How to Knit Bobbles 3 Ways!

Inside: Learn how to knit bobbles 3 different ways. Detailed instructions on bobble methods with tutorial video and free blanket square pattern.

Bobbles!

They are those round knit balls that stand up on top of your knit fabric. They can be small dots or large puffy balls depending on the method you use to knit them.

Most often you see bobble on a background of stockinette, but they can also be incorporated into other stitch patterns like lace or cables.

I’m going to show you how to knit a bobble 3 ways so you can decide which bobble method you like best.

What’s in a bobble?

You can knit bobbles in many ways, but there are some common components that all bobbles have. They all start with a single stitch on your needle. But what you do with that single stitch will depend on then bobble you want.

INCREASE: First, you’ll need to work one or more increases to widen the bobble. I’m going to show you bobbles with both the Kfb (knit into the front and back of the st) and YO (yarnover) increases. Which increase you choose is up to you.
FLAT PANEL: Next, you’ll work back and forth in rows, usually in stockinette stitch, to lengthen your bobble. How many rows you work will determine how full your bobble is.
DECREASE: Last you will decrease back down to 1 stitch. Again there are a few ways to do this. The two main methods are a leaning decrease or a centered decrease. I’ll be showing you both of these so you can see which one you prefer. The leaning decrease gives your bobble more of teardrop shape. This is the method I used in the blue samples for my blanket square.

I designed the Bobble Square as a template for you to practice with. This blanket square comes in 2 common sizes and you can choose which bobble method you want to use in the pattern.

As always, I’ve got tutorial videos that show all the techniques for both right and left handed knitters.

Bobble Square

By Kristen Mangus

A downloadable PDF of this pattern is available in my Etsy store and from Ravelry at the links below:

The Bobble Square features puffy round bobbles on a field of stockinette with a seed stitch border. Instructions include methods for making 3 sizes of bobbles so you can use the one you prefer or mix and match them. The medium size bobble (#1) was used in sample shown above.

MATERIALS

(Materials list may contain affiliate links to products I used to make this project. Using these links cost you nothing, but helps support GKK.)

Yarn
Medium (#4) worsted weight yarn
Red Heart Super Saver in Light Blue used in sample.

Needles
US 7 (4.5 mm) needles
Knitters Pride Karbonz circular needles used in samples.

Stitch marker
Tapestry needle

ABBREVIATIONS
DEC = Decrease
INC = Increase
K = Knit
Kfb = Knit into the front and back of the stitch
LN = Left needle
MB = Make bobble (see Notes below for specific bobble instructions)
P = Purl
Rep = Repeat
RN = Right needle
RS = Right side
St(s) = Stitch(es)
WS = Wrong side
YO = Yarnover

New to knitting? I’ve got a How to Knit Beginner Video Series to teach you ALL the basics.

GAUGE
22 sts x 43 rows in 4” in stockinette stitch

SKILL LEVEL Easy

MEASUREMENTS

Option 1: 9” x 7” (23 cm x 18 cm)
Option 2: 12” x 12” (30.5 cm x 30.5 cm)

NOTES

I’ve included two square sizes in this pattern that are commonly used to make blankets. The bobble stitch pattern is a multiple of 8+5 stitches and uses a 12 row repeat.

Bobble Tips:

A bobble is made over 1 stitch and includes one or more increases (INC), knitting a narrow flat panel and decreasing (DEC) back to 1 stitch.
After finishing the bobble, use your finger to pop the bobble to the RS of the fabric.
Knit the stitch after the bobble tightly using the tips of your needles.
On the following WS row knit the stitch before the bobble, the bobble st and the following st tightly using the tips of your needles.

Make Bobble (MB): You can use a variety of techniques to make bobbles and I included 3 options for you in this pattern. (See side by side samples below.)

1. Leaning 4-st Bobble (Medium- Used in blanket square samples above)

INC: Working with tips of needles, Kfb into same st twice. Drop old st. (4 sts).

Flat Panel:

Turn. Purl 4 sts.
Turn. Knit 4 sts.
Turn. Purl 4 sts.
Turn. Knit 4 sts. (4 sts).

