Here’s a free, easy pattern to knit a mini snowman with straight needles. 4 inches tall, they look super cute hanging on your tree or sitting on a shelf.
This pattern is also available knit in the round on a circular needle or DPNs so there’s no seaming, yay!
You only need small amounts of yarn, so this is a perfect project for using up scraps of leftover wool or cotton.
Table of Contents
What you Need
- 3mm (size 2.5 US) knitting needles
- 15g / 38m approx of white sport or light DK weight yarn for the snowman & hanging loop
- A scrap of orange 4ply, sport or DK yarn for the carrot nose
- Black 4ply yarn or embroidery floss for the face and coal buttons.
- 5g / 13m approx of coloured sport or DK yarn for a scarf and hat
- Polyester toy stuffing or you could stuff with wool etc if you prefer.
- Tapestry needle for seaming the back and embroidering the face.
- A few pins for marking where you want the eyes and buttons (optional)
I knit my snowman with Ricorumi DK cotton in white, black, red (shade 28) and grass green (shade 44). I found the Ricorumi orange (27) too dark, so used a scrap of bright orange acrylic for the carrot nose instead.
Knit a Snowman with Any Yarn
Tension is not important here so you can use any weight yarn. Your snowman will just be a bit bigger if you use thicker yarn and smaller with finer yarn. I suggest using a needle 1-2 sizes smaller than the size recommended on the ball band for a nice neat finish.
Finished snowman size with sport yarn: 4 inches (10 cm) tall approx
- For a bigger more chunky snowman: try worsted or aran yarn with size 4mm needles.
- For a smaller more delicate snowman: try 4 ply or fingering yarn with size 2.5 needles.
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Abbreviations
- Rx – row number x
- kx – knit x stitches
- px – purl x stitches
- k2tog – knit 2 stitches together to decrease by 1 stitch
- m1 – make 1 stitch (increase a stitch) using your preferred increase method
I used right lifted increases: Put your right needle into the right side of the stitch below the next stitch from right to left, lift it up and place it on the left needle. Knit this as usual to add an extra stitch. - sl1 – slip 1 stitch as if to purl, with the yarn in front
- st – stitches
Mini Snowman Knitting Pattern
Knit a snowman decoration with straight needles (hanging or free standing)
Step 1: Knit the Main Body
Knit the snowman in one piece from the bottom up:
Cast on 8 stitches using the long tail cast on (guide + video) or your preferred method.
R1 and all odd rows: purl all stitches (no increases or decreases)
R2: k1, (m1, k1) x 6, k1 [14 st]
R4: k1, (k1, m1, k1) x 6, k1 [20 st]
R6: k1, (k2, m1, k1) x 6, k1 [26 st]
R8: k1, (k3, m1, k1) x 6, k1 [32 st]
R10: k1, (k4, m1, k1) x 6, k1 [38 st]
R11-21: Knit 11 rows of stockinette (knit even rows, purl the odd)
At this stage you have knit a wide fan shape.
Step 2: Shape the Body & Knit the Head
Now decrease to round the top of the snowman body until the neck:
R22: k1, (k4, k2tog) x 6, k1 [32 st]
R24: k1, (k3, k2tog) x 6, k1 [26 st]
R26: k1, (k2, k2tog) x 6, k1 [20 st]
R28: k1, (k1, k2tog) x 6, k1 [14 st]
Increase up from the neck to start the head:
R30: k1, (k1, m1 , k1) x 6, k1 [20 st]
R32: k1, (k2, m1, k1) x 6, k1 [26 st]
R33-37: Knit 5 rows of stockinette (knit even rows, purl the odd)
Decrease to the top of the head:
R38: k1, (k2, k2tog) x 6, k1 [20 st]
R40: k1, (k1, k2tog) x 6, k1 [14 st]
R42: k1, k2tog x 6, k1 [ 8 st]
R43: purl (final row)
The picture above shows the finished snowman piece from the right side (left) and purl inside (right).
