Knit Star Ornament & The 12 Ornaments of Christmas

Christmas is coming up, and fast! In just about 6 weeks, it will already be the big day. To celebrate the holiday this year, I thought it would be fun to give you guys a present – or really 12. Between now and December 25, I’m going to share 12 ornaments for Christmas, all of which will be a free knitting pattern, crochet pattern or a yarn craft. I’ve got some great ideas planned for this that I’m super excited about, so let’s kick things off with a sweet, knitted star.

(I figured a star would be festive without being too festive, since it’s still not yet Thanksgiving. I’ll hold off on the mega Christmas vibes as much as possible until it’s officially Christmas season.)

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

Knit Star Ornament Pattern

Updated 12/8/18.

Skill level: easy

Supplies
2 packs Lion Brand Yarn Bonbons in Beach, each of which comes with 8 mini skeins. – You need 2 skeins of 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
k – knit
M1R – make 1 right-leaning stitch. Here’s a tutorial.
(X sts) – X indicates the number of sts that will now be on your needle
M1L – make 1 left-leaning stitch. Here’s a tutorial.

rep – repeat
sk2p  – slip one st, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over
mattress stitch – A seaming technique for joining knit pieces. Here’s a tutorial.

Gauge & dimensions: 22 sts & 28 rows over 4 inches, knit in stockinette stitch. Each leg of the star measures approx. 3.5” tall and 1.5” at its widest point.

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

The Pattern

Star leg diamonds (make 10)
CO 2 sts
row 1 & all odd rows. (WS) p all sts.
row 2. (RS) k1, M1R, k1. (3 sts)
row4. k1, M1R, k to last st, M1L, k1. (5 sts)
rows 6, 8 & 10. Rep row 4. (11 sts)
row 12. k4, sk2p, k4. (9 sts)
row 14. k9.
row 16. k3, sk2p, k3. (7 sts)
row 18. k7.
row 20. k2, sk2p, k2. (5 sts)
row 22. k5.
row 24. k1, sk2p, k1. (3 sts)
row 26. k3.
row 28. sk2p. (1 st)
Break yarn, draw tail through last loop to secure.
Finishing
Using the mattress stitch, sew 5 diamonds each into two stars (a front and a back). Then sew both stars together all the way around, stuffing with poly-fil as you go. Using a needle & thread, sew a scrap of ribbon to the back of your finished ornament to hang.

Each of the star leg diamonds looks like this, kind of like a kite. The mattress stitch you use to join all of the pieces works so well to make the ten sections of the star appear as if they were knit as a single piece. If you’re new to the mattress stitch, you can check out this video tutorial I did to learn how.

PS: I’ve only made a few of the 12 ornaments of Christmas so far, so if you’ve got any suggestions for patterns you’re dying to see, please holler in the comments!

PPS: If you make any of these creations for yourself, share along with me on Instagram using #handsoccupiedhohoho so I can see your ornaments as you make them!