Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Knit a Hot Air Balloon

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I’m fully willing to admit that the headline on this post sounds weird. And maybe it is a little weird to knit a hot air balloon.

But you know what? After seeing this pattern from Butterfly Love1 on Etsy, I kind of want to knit a hot air balloon.

These would be super cute in a nursery or kid’s room, a playroom, a teacher’s classroom (especially and art teacher, or in the library, or really anywhere that kids might be).

And honestly kids aren’t the only ones who deserve whimsy in their lives, so if after seeing this pattern you kind of want to knit a hot air balloon for yourself, too, I give you permission to do so if you need it.

The pattern is knit flat in stockinette stitch, and I’d guess it uses sock yarn by the size of the knitting needles called for. Which is great because you can easily make a striped balloon that is both adorable and a great use of all your leftover yarn from your socks and other projects.

These balloons even have a little basket made out of a stack of buttons to make it look like a hot air balloon and not just a regular, earth-bound balloon. Though of course those would be cute, too.

One of the comments on the pattern says this comes out big, but the pattern description doesn’t specify what size it is supposed to be. It might still be fun to use bigger yarn and make a huge balloon. They could also maybe be used as pillows in addition to having them hanging from the ceiling.

I wouldn’t be surprised if, having made one, you will find all sorts of reasons you need to knit more.

You can grab the pattern on Etsy. I’d love to hear about it if you make one!

[Photo: Butterfly Love1]

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.