Here are 8 free flower knitting charts: Simple daisy, Tulip, Rose, Sunflower, Poppy, Fair Isle tulip band, Bluebells and Potted flower — 7 single flowers from 11 to 15 stitches wide and 20 to 31 rows tall, plus a 6-stitch Fair Isle tulip band to knit in the round. Every chart opens in the chart editor to change the colors and the size, and all 8 print as one PDF.
Each card shows the chart as it is worked, a preview in real stitch proportions, and the numbers that decide how to knit it.
15 sts × 20 rows · DK 6.8 × 6.7 cm (2.7 × 2.6 in) · 3 colors
At most 3 colors in any row, but the longest float is 6 stitches when it is knitted stranded: work it in intarsia, or add the small areas in duplicate stitch.
A first colorwork motif for a sweater front, a tote bag or a baby blanket square. Every petal is a straight run of white, and the gold center is small enough to add afterwards in duplicate stitch.
13 sts × 25 rows · DK 5.9 × 8.3 cm (2.3 × 3.3 in) · 3 colors
At most 2 colors in any row, but the longest float is 9 stitches when it is knitted stranded: work it in intarsia, or add the small areas in duplicate stitch.
A spring cushion, an Easter project or a cardigan pocket. One slim stem and simple leaves, so it is quick to knit in intarsia or to stitch on top in duplicate stitch.
11 sts × 25 rows · DK 5.0 × 8.3 cm (2.0 × 3.3 in) · 4 colors
At most 3 colors in any row, but the longest float is 7 stitches when it is knitted stranded: work it in intarsia, or add the small areas in duplicate stitch.
A sweater front, a Valentine's gift or a bag panel. The darker spiral lines are what make it read as a rose, so keep a clear contrast between the two reds.
15 sts × 31 rows · DK 6.8 × 10.3 cm (2.7 × 4.1 in) · 4 colors
At most 3 colors in any row, but the longest float is 9 stitches when it is knitted stranded: work it in intarsia, or add the small areas in duplicate stitch.
A summer tote, a cushion or a blanket centerpiece. It is a big motif, so it suits projects with room to show it off.
13 sts × 22 rows · DK 5.9 × 7.3 cm (2.3 × 2.9 in) · 4 colors
At most 3 colors in any row, but the longest float is 11 stitches when it is knitted stranded: work it in intarsia, or add the small areas in duplicate stitch.
A remembrance project, a hat front or a pillow. The round red head is one block of color with a dark center, so it is easy to follow.
6 sts × 9 rounds per repeat · cast on a multiple of 6 stitches · DK 2.7 × 3.0 cm (1.1 × 1.2 in) · 3 colors
Suited to stranded knitting: at most 2 colors in any round and a longest float of 5 stitches, so no carried yarn needs twisting.
Repeat the little tulip around a hat brim, a yoke or a mitten cuff, knitted stranded in the round. The flowers and the leaves sit on different rounds, so you only ever hold two colors at once.
13 sts × 25 rows · DK 5.9 × 8.3 cm (2.3 × 3.3 in) · 3 colors
At most 3 colors in any row, but the longest float is 6 stitches when it is knitted stranded: work it in intarsia, or add the small areas in duplicate stitch.
A cushion, a baby cardigan or a spring card. The bells hang from a curved stem, so the motif has movement without many colors.
13 sts × 27 rows · DK 5.9 × 9.0 cm (2.3 × 3.5 in) · 5 colors
At most 3 colors in any row, but the longest float is 11 stitches when it is knitted stranded: work it in intarsia, or add the small areas in duplicate stitch.
A gift for a gardener, a tote bag or a child's sweater. The gold center is only a few stitches, easy to add afterwards in duplicate stitch.
7 of the 8 charts are charted flat, so row 1 is at the bottom and stitch 1 on the right: read right-side rows from right to left and wrong-side rows from left to right. The Fair Isle tulip band is charted in the round instead: read every round from right to left, and cast on a multiple of 6 stitches. The flat sizes on the cards measure the motif itself, without the background stitches around it; the band is measured as one 6-stitch repeat of 9 rounds, because that is what you knit again and again. The free Fair Isle charts follow the same short-float rule.
