Popcorn Stitch Bloomers – Free Pattern & Tutorial

Also available in: Español

A few weeks ago, I saw this popcorn stitch bloomers and I liked them so much I had to make my own version and show it to you. It is an original design by Shirley Bredal, a Danish online store pf hand-made garments that if you have not heard of them, I invite you to visit their online store and their Instagram. It is a true source of inspiration, especially for people who love Nordic style children’s clothing.

When I saw this pattern, my idea was to make the least seams possible and to knit it using straight needles since it is the simplest way for most people. If you are reading this tutorial and are used to knitting with circular needles, you can knit the bloomers in the round and avoid seaming the sides later. There are many ways of knitting a garment, the way I am going to show you below, is just one way to knit this type of garment.

Stitches used to make a pair of knitted bloomers

To make today’s project you will need to know some basic stitches and a more specific stitch (but not too difficult to do) the popcorn stitch.

• Cast on
• 1×1 rib stitch
• Stockinnete stitch
• Popcorn Stitch
• Pick up stitches
• Bind off

Materials to make the Popcorn Stitch Bloomers

• 1 ball of 50 grams of cotton yarn for 3 mm needles in Mint
• 3 mm needles
• 3 stitch holders
• A tapestry needl

How to Knit the Popcorn Bloomers – Size 1-3 months 

1. Knit the waistband  

We begin by knitting the top section of the knitted bloomers that correspond to the waistband.

At this point we will use the 1X1 rib stitch, meaning we will knit a knit and a purl stitch alternately and in the next row we will knit the stitch as it looks, that is, we will make a purl then a knit stitch, etc…

 

Once we knit the first 4 rows, we will begin to add the eyelets to be able to add a cord later. This will let us adjust the waist of the popcorn stitch bloomers to the baby.

To make the eyelets we knit 3 stitches, we knit two stitches together and then bring the yarn to the front of the work. We continue knitting this way until the end of the row.

To finish the waistband, we will knit 3 more rows of 1×1 rib stitch.

2- We knit the middle section of the knitted bloomers

This is the most versatile part of the entire project. If you do not want to make it too difficult for you or you are a beginner knitter, when you knit the middle section of the knitted bloomers you can use the knit stitch or the Garner stitch. You can also add more colors to make a design or stripes, or you can add a decorative motif in the same color as is the case of this tutorial.

For these bloomers, I opted for the popcorn or bobble stitch since I think it is the sweetest and ideal stitch for baby garments. You can learn to do the Popcorn stitch by following this video tutorial.

It does not matter where you place the bobbles as it depends on your personal taste whether you like them to be more spread out or closer together.

If you want to make them as shown in the pictures, you should make a popcorn stitch every 15 stitches. You can start the row by first knitting 5 stitches (so that the first bobble is not too far or close to the edge of the work), popcorn stitch, knit 15 stitches, popcorn stitch, knit 15 stitches, continue of this manner until you reach the end of the row. Then knit 5 rows of knit stitch and on the 6 row work a popcorn stitch row.

We will knit on this way until the work measures 15 cm from the waistband of our knitted bloomers.

 

3- Divide stitches for the leg openings

At this point we will have to divide the stiches to make what will later become the leg openings. To do this, we knit 28 stitches and place them on a stitch holder.

Once we place the first stitches on hold, we bind off the next 14 stitches (this will make up the crotch region)

 

Knit 56 stitches of the other leg opening and place them on hold, finally, bind off 14 stitches, knit 28 stitches and place them on hold.

At this point you should have divided the stitches in the following way: 28 stitches on a stitch holder, 14 stiches binded off, 56 stitches on the middle stitch holder, 14 stitches binded off and 28 stitches on the last stitch holder.

4- Seam the sides

With a tapestry needle, seam the sides of the work so that it is circular in shape. Our popcorn stitch bloomers are taking shape!

5- Knit the leg openings of the popcorn stitch bloomers

Once the sides of the bloomers are joined, we place the stitches that were on hold from the ends (28 + 28) onto the needle leaving us with 56 stitches in total.

Knit 8 rows in 1×1 rib stitch in the same way we knit the waistband, except for making the eyelets.

Repeat the previous steps with the other 56 stitches on hold, leaving a long tail of yarn to seam the crotch region.

6- Add a cord

There are many ways of making yarn cords, you can make them by making knots, twisting two yarns or in my case, making a cord using a crochet hook called I-cord or tubular cord.

If you want to learn how to make this type of cord you can learn by following this video tutorial. I know that this takes time, especially since you will need to make a cord that is approximately 65 cm, but the result will be worth it.

Once we have our cord, we will pass it through the eyelets starting from the center of the garment and it is done! Our knitted popcorn stitch bloomers are ready to wear!

As you can see, although at first it seems to be a lot more complicated than the knit stitch or garter stitch, it is easier than it seems and the finished bloomers are impressive.

This garment is a fun knit because you will not get tired of always making the same stitches between making knit stitches and popcorn stitches…the hours will fly by this summer!

What do you think of taking this project to knit on the beach or pool?

Kisses,