holiday clock is already ticking, especially for yarnies like us. First up – we are casting on a cute little poinsettia ornament knit in pieces and adorned with little french knots to capture the texture of a poinsettia’s floral center. Who’s as excited as I am?

Get an inexpensive, printable, ad-free PDF of this pattern here, or you can continue scrolling to see the pattern now.

Ornaments of Christmas Past

Originally back in 2015, I did a series featuring knit & crochet ornaments called the 12 Ornaments of Christmas. But it was so well-received, that it made sense to bring it back again… and again… and now again in 2018! As of the end of last year, there were 20 knit and crochet ornament patterns in all, and I just started calling the series the Ornaments of Christmas (since the whole stopping at 12 thing was way out the window at that point). So for this year, I decided that yes, we’d bring back the Ornaments of Christmas, but this will be the last leg of the series. I want to leave room in the future for a wider range of festive ideas that aren’t bound by the size limits of a Christmas tree ornament. (Who knows – an ornament or two might even squeak in come next December!)

    For now, let’s kick off the 2018 Ornaments of Christmas with our first of FOUR ornaments designed in the style of the 20 that have come before. Just like in past years, all ornaments are knit or crochet using Lion Brand Yarn’s Bonbons, which come in packs of 8 mini skeins. The Bon Bons pack that we’re using is Beach, which is a cotton yarn that comes in bright, contemporary colors (and no browns!). I loved challenging myself to create a collection that still feels very Christmasy, but without the bounds of super-traditional colors. In addition to the colors, the cotton yarn results in some really fantastic stitch definition that helps make it clear that these guys are handmade, which is something that I think all makers can appreciate!

Past Ornaments

Here are links to all of our ornaments so far! If you make any of these, have made any of these, or are making any of the new ones coming out this year, please share the cheer! Use #handsoccupiedhohoho on Instagram & Twitter (there’s already some great contributions from makers from the last few years!).

Knit Star / Knit Heart / Knit Gift Box / Knit Stocking Cap / Crochet Bell / Crochet Mug / Crochet Peppermint / Crochet Christmas Tree / Crochet Milk / Crochet Cookies / Knit Mitten / Knit Sweater / Crochet Santa Hat / Crochet Meringue / Crochet Cracker Candy / Knit Bauble / Crochet Holly / Crochet Snowman / Knit Candy Cane / Crochet Lump of Coal 

Poinsettia Ornament Knitting Pattern

Get an inexpensive, printable, ad-free PDF of this pattern here, or you can continue scrolling to see the pattern now.

Supplies
1 pack Lion Brand Yarn Bonbons in Beach, which comes with 8 mini skeins. – You need less than a skein of red and yellow to complete the ornament.
size US 3 (3.25 mm) knitting needles
scissors
tapestry needle
poly-fil
scrap ribbon
sewing needle & thread

Abbreviations & Terms
CO – cast on
sts – stitches
WS – wrong side
p – purl
RS – right side
M1R – make 1 right. Here’s a tutorial.
M1L – make 1 left. Here’s a tutorial.
rep – repeat
(X sts) – X indicates the number of sts that are now in the row
sk2p – slip one, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over
mattress stitch – A seaming technique used in knitting to join separate knit sections. Here’s a tutorial.
french knot – An embroidery stitch used to add texture. Here’s a tutorial.

Gauge & dimensions: 22 sts & 28 rows over 4 inches, knit in stockinette stitch. Finished poinsettia is approx. 4 inches from tip to tip.

Looking for a printer-friendly version of this pattern? Grab an inexpensive, ad-free PDF of this pattern right here.

Pattern

Flower Petals (make 12)
Using red yarn, CO 2 sts.
row 1 & all odd rows. (WS) p all sts.
row 2. (RS) k1, M1R, k1. (3 sts)
row 4. k1, M1R, k to last st, M1L, k1. (5 sts)
rows 6 & 8. Rep row 4. (9 sts)
row 10. k1, sk2p, k3. (7 sts)
row 12. k2, sk2p, k2. (5 sts)
row 14. k1, sk2p, k1. (3 sts)
row 16. sk2p. (1 st)

Join petals
Using the mattress stitch, seam two sets of 6 petals into flower shapes as shown for form a flower front and flower back. With wrong sides facing, seam flower front and back together using the mattress stitch, pausing to stuff your ornament before finishing seaming.

Finishing
Sew a dense cluster of french knots at the center of one side of your poinsettia ornament. Sew a small loop of ribbon to the back of your ornament to hang.

This post is brought to you by Lion Brand Yarn, which also provided yarn support.