Bobbles are a fun quirk of knitting that look like bumps, domes or round balls. Bobbles are most often worked into a pattern or block of knitting. However, bobbles can be made individually to add accents to other knitted pieces. What better way to add buttons to your knitting than to knit bobbles. Bobbles are made by making several increase stitches into a few stitches. All you need to know is how to knit into the front and back loops.

  • Bobbles are a fun quirk of knitting that look like bumps, domes or round balls.
  • However, bobbles can be made individually to add accents to other knitted pieces.

Make a slip knot with yarn. Make sure the short yarn tail of the slip knot is 6 inches long.

Put a knitting needle into the slip knot. Pull the long end of the yarn to tighten the slip knot.

Knit into the loop of yarn on the left needle, with the right knitting needle. Do not slide the stitch off the left knitting needle.

  • Put a knitting needle into the slip knot.
  • Do not slide the stitch off the left knitting needle.

Knit into the back of the same stitch you just used. Do not slide the stitch off the left knitting needle.

  • Put a knitting needle into the slip knot.
  • Do not slide the stitch off the left knitting needle.

Knit into the front, back and front again of the same stitch. Only now slide the stitch off the left knitting needle. You have five stitches. Turn.

Purl each stitch. Turn.

Knit into the first stitch. Do not drop the stitch off the left knitting needle. Yarn over. Knit into the same stitch again. Slide the stitch off the left knitting needle.

  • Knit into the first stitch.

Continue to knit, yarn over and knit the same stitch for each stitch in the row. You have fifteen stitches. Turn.

Purl two stitches together. Repeat purling two stitches together until the last three stitches. Purl the last three stitches together. You have seven stitches. Turn.

  • Continue to knit, yarn over and knit the same stitch for each stitch in the row.
  • Purl the last three stitches together.

Lift the second stitch on the left knitting needle over the first stitch and off the needle. Repeat for every stitch on the left knitting needle until one stitch is left.

Cut the yarn leaving 6 inches.

Pull the yarn you just cut through the stitch left on the knitting needle. Drop the stitch off the knitting needle.

Tie the two dangling strands of yarn together firmly, forming a ball shape.

Squeeze the ball shape with your fingers until it is round.

  • Lift the second stitch on the left knitting needle over the first stitch and off the needle.
  • Squeeze the ball shape with your fingers until it is round.

Thread the two strands of yarn through a tapestry needle and sew the bobble button onto your garment. Sew through the back of the garment and into the bottom of the bobble button a few times to secure the bobble.

Knot the yarn on the back of the garment, remove the needle and cut off any excess yarn with scissors.

TIP

If you want extra firmness, put a tiny bit of stuffing into the bobble before you knot the two strands of yarn.

WARNING

Take care to leave long tails of yarn for the slip knot and at the end of your knitting, or sewing the bobble onto your garment will be very difficult. Judy Graham, a well-known knitter who has worked in Hollywood for over three decades, cautions, "You might, by mistake, make extra stitches by looping the yarn over twice as you are knitting. You do not want to do that."