Here are 11 free heart knitting charts: 8 single hearts from 5 to 21 stitches wide, a seed-stitch heart worked in one color, and 2 in-the-round repeats: a border and an all-over pattern. Every heart is drawn with more rows than stitches (the 15-stitch heart is 15 stitches by 18 rows), because a knitted stitch is wider than it is tall, so each one knits up heart-shaped instead of squat.
Each card shows the chart as it is worked, a preview in real stitch proportions, and the numbers that decide how to knit it.
5 sts × 6 rows · about 2.3 × 2.0 cm (0.9 × 0.8 in) at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm · duplicate stitch: 21 stitches · intarsia: 5 bobbins · stranded: longest float 5 stitches
Baby hats, mitten backs and sock cuffs, or scattered on a sweater. Quick to add in duplicate stitch after knitting.
7 sts × 8 rows · about 3.2 × 2.7 cm (1.3 × 1.0 in) at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm · duplicate stitch: 39 stitches · intarsia: 5 bobbins · stranded: longest float 7 stitches
A pocket, a mitten or the corner of a dishcloth. Still small enough for duplicate stitch.
9 sts × 10 rows · about 4.1 × 3.3 cm (1.6 × 1.3 in) at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm · duplicate stitch: 65 stitches · intarsia: 5 bobbins · stranded: longest float 9 stitches
Hat fronts, baby cardigan fronts and toy sweaters.
11 sts × 12 rows · about 5.0 × 4.0 cm (2.0 × 1.6 in) at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm · duplicate stitch: 91 stitches · intarsia: 5 bobbins · stranded: longest float 11 stitches
A cream heart on a dark background for a sleeve, a sweater pocket or a bag.
15 sts × 18 rows · about 6.8 × 6.0 cm (2.7 × 2.4 in) at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm · duplicate stitch: 182 stitches · intarsia: 5 bobbins · stranded: longest float 15 stitches
Blanket squares, cushion fronts and child-size sweater fronts.
21 sts × 25 rows · about 9.5 × 8.3 cm (3.8 × 3.3 in) at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm · duplicate stitch: 361 stitches · intarsia: 5 bobbins · stranded: longest float 21 stitches
The big heart for an adult sweater front, a pillow or the middle of a baby blanket.
15 sts × 18 rows · about 6.8 × 6.0 cm (2.7 × 2.4 in) at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm · duplicate stitch: 65 stitches · intarsia: 9 bobbins · stranded: longest float 13 stitches
The 15-stitch heart as an outline only, for a lighter look on a sweater or blanket square.
21 sts × 25 rows · about 9.5 × 8.3 cm (3.8 × 3.3 in) at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm · duplicate stitch: 361 stitches · intarsia: 9 bobbins · stranded: longest float 19 stitches
A pink 9-stitch heart inside the 21-stitch heart, for a sweater front or a cushion.
15 sts × 18 rows · about 6.8 × 6.0 cm (2.7 × 2.4 in) at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm · 90 purl stitches · 1 color, no color changes
One color only: the heart is seed stitch on stockinette. For dishcloths, blanket squares and baby blankets.
6-stitch repeat × 10 rounds · cast on a multiple of 6 · every round uses 2 colors · longest float 5 stitches
A band of small hearts in the round for a hat brim, a sweater hem or a mitten cuff.
6-stitch repeat × 14 rounds · cast on a multiple of 6 · every round uses 2 colors · longest float 5 stitches
Hearts all over a hat, a cowl or a sweater body, worked in the round.
The single hearts are flat charts with the background border shown; the repeats are worked in the round. The letters in the PDF’s written instructions name the colors, A being the main color. The charts are free to knit, change and use in your own projects and patterns.
The sizes below are the heart itself, without the background border around it, so they match what you measure on the finished knitting. They are given for 3 common yarn weights at a typical stockinette gauge per 10 cm (4 in), the same presets as the knitting graph paper: the same heart in a finer yarn makes a smaller motif.
