Free knitting pattern for a „Moody Smiley“ – as coaster or cleaning pad

You can work this cute little smiley either in classic double sided knitting, i.e. laughing on the back and front side, or sad on the back and front side. Or you choose the advanced version, the non-mirrored double sided knitting – then you will get the laughing smiley face on one side, and the sad face on the other side.

If you go for the classic version, you can scroll down to the according knitting chart. Whereas if you choose the advanced version, please read the explanation for the non-mirrored double sided knitting first.

Material used:

• Cotton, e.g. Schachenmayr Catania (125 m / 50 gr), two different colours (one light, one dark), I used grey and yellow; approx. 10 gr each (of course you can use any other / similar yarn)
• Circular needles 2.5 mm
• Additional circular needle 2.5 mm (alternatively 2.0 mm or 3.0 mm) for bind off
• Darning needle, scissors

Gauge (double knitted with both colours):

22 sts x 34 rows = 10 x 10 cm

Size of the finished coaster is approx. 10,5 cm x 10,5 cm

Please note: If you have a different gauge, the size of the finished product will be different, too.

Non-mirrored double knitting

When using the classic double knitting technique, the motif is mirrored on the back side, which doesn’t matter if it is a normal image. But if you knit letters / words, you would like them to be readable from both sides. Same applies for our project here, as we would like to get two different images. Therefore, both sides must be knitted differently.

In the knitting chart, both sides are shown overlaying, i.e. both the sad and the laughing smiley face are shown. Please don’t get frightened by the knitting chart – at first sight it looks complicated, but it isn’t really, if you work stitch by stitch. You just need to concentrate for the sections that are concerned.

In the example the coaster / pad is made of grey and yellow. If you choose two different colours, use the dark colour as « grey » and the light colour as « yellow ». This is important, so that you know with which colour to start or which colour is meant in the knitting chart.

Classic double knitting only has two options : « no motif » (= knit in main colour, purl in contrast colour) or « motif » (= knit in contrast colour, purl in main colour). Thus, front and back side show the same motif, just mirrored and with reverse colours on the back side.

The non-mirrored version offers the additional option, that the motif only shows on one side (so that you can knit the font individually for both sides). Depending on the side you work at the moment, this means « knit AND purl in yellow » or « knit AND purl in grey ». So you work one pair of stitches in the same colour in order to show the motif either only on the front side or only on the back side.

Please read the knitting chart cell by cell, and work each pair of stitches deliberately, according to the colour information in the chart. After each row, you can control if the image shows correctly.

Tipp for correcting stitches you knitted with the wrong colour: If you should discover that you used the wrong colour for a stitch, you can either knit backwards. Or you can drop the stitch carefully up to the row where the wrong colour was used. Then you «knit» the stitch with the correct colour row by row with the help of a crochet hook. Repeat this for the second stitch of the concerned pair.

Let’s start!

Cast on 24 pairs of stitches (one pair of stitches = 1 knit in colour 1, 1 purl in colour 2) with the invisible cast on (if you are not sure how to do this, you will find helpful video tutorials on the internet). If you cast on rather loosely, I recommend to use the smaller circular needle 2.0 mm, only for cast on.

Of course, you can use any other cast on method suitable for double knitting that you are familiar with.

Please note: in Row 1, main colour must be grey (resp. your dark colour). If you use the invisible cast on, begin with yellow (resp. your light colour), so after turning you will knit with grey (dark colour) and purl with yellow (light colour).

Row 1

Now switch to the circular needles 2.5 mm.

Knit into back all grey (dark) knits, purl normally all yellow (light) purls.

Cross threads when working the first pair of stitches and the last pair of stitches, thus the two sides will be connected at the edges.

Row 2 – Selvedge stitch

Work all knits in yellow (light colour), all purls in grey (dark colour).

Do a nice selvedge stitch from row 2 on, always at the end of the row. It looks nice and it binds both sides together.

Last knit stitch (in this example yellow): slip stitch purlwise, yarn back (both colours)

Last purl stitch (in this example grey): slip stitch purlwise, yarn back (yellow / light colour) respectively yarn forward (grey / dark colour)

Turn; the yellow yarn (light colour) is front, the grey yarn (dark colour) is back.

Knit and purl as usual.

Knitting chart for the motif:

You will get three different versions:

Version a) = laughing smiley face in classic double sided knitting; i.e. you will see the laughing face on both sides

Version b) = sad smiley face in classic double sided knitting; i.e. you will see the sad face on both sides

Version c) = sad and laughing smiley face in non-mirrored double sided knitting; i.e. you will see the laughing face on one side, an the sad face on the other side.

You can knit version a) and b) according to the knitting charts. The version c) will be explained in detail in the following paragraph.

Knitting chart version a) laughing smiley face:

Explanation (every cell = one pair of stitches):

White cell = knit in main colour, purl in contrast colour
Blue cell = knit in contrast colour, purl in main colour
Rows with odd numbers (1. and further): main colour = grey / dark colour, contrast colour = yellow / light colour
Rows with even numbers (2. and further): main colour = yellow / light colour, contrast colour = grey / dark colour

Knitting chart version b) sad smiley face

Explanation (every cell = one pair of stitches):

White cell = knit in main colour, purl in contrast colour
Blue cell = knit in contrast colour, purl in main colour
Rows with odd numbers (1. and further): main colour = grey / dark colour, contrast colour = yellow / light colour
Rows with even numbers (2. and further): main colour = yellow / light colour, contrast colour = grey / dark colour

Knitting chart version c) sad and laughing smiley face:

Explanation (every cell = one pair of stitches):

White cell = knit in main colour, purl in contrast colour
Blue cell = knit in contrast colour, purl in main colour
Pink cell = knit AND purl in yellow resp. light colour
Grey cell = knit AND purl in grey resp. dark colour
Rows with odd numbers (1. and further): main colour = grey / dark colour, contrast colour = yellow / light colour
Rows with even numbers (2. and further): main colour = yellow / light colour, contrast colour = grey / dark colour

Tip: when double knitting in rows, main and contrast colour change with each row. Before you start each row, identify which is the main colour in this row and whether you work the chart from right to left or from left to right. For example, you can work all rows with odd numbers from right to left (in working direction), and all rows with even numbers from left to right (against working direction).

