Knitted Cupcake Pattern Free (No Calorie Cupakes!)

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In this post, you will see a knitted cupcake pattern (free no calorie cupcakes!).

I like baking cupcakes sometimes, eating them, and decorating them…. but this can be so dangerous to your waistline!

Why not turn the love into a calorie-free, non-edible version by knitting little cupcakes with different colored icing and adding beads/sequins for sprinkled decoration?

The cupcakes are knit flat with straight knitting needles and then assembled together, with the addition of beaded or stitched sprinkles.

Scroll down to view the free pattern and grab your free printable PDF.

Knitted Cupcake Pattern Free (no calorie cupakes!)

Knit A Cupcake 

Making this free pattern is a great way to use any yarn scraps in your yarn collection. 

These cute cupcakes are fun decorative items that will look wonderful on your bookshelf. 

Moreover, you can be creative with your color combination picks; you can choose to follow the colors of the tasty treat with a light brown main cupcake case base and cream or frosted pink icing, or you can pick your own palette. 

Plus, they are fantastic gifts for any of your crafty friends.

Related Post: 57 Stash Busting Knitting Patterns

Cupcake Pattern

Skill Level – Easy

Notes

This is an easy pattern for those of you who are at the advanced beginner level, and the techniques you will need to know are knit, purl, and k2tog.

Using mainly knit and purl stitches will also introduce you to decreasing and shaping.

It’s knit flat on 3.5 mm needles.

The supplies you need…

Yarn

  • A small amount of the following;
  • Pink (Shade A)
  • Cream (Shade B)
  • Light brown (Shade C)
  • Light pink (Shade D)
  • All DK yarn or 4 ply wool.
  • You can choose your colors and use beads to look like sprinkles!

Needles

  • 3.5 mm (US 4) needle size

Notions

  • Tape measure
  • Scissors
  • Darning needle/yarn needle/tapestry needle
  • Sewing needle

Other Materials

  • Sewing thread
  • Beads

Abbreviations

  • Approx – Approximately
  • Beg – Begin(ning)
  • Cont – Continue(ing)
  • Inc – Increase (either KFB or M1)
  • K – Knit
  • K2tog – Knit the next 2 stitches together
  • KFB – Knit into the front and back of the stitch (to increase by one stitch).
  • P – Purl
  • M1 – Make 1 stitch
  • Rem – Remaining
  • Rep – Repeat
  • St(s) – Stitch(es)

Free Knitting Pattern

  • Pink (Shade A)
  • Cream (Shade B)
  • Light brown (Shade C)
  • Light pink (Shade D)

Using shade C, cast on 10 stitches.

  1. Row 1: (k1, Inc 1) rep to last st, K1. (19 stitches)
  2. Row 2: P
  3. Row 3: (k2, Inc1) to last st, K1. (28 stitches)
  4. Row 4: P
  5. Row 5: (K2, Inc1) to last two stitches K2 (41 stitches)
  6. Row 6: P
  7. Row 7: K1 (K3, Inc 1) to last stitch K1 (54 stitches)
  8. Row 8: P
  9. Row 9: K
  10. Row 10: P
  11. Row 11: K
  12. Row 12: P
  13. Row 13: K4 (K1, Inc 1, k6) rep to last 7sts, K7 (61 stitches)
  14. Row 14: P
  15. Row 15: K
  16. Row 16: P
  17. Row 17: K4 (K1, Inc 1, K7) rep to last 6 sts, K6 (68 stitches)
  18. Row 18: P
  19. Row 19: K4 (K1, Inc 1, K4) rep to last 4 sts, K4 (80 stitches)
  20. Row 20: P
  21. Row 21: Change to Shade A. K row
  22. Row 22: K
  23. Row 23: K
  24. Row 24: K
  25. Row 25: K2, (K2tog 5 times, K10) Rep to the end of the row, K3.
  26. Row 26: K
  27. Row 27: *K1, K2tog – *Rep to the end of the row.
  28. Row28: K
  29. Row 29: K2 tog to end.
  30. Row 30: K2 tog to end.
  31. Row 31: Break yarn and thread through stitches, draw tight & fasten off

Cherry

Using shade D, cast on 4 stitches.

