Free knitted Easter egg pattern

Use up some of your yarn stash in the sweetest way by knitting Easter eggs! Our Easter egg pattern is perfect to create a pretty spring display! Kirstie McLeod designed these cute little knit eggs for Simply Knitting issue 118 as a fun beginner knitting pattern.

Beginners looking to try some simple colourwork knitting should give this project a go – the Striped Easter egg pattern will introduce you to changing colours, while the Gingham Easter egg pattern will help you learn how to knit perfect Fair Isle with an easy stranded colourwork motif.

This Easter egg pattern is worked using four pretty shades of DK yarn. As they use only a small amount of yarn each, these knitted Easter eggs would be ideal for using up leftovers from other projects (such as our Fair Isle mug hug), plus you can choose some pretty ribbons to match your colour scheme.

When you've finished knitting Easter eggs, they'll look fabulous as tree decorations (try spraying some branches white to make a rustic display), or you could string them together into a garland. They'll bring some colour into your home for spring, though we’d be tempted to leave them up all year round!

Free knitted Easter egg pattern

Knitted Easter egg materials

• Sublime, Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK (75% Merino wool, 20% silk, 5% cashmere, 50g/116m), 1 ball of each: Yarn A Waterlily (005), Yarn B Piglet (001), Yarn C Cuddle (002), Yarn D Buttermilk (345) Buy it from Ebay
• A pair of 4mm needles Buy them from The Knitting Network
• A 4mm crochet hook Buy it from The Knitting Network
• A tapestry needle Buy it from Amazon
• Various ribbons Buy it from Lovecrafts
• Toy stuffing Buy it from Lovecrafts

Knitted Easter egg pattern

In this pattern, you’ll find our standard knitting abbreviations. We've used UK terms, but you can get easy conversion guides in our yarn weight conversion chart and knitting needle sizes guides.

See our how-to guides for tutorials on how to cast on knitting, how to cast off knitting, how to increase a stitch in knitting and how to decrease in knitting.

Tension

Yarn used knits as DK to this tension: 22 sts and 28 rows to measure 10x10cm (4x4in) over stocking stitch using 4mm needles

Knitted Easter Egg Shape

Cast on 5 sts using 4mm needles.

Row 1 and every alt row Purl.

Row 2 Inc into each stitch. [10 sts]

Row 4 (K1, kfb) rep to end of row. [15 sts]

Row 6 (K2, kfb) rep to end of row. [20 sts]

Row 8 (K3, kfb) rep to end of row. [25 sts]

Row 10 (K4, kfb) rep to end of row. [30 sts] **

Starting with a purl row, work 7 rows of st st.

Row 18 (K4, k2tog) rep to end of row. [25 sts]

Starting with a purl row, work 3 rows of st st.

Row 22 (K3, k2tog) rep to end of row. [20 sts]

Starting with a purl row, work 3 rows of st st.

Row 26 (K2, k2tog) rep to end of row. [15 sts]

Purl 1 row.

Row 28 (K1, k2tog) rep to end of row. [10 sts]

Purl 1 row.

Row 30 (K2tog) rep to end of row. [5 sts]

Cast off.

Decorate basic knitted Easter eggs with a length of pretty ribbon.

For Striped knitted Easter eggs

Work as for Knitted Easter Egg Shape until **, working 2 rows in Yarn A and 2 rows in Yarn B, then work 6 rows in Yarn A. Cont with the dec as set from row 18 working the 2 row stripe.

Decorate your Striped knitted Easter eggs by adding some small lazy daisy flowers. (See our tutorial for how to do lazy daisy stitch.)

For Gingham knitted Easter eggs

Work as for Basic Knitted Easter Egg Shape until **, work from Chart for 6 rows.

Cont with the dec as set from row 18.

How to use our charts: Start at the bottom right-hand corner. Read right-side rows from right to left and wrong-side rows from left to right. A row of squares represents a row of knitting. Find out how to read charts in knitting patterns.

Making up your knitted Easter eggs

Sew in all loose ends. With RS facing, sew up the seam. When you are roughly halfway up the seam, turn the right way out. Stuff the egg with toy stuffing, taking care not to overstuff, then sew the seam closed. Using a 4mm crochet hook and yarn of your choice, work a 10cm length of chain stitches, fasten off and attach to the top of the egg.

Download your Easter egg pattern:

To download your free Easter egg pattern, click the link below to open it in a new window.

Knitting Easter eggs pattern PDF

Get easter-ready with the lovely knitted easter eggs

These gorgeous knitted eggs can be used year after year, and look perfect hanging on a tree or made into bunting! You could even knit one each year and build up your collection.

Create a DIY Easter wonderland

There's nothing quite like creating a DIY display! Take a look at our fun Easter crafts, for both adults and kids to enjoy.