| Heart | Heart size (sts × rows) | Fingering (28 sts × 36 rows) | DK (22 sts × 30 rows) | Worsted (18 sts × 24 rows) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-stitch heart | 5 × 6 | 1.8 × 1.7 cm (0.7 × 0.7 in) | 2.3 × 2.0 cm (0.9 × 0.8 in) | 2.8 × 2.5 cm (1.1 × 1.0 in) |
| 7-stitch heart | 7 × 8 | 2.5 × 2.2 cm (1.0 × 0.9 in) | 3.2 × 2.7 cm (1.3 × 1.0 in) | 3.9 × 3.3 cm (1.5 × 1.3 in) |
| 9-stitch heart | 9 × 10 | 3.2 × 2.8 cm (1.3 × 1.1 in) | 4.1 × 3.3 cm (1.6 × 1.3 in) | 5.0 × 4.2 cm (2.0 × 1.6 in) |
| 11-stitch heart | 11 × 12 | 3.9 × 3.3 cm (1.5 × 1.3 in) | 5.0 × 4.0 cm (2.0 × 1.6 in) | 6.1 × 5.0 cm (2.4 × 2.0 in) |
| 15-stitch heart | 15 × 18 | 5.4 × 5.0 cm (2.1 × 2.0 in) | 6.8 × 6.0 cm (2.7 × 2.4 in) | 8.3 × 7.5 cm (3.3 × 3.0 in) |
| 21-stitch heart | 21 × 25 | 7.5 × 6.9 cm (3.0 × 2.7 in) | 9.5 × 8.3 cm (3.8 × 3.3 in) | 11.7 × 10.4 cm (4.6 × 4.1 in) |
| Outline heart | 15 × 18 | 5.4 × 5.0 cm (2.1 × 2.0 in) | 6.8 × 6.0 cm (2.7 × 2.4 in) | 8.3 × 7.5 cm (3.3 × 3.0 in) |
| Heart in a heart | 21 × 25 | 7.5 × 6.9 cm (3.0 × 2.7 in) | 9.5 × 8.3 cm (3.8 × 3.3 in) | 11.7 × 10.4 cm (4.6 × 4.1 in) |
| Seed stitch heart | 15 × 18 | 5.4 × 5.0 cm (2.1 × 2.0 in) | 6.8 × 6.0 cm (2.7 × 2.4 in) | 8.3 × 7.5 cm (3.3 × 3.0 in) |
The 2 in-the-round repeats are not in the table because they are knitted as a band around the piece, not as one motif.
Graph paper is square; knitting is not. At the gauge every chart here is drawn at, 22 stitches and 30 rows measure 10 cm, so a stitch is wider than a row is tall and the rows-to-stitches ratio is 1.36, or 30 rows for every 22 stitches. Draw a heart as a square of 15 stitches by 15 rows and knit it at DK gauge (22 stitches and 30 rows to 10 cm), and the result is about 6.8 cm wide but only 5.0 cm tall (2.7 × 2.0 in). That is a squat heart.
The 15-stitch heart is drawn 15 stitches by 18 rows instead. It knits to about 6.8 × 6.0 cm (2.7 × 2.4 in) at DK gauge, which reads as a heart rather than a flattened one. The extra rows do not change the width; they correct the height for the shape of a knitted stitch. Every single heart on this page is drawn the same way, which is why all of them have more rows than stitches.
If your yarn is not DK, the correction is different: a fingering yarn has more stitches and rows to 10 cm, while a worsted yarn has fewer. The editor has a gauge setting for exactly this. Enter your own stitches and rows per 10 cm and it previews the motif at your stitch shape and recalculates the finished size. The stitch and row counts stay the same, but the preview takes on the shape your stitches will have, so you can judge the heart before you cast on.
For a small heart, duplicate stitch is usually the quickest method. Knit the piece in the background color, then copy the heart on top of the finished stitches, following the V of each stitch. Nothing is carried behind the work, there are no bobbins to wind, and you can decide the placement after the piece is finished. The 5-stitch heart takes 21 stitches of embroidery and the 7-stitch heart 39. Once a motif runs into the hundreds of stitches, duplicate stitch becomes slow, and the heart turns thick and stiff because every stitch is covered by a second one.
A 21-stitch heart is a different job: 361 stitches is a lot to embroider. For a heart that size, intarsia is the better method. The card says 5 bobbins. The count starts with a bobbin for the background on each side and one for the heart itself. At the top, where the heart splits into two lobes, the second lobe needs its own strand, and the background gap that opens between the lobes needs another background strand. That is why a heart in two colors asks for 5 bobbins; the last two are used for only a few rows, so they need just a short length of yarn. The free intarsia charts show the same system on other motifs, with every bobbin and yarn end counted.
Stranding the same big heart is possible but wasteful. Every row that crosses the motif leaves a float behind the heart, and the longest float in the 21-stitch heart would be 21 stitches. A float that long catches on fingers, jewelry and chair arms and pulls the motif out of shape. The in-the-round repeats are the opposite case: their longest float is only 5 stitches and they use 2 colors per round, which is exactly what stranded knitting is good at. See the free Fair Isle charts for more short-float bands, or use duplicate stitch when you want a heart with no wrong-side floats at all.
Take the 21-stitch heart, which is 21 stitches wide, and put it on an 88-stitch sweater front. Subtract the heart width from the total: 88 − 21 = 67 stitches left over, so one side gets 33 stitches and the other 34. The heart then sits half a stitch off center, which nobody will see in the knitting. On a right-side row, knit 33 stitches in the background color, then work the heart, then knit the rest of the row. Count from the same edge on every right-side row so the motif stays straight.
For the height, decide where the bottom point of the heart should sit, measure that distance from the cast-on edge and turn it into rows with your row gauge: at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm, 15 cm is 45 rows. Start row 1 of the chart there, and mark the center stitch with a removable marker before the first motif row; checking one marker is much easier than recounting the whole row.
This heart uses texture instead of color. On the chart, a dot is a purl stitch on the right side: purl it on right-side rows and knit it on wrong-side rows, which is what makes the bump appear on the front. Inside the heart, knits and purls alternate like a checkerboard, which is seed stitch; everything outside the heart is stockinette. Because the pattern is made by the stitches rather than by changing yarn, it works in one color, with no bobbins, no floats and no extra ends to weave in. This chart has 90 purl stitches and 1 color.