Detailed explanation for version c)

Rows 1-5

According to the knitting chart, the first five rows of the coaster „Moody Smiley“ are worked uni (i.e. knit in the respective main colour, purl in the respective contrast colour).

Row 6

In row 6, the motif starts. As row 6 is a row with an even number (with yellow / light colour as main colour), we work the knitting chart from left to right.

This is row 6 in detail (from left to right), abbreviations: k = knit, p = purl:

9 x k yellow / p grey

6 x k grey / p yellow

9 x k yellow / p grey (Don’t forget the selvedge stitch at the end of the row)

Turn.

Row 7

As row 7 is a row with an odd number (with grey / dark colour as main colour), we work the knitting chart from right to left.

7 x k grey / p yellow

10 x k yellow / p grey

7 x k grey / p yellow (selvedge stitch at the end of the row)

Turn.

Row 8

The knitting chart is read from left to right, with yellow / light colour as main colour.

6 x k yellow, p grey

12 x k grey, p yellow

6 x k yellow, p grey (selvedge stitch at the end of the row)

Turn.

Row 9

The knitting chart is read from right to left, with grey / dark colour as main colour.

5 x k grey, p yellow

3 x k yellow, p grey

1 x k AND p yellow

6 x k yellow, p grey

1 x k AND p yellow

3 x k yellow, p grey

5 x k grey, p yellow (selvedge stitch at the end of the row)

Turn.

Row 10

The knitting chart is read from left to right, with yellow / light colour as main colour.

5 x k yellow, p grey

3 x k grey, p yellow

2 x k AND p yellow

4 x k grey, p yellow

2 x k AND p yellow

3 x k grey, p yellow

5 x k yellow, p grey (selvedge stitch at the end of the row)

Turn.

Row 11

The knitting chart is read from right to left, with grey / dark colour as main colour.

4 x k grey, p yellow

5 x k yellow, p grey

1 x k AND p yellow

4 x k grey, p yellow

1 x k AND p yellow

5 x k yellow, p grey

4 x k grey, p yellow (selvedge stitch at the end of the row)

Turn.

Row 12

The knitting chart is read from left to right, with yellow / light colour as main colour.

4 x k yellow, p grey

5 x k grey, p yellow

1 x k AND p grey

4 x k yellow, p grey

1 x k AND p grey

5 x k grey, p yellow

4 x k yellow, p grey (selvedge stitch at the end of the row)

Turn.

Continue the work according to the knitting chart till row 36. In row 36 you don’t need to do a selvedge stitch, just knit and purl the last pair of stitches.

Now it’s time to bind off. As it fits perfectly with the invisible cast on, I will show you the invisible bind off here.

Invisible bind off:

Cut the yellow yarn / light colour. We continue binding off with the grey yarn / dark colour. Cut the grey / dark yarn and leave a strand in the length of approx 4 x the width of the coaster / pad (about 40-50 cm).

Separate the stitches in the front (all knit stitches) and back (all purl stitches) on two circular needles (you will need the additional circular needle now):

Take the first knit stitch from the left to the right tip of the current needle (1st needle). Take the first purl stitch on the additional needle (2nd needle). The next knit stitch again goes from the left to the right tip of the 1st needle, and the next purl stitch goes to the 2nd needle. And so on, until all stitches are separated:

Put the long grey / dark strand into the darning needle.

Stick the darning needle purl wise into the 1st stitch on the 1st needle and pull through. The stitch stays on the needle.

Stick the darning needle knit wise into the 1st stitch on the 2nd needle and pull through. This stitch also stays on the needle.

*Stick the darning needle knit wise into the 1st stitch on the 1st needle. Drop this stitch off the needle. Stick the darning needle purl wise into the 2nd stitch on the 1st needle and pull through, this stitch stays on the needle.

Stick darning needle purl wise into the 1st stitch on the 2nd needle, drop this stitch off the needle. Stick darning needle knit wise into the 2nd stitch on the 2nd needle and pull through, this stitch stays on the needle.*

Repeat *-* across.  Pull the yarn continuously, but not too tight, so that the bind off will be stretchable.

Weave in all ends. Done 😊 

I hope you had some fun trying out the non-mirrored version. Of course, you could use the motif not only for a coaster or a cleaning pad, but also for many other things / accessories – be creative! You could, as an example, knit a headband with laughing and sad smiley faces – depending on your mood you can show the happy or the sad side to the world. If you have a little child which has difficulties expressing his / her feelings, you could use the smiley as a mood indicator – sometimes it is much easier to show the smiley with the sad face than expressing the own feelings with words…

Maybe you would like to write in the comments about your ideas and projects, or you would like to show a picture of your creation in the Crazypatterns photo gallery?

If you liked this little project, feel free to visit my shop – there you will find many double sided knitting patterns. If you follow my shop, you will always be informed when there’s news 😊

Please feel free to ask questions either by direct message or as a comment here on the blog site.

Kind regards, Sonja