DEC: Pass 3 sts one at a time over 1st st.

2. Centered 5-st Bobble (Large)

INC: Working with tips of needles, K1, YO, K1, YO, K1 into same st. Drop old st. (5 sts).

Flat Panel:

Turn. Purl 5 sts.
Turn. Knit 5 sts.
Turn. Purl 5 sts.
Turn. Knit 5 sts.
Turn. Purl 5 sts. (5 sts on LN).

DEC: This centered decrease passes the center stitch back and forth between RN & LN until last st remaining has working yarn.

Slip 2 sts to RN.
On LN pass 1 stitch over tip to BO. Slip stitch to RN. (4 sts).
On RN pass 1 stitch over tip to BO. Slip stitch to LN. (3 sts).
On LN pass 1 stitch over tip to BO. Slip stitch to RN. (2 sts).
On RN pass 1 stitch over tip to BO. Slip stitch to LN. (1 st).

3. Quick INC (Increase) Bobble (Small)

INC: Working with tips of needles, K1, YO, K1 into same st. Drop old st. (3 sts).

Flat Panel:

Turn. Purl 3 sts.
INC: Turn. Kfb into next 3 sts (6 sts).

DEC: Pass 5 sts one at a time over 1st st.

bobble comparison side view — Bobble Comparison (side view)

bobble comparison front view — Bobble Comparison (front view)

INSTRUCTIONS

Option 1 (9” x 7”) Instructions:

Cast on 39 sts.

Row 1 (WS): *K1, p1. Rep from * to last st. K1.

Row 2: *K1, p1. Rep from * to last st. K1.

Row 3: *K1, p1. Rep from* to last st. K1.

Row 4 (RS): K1, p1. Knit to last 2 sts. P1, k1.

Row 5 and all odd rows: K1, p1, k1. Purl to last 3 sts. K1, p1, k1.

Row 6: K1, p1. Knit to last 2 sts. P1, k1.

Row 8: K1, p1. K9. *MB. K7. Rep from * to last 4 sts. K2, p1, k1.

Row 10: K1, p1. Knit to last 2 sts. P1, k1.

Row 12: K1, p1. Knit to last 2 sts. P1, k1.

Row 14: K1, p1. K5. *MB. K7. Rep from * to last 8 sts. MB, k5, p1, k1.

Row 15: Rep Row 5.

Rep Rows 4-15 two times.

Rep Rows 4-10

Rep Rows 1-3.

Option 2 (12” x 12”) Instructions:

Cast on 53 sts.

Row 1 (WS): *K1, p1. Rep from * to last st. K1.

Row 2: *K1, p1. Rep from * to last st. K1.

Row 3: *K1, p1. Rep from* to last st. K1.

Row 4 (RS): K1, p1 (twice). Knit to last 4 sts. P1, k1 (twice).

Row 5 and all odd rows: K1, p1 (twice). Purl to last 4 sts. P1, k1 (twice).

Row 6: K1, p1 (twice). Knit to last 4 sts. P1, k1 (twice).

Row 8: K1, p1 (twice). K6. *MB. K7. Rep from * to last 11 sts. MB. K6. P1, k1 (twice).

Row 10: K1, p1 (twice). Knit to last 4 sts. P1, k1 (twice).

Row 12: K1, p1 (twice). Knit to last 4 sts. P1, k1 (twice).

Row 14: K1, p1 (twice). K2. *MB. K7. Rep from * to last 7 sts. MB. K2. P1, k1 (twice).

Row 15: Rep Row 5.

Rep Rows 4-15 four times.

Rep Rows 4-10.

Rep Rows 1-3.

PIN IT!

Loom Knit Linen Stitch (Flat Panel) Video Tutorial

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The following videos teach you how to make bobbles all 3 ways. If you want to go back and review one specific bobble method go to these time stamps in the video:

6:39 Bobble 1: Leaning 4-st bobble
12:26 Bobble 2: Centered 5-st bobble
21:16 Bobble 3: Quick Increase Bobble