Quick knit easter egg decorations (in the round) - free pattern - Craft Fix (2024)

Last updated 6 February 2024 by Janine

Do you like to decorate for Easter? It’s a lovely way to add pretty Spring colours to your home. Here’s my free easter eggs knitting pattern.

The eggs are knit in the round, so there is no fiddly sewing up needed. I also have a flat knit easter eggs pattern here if you prefer knitting with 2 straight needles.

You only need a small amount of yarn, so this is perfect for using up scraps of leftover wool or cotton. These decorations are quick to make, so ideal for some last minute Easter crafting too.

Materials & Notes

• 3.5mm / size 4 long circular needle / double pointed needles.
  I love Knitpro symfonie interchangeable circular needles.
• Small amount of DK yarn. I used Drops Merino Extra Fine in shades 15 light greyish green (which is blue!), 25 pink and 26 pistachio along with off-white/cream for the striped eggs.
• Polyester toy stuffing or you could stuff with wool etc if you prefer.
• Tapestry needle for gathering the ends & weaving in ends.

If you want to make optional hanging loops for your eggs, you will also need:

• Either a 3mm / size D crochet hook OR 2 3mm / size 2.5 us double pointed needles.
• Scraps of 4 ply yarn. I used Drops baby merino. Heavier weight yarn will do but makes a chunkier loop.

Tension is not important here so you canuse any weight yarn. Your egg will just be a slightly different size. Make sure you change the needle size too. I suggest using a needle a bit smaller than the standard size stated so your stuffing won’t show through the egg.

If you are a beginner knitter, I’d suggest starting with the plain egg first. Once you are familiar with the basic egg structure, you can easily move on to making striped eggs.

Abbreviations

• R: round
• Kfb: knit into the front and back of the stitch (increase 1 stitch)
• K2tog: knit 2 stitches together (decrease 1 stitch)

Plain easter egg pattern – short version

For more experienced knitters, here’s the basic shorthand pattern version. Or scroll down or jump straight to the full pattern with more explanation.

• Cast on 8 stitches for egg base ready to work in the round
• R1: Knit 8
• R2: Kfb x 8 [16 stitches]
• R3: Knit 16
• R4: (K1, Kfb) x 8 [24 stitches]
• R5: Knit 24
• R6: (K2, Kfb) x 8 [32 stitches]
• R7-15: Knit 9 rounds even. Or do 7 rounds if you want a slightly smaller egg or are short of yarn.
• R16: (k2, k2tog) x 8 [24 stitches]
• R17-18: Knit 2 rounds even
• R19: (k1, k2tog) x 8 [16 stitches]
• R20-21: Knit 2 rounds even
• It’s easier to stuff most of the egg now. Close hole at base with needle & stuff egg well so it’s nice and plump.
• R22: (k2tog) x 8 [8 stitches]
• R23: Knit 1 round even.
• Add a final bit of stuffing to the top of the egg.
• Cut yarn tail & thread through 8 stitches and gather to close. Check happy with stuffed shape. Run thread round 8 stitches again to secure.
• Weave in ends at top and bottom of egg.

Plain easter egg knitting pattern – full version

You can display your egg decorations in a basket or bowl. They will also stand upright with a bit of patience if you press them down slightly and let them settle on their base.

If you would like to hang your eggs on an Easter tree, it’s easy to knit or crochet a hanging loop. See instructions below.

Striped egg pattern differences

The narrow chevron stripe Easter egg is based on the same pattern as the plain egg with some modifications. I’ve repeated the full pattern below for clarity.

If you would prefer to just know what changes are needed, here are the details:

1. On round 5, knit the 1st half with your main colour and then start using your 2nd colour to knit the other half of the round.
2. On round 6, keep knitting the 1st half of the round in the 2nd colour. Instead of using KFB increases, right lifted increases are neater here. Lift up the right leg of the stitch below (in the other colour) and knit it to increase by 1. This increase method will still leave little gaps in your stripe. These are minor but can be filled in with the 2nd colour yarn tail at the end.
3. Continue on changing colour halfway through each round. This helical knitting approach gives neat jogless stripes.
4. Stop using the 2nd colour after round 22, knitting the full round 23 (8 stitches) in the main colour.

Striped easter egg knitting pattern

If you are an advanced knitter, you can follow the short plain egg pattern above along with the striped pattern differences instead if you prefer.

See the basic plain egg pattern above if you need extra pictures for guidance.