Seed stitch shows up best in a smooth, light-colored yarn; a heavily variegated yarn hides the texture. The symbols are the ones used by the editor and by the rest of this site, and the knitting chart symbols page explains every one. If you are new to working from a grid, the guide to reading a knitting chart covers which way to read flat rows, how to count the stitches and where the bottom row sits.
The heart border and all-over hearts are repeats, not single motifs. One repeat is 6 stitches wide, so the cast-on has to be a multiple of 6. A 96-stitch hat holds 16 whole repeats. The repeat charts use 2 colors per round and keep the longest float to 5 stitches, so there is no need to catch floats or cut the yarn between repeats.
In the round, every round is worked on the right side, so read each row from right to left, starting at the bottom and repeating the chart until the end of the round. On straight needles, right-side rows are read from right to left and knitted, and wrong-side rows are read from left to right and purled; the colors still come from the chart, and the floats sit on the wrong side. The all-over chart is already offset by half a repeat between bands, so the hearts sit like bricks without you counting the offset.
Every card has an Open this chart in the editor button. The chart is copied into your browser’s chart list, where you can change the colors, set a different width and height, choose flat or in the round, and set your gauge. Nothing is uploaded, and the charts stay on your device. To make a heart smaller or larger than the ones here, draw it with more rows than stitches in the same proportion, and check the preview at your gauge.
To put a name or a word beside a heart, the knitting chart letters generator can set a name in stitches, and its alphabet includes ♥, so you can print a name with a heart in it. To draw your own shape on paper first, print knitting graph paper at your gauge. To turn a photo or a drawing into a chart, use photo to knitting chart. Selecting part of a chart to copy, flip and paste comes with Knitting Chart Pro.
The same grids work for crochet: one square is one stitch, and the color of the square is the yarn you work it in. This is tapestry crochet when the unused color is carried inside the stitches. Single crochet stitches are closer to square than knitted stitches, so a heart drawn for knitting comes out taller in crochet. Set your crochet gauge in the editor (stitches and rows per 10 cm) and the preview and finished size follow it.
Pick a heart
Choose a single heart for a flat motif, or one of the repeats for a hat brim or an all-over pattern. The card gives the stitch count, the finished size and the method that suits it.
Open it or print it
Use the button on the card to open the chart in the free editor, or download the whole set as one PDF. Set your gauge before you print so the finished size is right.
Place it
For a single heart, subtract its width from the total and divide by two, then mark the center stitch. For a repeat, check that the cast-on is a multiple of the repeat width.
Knit it
Work the heart in intarsia, add it afterwards in duplicate stitch, or knit the repeats in the round. Block the piece and the heart will settle into its final shape.
Start at the bottom row, with stitch 1 on the right. Flat, right-side rows are read from right to left and knitted, and wrong-side rows from left to right and purled. In the round, every round is read from right to left. The chart shows the right side of the fabric. See knitting chart symbols and how to read a knitting chart for the full key.
The smallest heart here is the 5-stitch heart: 5 stitches by 6 rows, about 2.3 × 2.0 cm (0.9 × 0.8 in) at 22 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm. The next size is the 7-stitch heart at 7 stitches by 8 rows. Both are small enough to add in duplicate stitch after the piece is knitted.
Yes. Every single heart is a flat chart, and the repeats can be knitted flat too: read right-side rows from right to left and knit them, then read wrong-side rows from left to right and purl them. On straight needles the floats stay on the wrong side, and you can seam the piece afterwards. The repeats are written for the round, but the grid works either way.
Use intarsia for a large single heart and stranded knitting for the narrow repeats. A 21-stitch heart needs 5 bobbins in intarsia; knitted stranded instead, its longest float would be 21 stitches, far too long to leave loose. The repeats keep every float to 5 stitches or fewer, which is comfortable stranded knitting. For a small heart, duplicate stitch beats both.
Knit the background first, then embroider the heart in duplicate stitch. The 5-stitch heart takes 21 stitches and the 7-stitch heart takes 39; there are no bobbins, no floats and no color changes during the knitting. The chart still tells you exactly where each stitch goes. For a heart of 361 stitches, intarsia is less work.
Because graph paper is square and knitting is not. At the chart gauge, 22 stitches and 30 rows measure 10 cm, a rows-to-stitches ratio of 1.36. A 15 by 15 square heart knits to about 6.8 × 5.0 cm (2.7 × 2.0 in) at DK gauge, wider than it is tall. Use a chart drawn 18 rows tall for 15 stitches, and check your own gauge in the editor before you start.
Yes. Download all 11 heart charts as one PDF. Each chart is printed with its row and stitch numbers, followed by notes on its size, duplicate-stitch count, bobbins or floats. There is no sign-up and no watermark, and you can print it as often as you like.
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.
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. The free editor opens every chart on this page; selecting part of a chart to copy, flip and paste comes with Knitting Chart Pro. For other small motifs in the round, the free Fair Isle charts keep the same short floats, and the free intarsia charts show the bobbin method on larger flat motifs.
Knitting Chart