Pick a flower
Choose one of the 8: Simple daisy, Tulip, Rose, Sunflower, Poppy, Fair Isle tulip band, Bluebells and Potted flower. Each card gives the stitch and row or round count, the DK finished size, the number of colors and how the chart is best knitted.
Open it or print it
Use the button on a card to open the chart in the editor, or download all 8 charts as one PDF. In the editor you can change the colors, set your gauge and check the true-stitch preview before you print.
Place it on the piece
Take a sweater front 80 stitches wide. The Simple daisy (15 stitches wide) leaves 65 stitches: knit 32 in the background color, work the 15-stitch motif, then 33 to the end of the row, with the odd stitch on the far side.
Knit it
Work row 1 at the bottom right. On the flat charts, right-side rows read from right to left and knit; wrong-side rows read from left to right and purl. On the Fair Isle tulip band, every round is read from right to left and knitted. On the single flowers, work the large areas in their own yarn (intarsia) and add the accent stitches afterwards in duplicate stitch; knit the Fair Isle tulip band stranded, since no float there runs longer than 5 stitches. Block the finished piece so the motif settles into shape.
A chart is counted in stitches and rows, not in centimeters, so the same 8 charts knit to different sizes in different yarns. The table gives every chart’s stitch and row count, then the finished width and height at the 3 gauges used on this site (Fingering, DK and Worsted), in centimeters and inches. The sizes of the 7 single flowers measure the motif itself, without the background stitches around it; the Fair Isle tulip band is the exception, measured as one 6-stitch repeat of 9 rounds, and its width is what you cast on again and again around the piece. Change the gauge in the editor and the sizes change with it.
| Chart | Stitches × rows or rounds | Fingering 28 sts × 36 rows | DK 22 sts × 30 rows | Worsted 18 sts × 24 rows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple daisy | 15 sts × 20 rows | 5.4 × 5.6 cm (2.1 × 2.2 in) | 6.8 × 6.7 cm (2.7 × 2.6 in) | 8.3 × 8.3 cm (3.3 × 3.3 in) |
| Tulip | 13 sts × 25 rows | 4.6 × 6.9 cm (1.8 × 2.7 in) | 5.9 × 8.3 cm (2.3 × 3.3 in) | 7.2 × 10.4 cm (2.8 × 4.1 in) |
| Rose | 11 sts × 25 rows | 3.9 × 6.9 cm (1.5 × 2.7 in) | 5.0 × 8.3 cm (2.0 × 3.3 in) | 6.1 × 10.4 cm (2.4 × 4.1 in) |
| Sunflower | 15 sts × 31 rows | 5.4 × 8.6 cm (2.1 × 3.4 in) | 6.8 × 10.3 cm (2.7 × 4.1 in) | 8.3 × 12.9 cm (3.3 × 5.1 in) |
| Poppy | 13 sts × 22 rows | 4.6 × 6.1 cm (1.8 × 2.4 in) | 5.9 × 7.3 cm (2.3 × 2.9 in) | 7.2 × 9.2 cm (2.8 × 3.6 in) |
| Fair Isle tulip band | 6 sts × 9 rounds per repeat | 2.1 × 2.5 cm (0.8 × 1.0 in) | 2.7 × 3.0 cm (1.1 × 1.2 in) | 3.3 × 3.8 cm (1.3 × 1.5 in) |
| Bluebells | 13 sts × 25 rows | 4.6 × 6.9 cm (1.8 × 2.7 in) | 5.9 × 8.3 cm (2.3 × 3.3 in) | 7.2 × 10.4 cm (2.8 × 4.1 in) |
| Potted flower | 13 sts × 27 rows | 4.6 × 7.5 cm (1.8 × 3.0 in) | 5.9 × 9.0 cm (2.3 × 3.5 in) | 7.2 × 11.3 cm (2.8 × 4.4 in) |
At DK gauge the 7 single flowers run from 5.0 to 6.8 cm wide and 6.7 to 10.3 cm tall, which is motif-sized: small enough for a hat front, a mitten back, a cushion or the chest of a sweater, and easy to center on a panel. The Fair Isle tulip band is a strip instead: one 6-stitch repeat of 9 rounds knits to 2.7 × 3.0 cm (1.1 × 1.2 in) at DK, and you cast on a multiple of 6 stitches to go around the piece. A finer yarn makes every chart smaller and a thicker yarn makes it larger, but the stitch and row counts stay the same.