Knit the bottom of the egg

• Using your main egg colour, e.g. pink, cast on 8 stitches for the base of the egg & join for working in the round. Leave a tail for gathering the base stitches later to close the hole.
• Round 1: knit 8 stitches
• Round 2: kfb each stitch [16 stitches]
  Knit into the front and back of each stitch to increase from 8 to 16 stitches. Alternatively use your preferred increase method instead.
• Round 3: knit 16 stitches
• Round 4: (k1, kfb) x 8 [24 stitches]
  Knit into the front and back of every 2nd stitch to increase from 16 to 24 stitches.

Add your second colour

• Round 5: Knit the first half of the round (12 stitches).
  Now start your 2nd colour and knit 12 stitches in the new colour to complete the round.
• Round 6: Still using the 2nd colour (k2, inc 1) x 4 (16 stitches total).
  Right lifted increases are neater here than KFB increases. Lift up the right leg of the stitch below (in the other colour) and knit it. Knit the following stitch as usual as well, so you add an extra stitch.
  This increase method will still leave little gaps in the 2nd half of your first stripe row. These are minor but can be filled in with the 2nd colour yarn tail at the end if you wish.
• Switch back to your main colour and (k2, inc 1) x 4 (16 stitches total) to complete round 6. You now have 32 stitches.
  Do NOT twist yarns when switching colours. All you need to do is make sure the new yarn colour is on the left, whereas the old yarn colour is to the right.

Knit the stripes

• Keep changing colour halfway through each round until after round 22. So you knit the 1st half of each round with the same colour as the 2nd half of the previous round. You are still knitting a full round in each colour, but you change at the midpoint of the round.
  This helical knitting approach gives neat jogless stripes. If you haven’t used it before, it can feel strange and confusing at first. Don’t overthink it! It just works like magic. Here’s a helpful helical stripes video tutorial if you want to see a demo.
• Round 7-15: knit 9 rows even at 32 stitches
  NB you can just knit 7 rows if you want a smaller egg or are running short of yarn.
• Round 16: (k2, k2tog) x 8 [24 stitches]
  Knit 2 stitches, then knit the next 2 stitches together. Repeat this around to decrease from 32 to 24 stitches.
• Round 17-18: knit 2 rounds even at 24 stitches
• Round 19: (k1, k2tog) x 8 [16 stitches]
  Knit a stitch, then knit the next 2 stitches together. Repeat this around to decrease from 24 to 16 stitches.
• Round 20-21: knit 2 rounds even at 16 stitches

Stuff most of the egg

It is easier to add most of the egg stuffing now before the opening gets too small.

• Close the hole at the base of the egg
  Thread a tapestry needle with the beginning yarn tail. Weave it in and out around the initial 8 stitches and gather to close the hole at the base of the egg. You can leave the tail for now to weave in at the end.
• Use polyester toy stuffing or your preferred alternative to stuff the egg well. Hold the partial egg in your hand to check it feels nice and plump.

Finish the top of the egg

• Round 22: k2tog x 8 [8 stitches]
  Knit 2 stitches together around to decrease from 16 stitches to 8.
  Stop using your 2nd colour at this point and cut that colour yarn leaving a tail for weaving in.
• Round 23: knit 8 stitches in your main colour.
• Finish stuffing the egg by adding a bit more to the top.
• Cut yarn leaving a tail and thread with a tapestry needle. Pass the needle through the 8 remaining stitches and gather to close hole at top of egg. Check you are happy with the stuffed egg shape. Run the needle round the stitches a second time to secure.
• Weave in all yarn ends.

Add a loop to hang your egg

If you would like to hang your eggs on an Easter tree, it’s easy to knit or crochet a hanging loop. Alternatively, you could sew on some pretty ribbon or twine string.

How to crochet a hanging loop

If you can crochet chains, this is the quickest way to hang your decorations.

It looks nice and neat too, especially using 4 ply yarn. But whatever you have to hand will work. Just use the recommended hook size or slightly smaller.

1. Using 4 ply yarn and a 3mm crochet hook, insert your hook through your egg around the top point. Leave a long yarn tail for weaving in to your egg at the end. Yarn over hook and pull a loop of yarn back through to you.
2. Make 30 chain from here, or double the length of your desired loop.
3. Slip stitch to the starting point to secure. Knot both ends of loop yarn together and weave into the egg.

How to knit a hanging loop

If you don’t crochet, you can knit a nice loop instead by making an i-cord. 4 ply or fingering weight yarn works best for making a fine delicate loop, but you could also use the same DK yarn you knit your egg with.

See my how to knit i-cord tutorial (including video) for full step by step instructions on how to knit i-cord hanging loops for your easter eggs.

I hope you enjoy knitting some little easter eggs. 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.