Step 3: Seam & Stuff the Snowman
Cut the yarn leaving a long tail. Thread a needle & bring it through the 8 remaining stitches & pull to gather the top of the head.
Now seam the edges of the head using mattress stitch (tutorial & video demo), working between the 1st and 2nd stitch on each side.
Stop seaming around the bottom of the head and switch to seaming the other end of the piece with the cast on tail instead. First bring your needle through the loops along the bottom of the cast on and pull to gather the bottom point. Then use mattress stitch to seam the edges part way up from the bottom.
Now stuff well through the gap between the seams, making a nice round shape for the head and a larger full shape for the body.
If you’re making a hanging ornament, make the body a nice round ball shape.
If you want a freestanding snowman, focus on making the bottom wider and a bit flat and test that the body stays upright on its own when pressed down.
Once you’re happy with the shape, close the rest of the seam with mattress stitch and weave the 2 yarn ends inside. The photo above (right) shows the finished mattress stitch seam down the back. Your stuffed piece looks like a little skittle but will soon turn into a snowman!
Step 4: Embroider the Buttons
When embroidering the buttons take your needle through from either the back or the bottom of the snowman each time, so your buttons are secure and you don’t see black thread running under the white.
Use pins to mark the top button 5 rows down from the neck approx. Then mark a 2nd button 4 rows below and the last button another 4 rows down.
Once you’re happy with the placement, thread your needle and push it up through the bottom of the snowman coming out at the bottom button spot, leaving a long tail. Make a french knot by wrapping the thread tightly around the needle three times and putting your needle back down through either the same spot or just 1 horizontal bar up or down (if you stretch your knitting you can see little bars behind the stitches), coming out again at the bottom or out the back, wherever suits.
If your french knot looks a bit loose or lumpy, that just makes it look more realistic like a lump of coal! But you can pull it out a bit and tighten the knot up for a neater look if you like. Carefully tug both thread ends to flatten the button on the snowman but leave both thread ends for now in case you need to make more adjustments.
Using a new length of thread of thread for each, make the 2 other buttons exactly the same way, coming through from the back of the snowman.
Once you’re happy with how the 3 buttons look, closely trim all the ends and then squish the snowman’s body a bit to hide them inside.
Step 5: Embroider the Face
When embroidering the face take your needle through from either the back of the head or somewhere around the neck each time, so your stitches stay secure and you don’t see black thread running under the snowman’s face.
Position the eyes 6 rows down from the very top of the head, about 4 stitches apart. Try out placement by using a pin for each eye until you’re happy.
Take your needle through leaving a long tail, coming out at the 1st eye point. Make a french knot for the eye, by wrapping the thread tightly around the needle twice and putting your needle back down through the same spot or just 1 horizontal bar up or down (if you stretch your knitting you can see little bars behind the stitches), coming out down at the neck or at the back.
You can also watch 2 mins of my friendly ghost pattern video tutorial from this 15:52 timestamp to see how to make french knot eyes and also a smile. It’s a crochet pattern but embroidering knitting is the same.
You may also need to pull out the french knot a bit to tighten the knot up so it makes a neat eye.
Then gently tug the 2 thread ends so the eye sits nicely on the face. Leave both long thread ends for now.
Thread your needle again and make the 2nd french knot eye 3-4 stitches away in exactly the same way.
To make the smile, thread your needle again and bring your needle up 3 rows below the left eye and put it down 3 rows below the right eye , leaving the long stitch loose and pulling it down to make a smile shape.
Take a good look at the face and make sure you’re happy with it. You can gently tug the eye thread ends to make any final adjustments, or it’s best to just redo an eye or the smile if you’re not fully happy. Once all looks good, trim all thread ends close and then squish the snowman’s head to hide them inside.
Step 6: Add the Carrot Nose
Leaving a long tail, cast on 2 stitches using the basic knit or cable cast on.
Now cast off these 2 stitches in the usual way, knitting the 2 stitches and passing the 1st stitch over the 2nd. Leave a long tail.
Holding the 2 tails together, pinching your knitted scrap gives you a triangle shape, sort of like a carrot with the tails at the wider bottom of the carrot.