  1. Row 1: P
  2. Row 2: P
  3. Row 3: K
  4. Row 4: P
  5. Row 5: K
  6. Row 6: P
  7. Row 7: P
  8. K2tog to end

Break yarn and thread through stitches, draw tight & fasten off.

Case

Using shade B, cast on 9 stitches.

Rows 1–78: Knit all rows in Garter Stitch

Cast off.

Pick up 29 stitches evenly along one of the long sides.

  1. Row 1: P
  2. Row 2: K4 (K2tog x 4, K3) twice, K4
  3. Row 3: P
  4. Row 4: K1 (K2 tog, K2) to end.
  5. Row 5: P
  6. Row 6: K2 tog to end.
  7. Row 7: Break yarn and thread through stitches, draw tight & fasten off.
  8. Sew the bottom and side together to form a cupcake case.

Making Up

  1. Sew together cupcake edges, leaving a gap to stuff.
  2. Stuff with stuffing and sew up the gap.
  3. Sew in any loose ends.
  4. Sew a running stitch around the edge of the cherry and pull it tight to give it a ball shape.
  5. Fasten off and attach to the top of the cake.
  6. Sew on small round beads to look like sprinkles!
  7. Or add French knots with embroidery thread.

Could you share your work with us?

I love seeing your finished projects on social media.

If you enjoyed making the knitted cupcake, I’d love to see yours on Instagram, be sure to tag me @handylittleme.

If you are on Facebook, stop over to the Handylittleme Facebook Group and share a photo.

Or come over to the Handylittleme Facebook page to catch up on the latest patterns. 

You can also find us on Pinterest and Ravelry.

I’d love to see your work.

Happy Knitting!

knitted cupcake pink icing yarn

What Is The Best Yarn For Knitted Cupcakes? 

When knitting cupcakes, you’ll want a yarn that allows for a realistic and visually appealing texture. 

A soft, worsted weight, aran weight yarn, or DK weight yarn in various colors can work well for this project. 

Cotton or acrylic yarn provide a good stitch definition and are easy to care for, making them practical choices for decorative items like knitted cupcakes.

Variegated yarns can also add a playful touch to your knitted cupcakes.

Knitting Lessons

If you are a new knitter and need help with the knitting basics, check out the knitting lessons here – Knitting Lessons (With Video Tutorials).

There, you will find step-by-step tutorials for all the different knitting techniques a newbie needs to know. 

Including how to cast on, how to knit the basic knit stitches, how to knit the knit stitch, the stockinette stitch, the rib stitch, the garter stitch, the mattress stitch, short rows, and a list of knitting abbreviations, and more. 

For more easy projects, check out this pattern category, there you will find a range of knitting patterns – Beginner Knitters.

And if you need more video tutorials, check out my YouTube channel here. Handy Little Me – YouTube. 

Resources and tutorials you may find helpful in following this pattern:

This cute free knitted cupcake pattern is great for any advanced beginner knitters.

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4 Comments

  1. I am trying to make this for a friend. I can’t get the stitches to work out. I.e 10 stitches cast on then knit 1 inc 1 does not make 15 but 20 stitches. I am quite confused by this and having to calculate the amount of stitches as I go. Am I not understanding something. Thanks

    1. Hello Shirl, I have amended the stitch counts, so you should ok now!
      Thanks for letting me know about that.
      Louise 🙂

  2. My row 25 isn’t adding up. I’m left with 38 stitches on my left needle after (k2tog 5 times, k10) twice instead of one. Any advice please?

    1. Hello Amelia,
      You can work row 25 like this – K2, (K2tog 5 times, K10) Rep to the end of the row, K3.
      Repeat the K2tog, 5 times, K10 to the end of the row, you should have 3 sts left.
      I hope that helps,
      Louise