Colorpop Knitted Ornaments

Bask in color and light this holiday season with our Colorpop Knitted Ornaments, merry little baubles knit in our luminous Paintbrush Mohair yarn. Quick to make and bursting with cheer, these last-minute gift knits are destined to brighten every bough!

Each ornament begins at the center, whether you’re making a solid, center stripe, or half + half version. You’ll cast on a small circle of stitches to knit in the round, tapering to the bottom as if shaping the crown of a bitty hat, then you’ll pick up stitches around the cast-on edge to work the top half the same way. Stuff it to perfect plumpness, finish with a quick crochet chain loop, and your new ornament is ready to hang on the tree, string onto a garland, or tie to a gift for a sweet touch!

Beautiful Paintbrush Mohair radiates joy, with every color making the next one shine even brighter. Its sweeping palette captures the spirit of celebration—from snowy whites and holly greens to candy pinks and berry reds—so mix, match, and play to your heart’s delight! With just a few balls of yarn, you can create a whole collection of colorful ornaments, each one glowing with its own festive charm.

Floaty on your needles and wonderfully soft in the hand, Paintbrush Mohair has a lustrous Peruvian Pima cotton core surrounded by a delicate fog of fluffy kid mohair. The cotton reflects light like tiny twinkles on the tree, while the mohair’s ability to absorb dye gives every color a fascinating depth and intensity. Knitting this worsted- to bulky-weight yarn on smaller needles makes a dense, super plush fabric for your Colorpop Knitted Ornaments.

Our Colorpop Knitted Ornaments capture everything we love about the season: color, light, and the joy of making by hand. Pick up a few balls of Paintbrush Mohair and start a collection of jewel-bright treasures to enchant your loved ones year after year!

Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!

Pattern designed and written by Purl Soho designer, Hiromi Glover. See even more of Hiromi’s work on her Instagram!

Story written by Andrea Lotz for Purl Soho.

Want to print this pattern? On desktop, find the “print” icon in the right margin, and on mobile, scroll to the end of the pattern for it. Use the on-screen instructions to remove anything you don’t want to print!

Materials

• Purl Soho’s Paintbrush Mohair, 75% kid mohair and 25% Peruvian Pima cotton. Each ball of this worsted/aran- to chunky/bulky-weight yarn is 120 yards/ 50 grams.
  • Solid Version
    • Color A: 1 ball; approximately 30 total yards required
  • Half + Half Version
    • Color A (Bottom): 1 ball; approximately 15 total yards required
    • Color B (Top): 1 ball; approximately 15 total yards required
  • Center Stripe Version
    • Color A (Center Stripe): 1 ball; approximately 15 total yards required
    • Color B (Top/Bottom): 1 ball; approximately 20 total yards required

One ball of Paintbrush Mohair is enough yarn to make 4 Solid ornaments. Two balls is enough for 8 Solid ornaments, 8 Half + Half ornaments, or 6 Center Stripe ornaments!

You’ll also need . . .

• A set of US 6 (4 mm) double pointed needles OR US 6, 32-inch circular knitting needles for Magic Loop (see Notes)
• A stitch marker or scrap yarn
• A US E (3.5 mm) or F (3.75 mm) crochet hook
• Poly-Fil Stuffing

For our samples, we used the following colors…

Solid Version

• Wild Guava, Lime Fizz, Orange Nectar, Heirloom White, Fresh Honeydew, Super Pink, Apple Blossom, Wild Strawberry, Parakeet Green, Lawn Green, Fresh Grapefruit, Giant Sequoia

Half + Half Version

• Color A: Wild Guava; Color B: Parakeet Green
• Color A: Super Pink; Color B: Giant Sequoia
• Color A: Fresh Honeydew; Color B: Orange Nectar

Center Stripe Version

• Color A: Lawn Green; Color B: Apple Blossom
• Color A: Fresh Grapefruit; Color B: Fresh Honeydew
• Color A: Heirloom White; Color B: Lime Fizz

GAUGE

20 stitches and 28 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

SIZE

• Finished Dimensions, Unstuffed: Approximately 3 inches diameter
• Finished Dimensions, Stuffed: Approximately 4 inches diameter

NOTES

DOUBLE POINTED NEEDLES OR MAGIC LOOP

This pattern includes instructions for working on either double pointed needles or on long circular needles, using the Magic Loop method. We have tutorials for both techniques, so just pick the approach you prefer!

For more help, visit our How To Knit With Double Pointed Needles Tutorial and our Magic Loop Tutorial.

PATTERN

BOTTOM HALF

With Color A, cast on 48 stitches, distributing stitches evenly onto double pointed needles or arranging on circular needles for Magic Loop (see Notes). We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.

Place a stitch marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

Rounds 1 and 2: Knit to end of round.

Round 3: *K6, knit 2 together (k2tog), repeat from * to end of round. [42 stitches remain]

Rounds 4 and 5: Knit to end of round.

Round 6: *K5, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. [36 stitches remain]

NOTE: If making Center Stripe Version, cut Color A and join Color B now.

Rounds 7 and 8: Knit to end of round.

Round 9: *K4, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. [30 stitches remain]

Rounds 10 and 11: Knit to end of round.

Round 12: *K3, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. [24 stitches remain]

Round 13: Knit to end of round.

Round 14: *K2, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. [18 stitches remain]

Round 15: *K1, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. [12 stitches remain]

Cut yarn and thread tail onto a tapestry needle. Sew tail through remaining stitches. Pull taut and bring tail to inside of ornament to weave in.

Weave in all ends.

TOP HALF

NOTE: For some tips on picking up, please visit our Picking Up Stitches Tutorial.

With right side of Bottom Half facing you, turn piece so cast-on edge is at the top.

With Color A for Solid and Center Stripe Versions or Color B for Half + Half version, and beginning at cast-on tail, pick up and knit 48 stitches around cast-on edge.

Repeat Rounds 1–15 of Bottom Half (changing colors as instructed if working Center Stripe Version).   

Cut yarn, leaving a 2-foot tail, and thread tail through remaining stitches but do not pull closed.

Turn piece inside out so wrong side is facing you, and weave in all ends except 2-foot tail.

FINISHING

With right side facing you, steam ornament if necessary, then stuff to desired firmness through top opening and pull tail to close opening.

Insert crochet hook purlwise into last stitch you pulled tail through, make a 4-inch crochet chain, then pull tail through final loop to fasten off.

Thread tail back through top of ornament and weave it in.

Make more ornaments!

Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our knitting patterns (including tons of free knitting patterns) and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!