Pretty Leaf Knitting Patterns for Fall

It’s been a while (since 2023, it turns out) since I’ve done a post on leaf knitting patterns, so I wanted to share a few more. Leaves are fun to knit, take a small amount of yarn, and they’re great to use in your decor year after year.

I’ve been wanting to knit a scarf made out of knit leaves for years; maybe this will actually be the year I do it! In the meantime, I hope these leaf knitting patterns inspire you to knit up some fall decor.

These sweet little autumn leaves from Everything Shapes Us are similar in design to my dreamed of scarf leaf (though mine would be worked in super bulky yarn). This is a great basic shape to start with if you’ve never knit leaves before. It calls for sock yarn but you can use two strands held together to make bigger leaves if you like.

The little leaves from JaNae Knits are also great beginner projects because they’re worked in garter stitch. These use worsted weight yarn and are so pretty when you work a bunch of them in a multicolored yarn because it looks like your leaves are turning right on the needles! The designer says these are inspired by elm leaves.

If you’d like an array of leaves to knit in a single pattern, this collection from Tiny Knitting includes five different leaves and an acorn pattern for extra cuteness. The pattern notes don’t indicate the weight of yarn used but it looks like DK to worsted (and of course you can use different weights to make different sizes of leaves).

Or if you want your leaves more on the chunky side, check out this pattern for a coaster-sized leaf from 3 Monkeys Inc. This one mostly uses garter stitch as well, and while the pattern shows them being used as coasters, I think this size would be great for knitting a fall leaf garland.

Svetlana Gordo’s Knitted Maple Leaf gives you a ton of options for your leaf knitting. The pattern includes three sizes of leaf and also encourages you to play with the yarn weight. Make a tiny leaf with lace weight yarn you can wear as a brooch, or use super bulky and the larger pattern to make a rug. Either way you’re sure to enjoy this pretty pattern, which you can find on Ravelry.

Vicki Monthe’s ginko leaf knitting pattern isn’t strictly fall, but I found it and couldn’t resist sharing because ginko leaves are such a fun shape. This design calls for fingering weight yarn and comes out to about 3.75 inches wide by 2.5 inches long (that’s 9.4 by 6.4 cm). The designer says each leaf takes about two hours to make. The pattern is free on Ravelry.

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.

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