Use the 2 tails to stitch the nose to the middle of the face, 1-2 rows below the eyes. If needed, add a stitch or 2 through any loose loops hanging out the bottom etc to tighten them and squeeze the end so it looks pointy. The nose stays flexible, so you can get different looks by pointing it straight out, or tilting it down or a bit to the side.
Step 7: Knit a Scarf (optional)
Cast on 3 stitches.
R1: Sl 1, k2
Repeat this row until scarf is 7 inches long or desired length.
Tip: go shorter if in doubt as the scarf will grow longer over time as you put it on & off.
Cast off & weave in both ends.
Snowman Hat Knitting Pattern
The snowman looks cute with just a scarf, but if you have a little more time & yarn, you can add a hat, knit from the top down and then seamed down the back.
Cast on 10 stitches using the long tail cast on or your preferred method.
R1 and all odd rows unless stated: purl all stitches.
R2: k1, (m1, k1) x 8, k1 [18 st]
R4: k1, (k1, m1, k1) x 8, k1 [26 st]
R5-9: knit 5 rows of stockinette (knit the even rows, purl the odd)
R10-11: (k1,p1) and repeat this pattern across to knit 1×1 rib
Cast off in rib pattern.
Seaming the Hat
Thread a needle with the cast off yarn tail and use mattress stitch to invisibly seam the back of the hat from the bottom rib up.
The hat is still open across the top so it looks like a little lampshade.
Thread a needle with the cast on yarn tail and put your needle through the loop of each cast on stitch from front to back, working loosely.
If you’re adding a hanging loop to your snowman, only gently pull the yarn tail so you still leave a small hole at the top of the hat. That way the hat fits over the hanging loop and is removable. You can even dress up your snowman in different colours. 😍
If you know you will never want a hanging loop, you can pull the cast on yarn tail tight through all the stitches instead to fully close the top of the hat. Weave in both yarn ends on the inside of the hat.
Knit a Hanging Loop (Optional)
Here’s 2 ways to knit a hanging loop so you can hang your snowman on the tree:
Option 1: Cast on & off loop
This is the quick way, but it makes a slightly chunkier loop, so use fingering, 4ply or sport weight yarn if you have some so your loop is not too thick.
- Cast on 30 stitches or double the length of hanging loop you want.
- Cast off all the stitches without knitting any rows and leave a long tail.
Cast off in the usual way, by knitting the 1st 2 stitches and passing the 1st stitch over the 2nd etc.
Option 2: I-cord loop
If you have a couple of short double pointed needles (DPNs), knitting a length of 2 stitch i-cord makes a lovely neat hanging loop that is not too chunky.
Cast on 2 stitches and knit 5 inches of i-cord, or double your desired loop length, before casting off.
See my how to knit i-cord tutorial (including video demo) for a full step by step guide for knitting i-cord hanging loops for decorations.
Tip: You don’t have to use 3mm DPNs, any thickness up to 4mm approx works well.
How to Attach your Hanging Loop
To attach your hanging loop to the snowman:
- Position the loop slightly behind the top of the head, about 3-4 rows down.
- Thread a tapestry needle with a yarn end and just attach the loop with 1-2 stitches initially.
- Check the loop looks in a good spot and if you made a hat, put it on over the hanging loop to check the hat fits over it in the right place and you like how your snowman will look wearing it.
- Once you’re happy securely attach the hanging loop with more stitches and weave in both yarn ends.
TIP: If you’re not sure whether your snowman will hang on the tree or sit on a shelf, I suggest adding a loop anyway because it’s easy to hide it at the back of the snowman under the scarf and/or hat.
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All my patterns are free on my blog. But you can buy the Premium PDF Pattern on Etsy or Ravelry:
- Step-by-Step 13 Page PDF with Photos
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I hope you enjoy knitting some mini snowmen decorations with this free pattern. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions on the pattern.
This free pattern is for personal, non-commercial use only. It may not be copied, sold, translated or distributed in any way, nor any finished items made using it sold, without permission.
