Look, I have a somewhat complicated relationship with winter in general and with snow in particular.

There’s a fairly outspoken seven year old inside me who thinks it’s great. Snow days, snow angels, sledding…what’s not to like? But there’s also a very tired 40something in there who is really quite sick of shoveling the driveway and driving on slippery roads and worrying about the roof.

I’m trying to find the happy medium. Tucking up under woolly blankets with a new book, hot chocolate ready to hand, watching the snow while I am safely inside is actually rather lovely. And since winter is happening regardless of how I feel about it, I might as well try to enjoy what it has to offer.

But I’m definitely still working on coming to terms with the cold. And these little buddies help. Yes, they are snowmen. But they’re the warmest, coziest, toastiest snowmen you’ll ever meet. No cold toes or freezing fingers or wind reddened cheeks required.

General information

This 18-page pattern is tremendously detailed and holds your hand every step of the way. There are pages and pages of step-by-step photos to show you exactly what to expect as you work. The pattern is full of helpful tips on everything from casting on, blocking, filling your snowmen, and managing your ends.

It’s almost absurdly detailed, but it really does mean you can totally make these, even if you’ve never knit a project like this before!

Skills & scope

Each snowman fits in the palm of your hand and takes only a few hours to knit. You’ll knit the body first, then make some little accessories to keep him warm.

The pattern uses charts, so you will need to know how to follow a knitting chart.

Yarn, gauge & sizing

The snowman comes in two sizes and the pattern includes three different scarves and three different hats. You can make the snowmen in any weight of yarn, and the finished size will change depending on what yarn you use. You don’t need to match any particular gauge, but you do need to knit tightly enough to make a firm fabric so your filling doesn’t show through.

I’ve knit this in everything from fingering-weight up through aran-weight yarns.

This is a perfect project for scrap yarn.

The snowmen in the pictures took less than 150 yards each. The hats and scarves took less than 50 yards each. They are worked between 9 stitches per inch (for the fingering-weight yarn) and 5 stitches per inch (for the aran-weight yarn). They are between 4 and 6 inches tall and between 4 and 5 inches across.

Tools & supplies

You’ll need needles that let you work in the round (circulars or DPNs) in whatever size lets you get a firm fabric with your chosen yarn plus the general knitting tools you need for most projects (scissors to cut your yarn, a darning needle to weave in ends, the occasional stitch marker or bit of scrap yarn to hold stitches).

You’ll also need something to fill the snowmen with. If you want to use real twigs for the arms, you’ll need those too. I have a page here with information about the supplies I use in my projects.