Each chart is a flat flower or a band knitted in the round, so it can be worked three ways: carry every color across the back of the work (stranded), give each block of color its own bobbin (intarsia), or knit the small details in the background color and add them afterwards in duplicate stitch. The table gives the numbers that decide which one is least work; the free intarsia charts explain the bobbin method in full.
| Chart | Colors | Most colors in a row or round | Longest float, stranded | Bobbins, intarsia | Accent stitches, duplicate stitch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple daisy | 3 | 3 | 6 sts | 11 | 12 stitches |
| Tulip | 3 | 2 | 9 sts | 12 | — |
| Rose | 4 | 3 | 7 sts | 26 | — |
| Sunflower | 4 | 3 | 9 sts | 22 | — |
| Poppy | 4 | 3 | 11 sts | 11 | 11 stitches |
| Fair Isle tulip band | 3 | 2 | 5 sts | 45 | — |
| Bluebells | 3 | 3 | 6 sts | 24 | — |
| Potted flower | 5 | 3 | 11 sts | 17 | 9 stitches |
7 of the 8 charts have a float longer than 5 stitches when they are knitted stranded; the longest float is 11 stitches, on the Poppy and Potted flower. Twist the carried yarn behind a stitch about every 5 stitches on those charts, or the strand will snag on fingers and jewelry.
Fair Isle tulip band is the one chart here that suits stranded knitting: every round uses at most 2 colors and the longest float is 5 stitches, so no carried yarn needs twisting. The other 7 charts use up to 3 colors in a row and their longest floats run from 6 to 11 stitches, so on those intarsia, or duplicate stitch for the small areas, is less work than carrying yarn across.
Knitted in intarsia, the 7 single flowers need 11 to 26 bobbins each — one for every separate block of color — and leave 22 to 52 ends to weave in. The Fair Isle tulip band is the exception: as a repeating band with short floats it is knitted stranded, carrying only the 2 colors its rounds use, where an intarsia version would need 45 bobbins. Among the single flowers, no row uses more than 3 colors, while their intarsia version can have up to 10 separate strands hanging from the work at once.
3 of the 8 charts have at least one accent color of 12 stitches or fewer, 32 stitches in all: Simple daisy (12 stitches in 1 color), Poppy (11 stitches in 1 color) and Potted flower (9 stitches in 1 color). Those stitches can be left out of the knitting and added afterwards in duplicate stitch, with no bobbin and no color change in those rows.
The practical order follows from those numbers: knit the 7 single flowers in intarsia with one bobbin per block, leave the accent stitches for duplicate stitch after the piece is finished, and knit the Fair Isle tulip band stranded, twisting nothing because its floats stay at 5 stitches or fewer. Duplicate stitch is also the easiest way to change an accent color without reknitting the motif.
A knitted stitch is wider than a row is tall, so a square grid is not a square piece of knitting. At DK gauge — 22 stitches and 30 rows per 10 cm — one stitch measures about 4.5 mm across and one row about 3.3 mm, and a chart with as many rows as stitches knits up 0.73 times as tall as it is wide. To knit a shape that is as tall as it is wide, the chart needs 1.36 rows for every stitch.
The Simple daisy shows the correction: it is 15 stitches wide and 20 rows tall, 1.33 rows for every stitch, and at DK it knits to 6.8 × 6.7 cm (2.7 × 2.6 in). Drawn to look right on square graph paper, the same motif would get only 15 rows, and knitted that way it would come out at 6.8 × 5.0 cm (2.7 × 2.0 in): 75% of the height, 1.7 cm (0.7 in) shorter, a squashed version of the round flower on the paper.
| Yarn | Gauge | As charted | Drawn on square paper | Height lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fingering | 28 sts × 36 rows | 5.4 × 5.6 cm (2.1 × 2.2 in) | 5.4 × 4.4 cm (2.1 × 1.7 in) | 1.1 cm (0.4 in) |
| DK | 22 sts × 30 rows | 6.8 × 6.7 cm (2.7 × 2.6 in) | 6.8 × 5.0 cm (2.7 × 2.0 in) | 1.7 cm (0.7 in) |
| Worsted | 18 sts × 24 rows | 8.3 × 8.3 cm (3.3 × 3.3 in) | 8.3 × 6.3 cm (3.3 × 2.5 in) | 2.1 cm (0.8 in) |
The charts are drawn for knitted proportions rather than for square paper, so a square grid distorts each one. 7 of the 8 charts have more rows than stitches and look taller on a square grid than the flowers they make, with rows per stitch running from 1.33 on the Simple daisy to 2.27 on the Rose. The exception is the Fair Isle tulip band, a shallow repeat drawn to sit as a band. The editor previews every chart at your own gauge in true stitch proportions, so you can see the shape before you knit; to draw your own, print knitting graph paper at the same gauge so the squares match your stitches and rows.
The Simple daisy is the best first chart: it uses the fewest colors of the single flowers (3), and among those with that few colors it has the smallest stitch-by-row count, 15 stitches by 20 rows, which at DK knits to 6.8 × 6.7 cm (2.7 × 2.6 in).
If you would rather work the narrowest flower, take the Rose: 11 stitches by 25 rows in 4 colors, 5.0 × 8.3 cm (2.0 × 3.3 in) at DK.
Whichever you pick, it is a flat chart, so it works on straight needles, and the finished size follows your gauge rather than the chart. Open it in the editor to try the colors you have before you print.
This page has 8 free printable flower knitting charts — Simple daisy, Tulip, Rose, Sunflower, Poppy, Fair Isle tulip band, Bluebells and Potted flower — and a PDF of all of them. The 7 flat charts can each be knitted on straight needles; the Fair Isle tulip band is charted in the round.
Yes. Download all 8 flower charts as one PDF, or open a single chart in the editor and print it at your own gauge. There is no sign-up and no watermark.
The Simple daisy is the best first chart: it uses the fewest colors of the single flowers (3), and among those with that few colors it has the smallest stitch-by-row count, 15 stitches by 20 rows, which at DK knits to 6.8 × 6.7 cm (2.7 × 2.6 in). If you would rather work the narrowest flower, take the Rose: 11 stitches by 25 rows in 4 colors, 5.0 × 8.3 cm (2.0 × 3.3 in) at DK.
Yes. The Rose is on the page: 11 stitches by 25 rows in 4 colors, and at DK it knits to 5.0 × 8.3 cm (2.0 × 3.3 in). Open it in the editor to change the colors or the size.
The Fair Isle tulip band is the chart to use: 6 sts × 9 rounds per repeat, 2.7 × 3.0 cm (1.1 × 1.2 in) at DK for one repeat, with at most 2 colors in any round and a longest float of 5 stitches, so no carried yarn needs twisting. Cast on a multiple of 6 stitches and repeat the tulip around a hat brim, a yoke or a mitten cuff; the free Fair Isle charts have more two-color bands.
Yes for the 7 flat charts: each one can be knitted back and forth on straight needles, reading right-side rows from right to left and wrong-side rows from left to right. The colors come from the chart either way, and the floats or bobbins stay on the wrong side. The Fair Isle tulip band is drawn for the round, where every round is read from right to left; it can still be knitted flat as one long strip and seamed, reading the right-side rows from right to left and the wrong-side rows from left to right.
Start at the bottom row with stitch 1 on the right. On the 7 flat charts, right-side rows are read from right to left and knitted, and wrong-side rows from left to right and purled. The Fair Isle tulip band is charted in the round, so every round is read from right to left and knitted. The chart shows the right side of the fabric. The guide to reading a knitting chart explains the row and stitch numbering in full.
Yes. The charts are free to knit, change and use in your own projects and in patterns you sell, with no credit or payment needed.
Yes. Download all 8 charts as a PDF or open them in the editor, without sign-up or watermark. You can knit them, change them and use them in your own projects and patterns. Selecting part of a chart to copy, flip and paste comes with Knitting Chart Pro.
The charts are free to knit, change and use in your own projects and patterns. There is no sign-up and no watermark on the PDF of all 8. They are original charts drawn for this page, not copies of a published pattern. Open any card in the editor to change the colors, size or gauge; to draw your own flower from scratch, start in the free chart maker and place one stitch per square.
Knitting Chart