Free Knitting Pattern for a Top-Down Raglan Hooded Baby Cardigan, featuring seamless construction, garter stitch details, and optional embroidery.
This adorable hooded cardigan is worked seamlessly from the top down, beginning with the hood. It features raglan increases to shape the yoke and sleeves. The body and sleeves are primarily worked in stockinette stitch, with garter stitch used for the hood edging, button bands, cuffs, and hem. The pattern includes sizes for babies approximately 60, 70, and 80 cm in height (roughly corresponding to 3-6 months, 6-9 months, and 9-12 months, but check measurements carefully). The hood has optional embroidered facial features.
This is designed, mostly in Stockinette stitch (st st), with some shaping, a simple design for Intermediate skill levels.
This pattern is best suited for an intermediate knitter due to the top-down construction starting with the hood, the multiple increases and decreases, and some slightly unclear instructions. It involves:
- Working flat (hood, body) and in the round (sleeves).
- Basic stitches: knit, purl.
- Increases: m1 (make one).
- Decreases: k2tog (knit two together), skp (slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over).
- Raglan increases.
- Picking up stitches (for hood edging).
- Creating buttonholes (yo, k2tog).
- Following shaping instructions (decreases for hood, increases for hem).
- Optional: Embroidery.
Skill Level: Intermediate (Top-down construction starting with hood, multiple increases and decreases, picking up stitches, buttonholes, shaping)
Finished Measurements:
- Body Circumference: 50 (54) 58 cm / 19¾ (21¼) 22¾ inches
- Length (Back, Midpoint): 24 (27) 30 cm / 9½ (10¾) 11¾ inches
- Inner Sleeve Length: 17 (20) 23 cm / 6¾ (7¾) 9 inches
Materials Used:
- Novita Baby Wool (DK weight; presumably 100% wool): 200 (250) 250 g in color (441) Stone
- Small amounts of white and pink yarn for embroidery (optional)
Needles:
- 4.5 mm (UK 7 / US 7) circular needles (60 cm / 24 inches)
- 4.5 mm (UK 7 / US 7) double-pointed needles (DPNs)
Notions:
- Tapestry needle (for weaving in ends and embroidery)
- 5 buttons
Knitting Pattern for a Hooded Baby Cardigan
Free Pattern
Pattern Considerations:
- Gauge: 21 sts and 28 rows = 10 cm / 4 inches in stockinette stitch. Achieving the correct gauge is crucial.
- Yarn Substitution: Any DK-weight yarn that achieves the specified gauge can be substituted. Baby wool is recommended for softness and warmth.
- Construction: The cardigan is worked top-down, starting with the hood. The hood is worked flat, then shaped with decreases. Stitches are then picked up for the body, and raglan increases are used to shape the yoke. The sleeves are worked in the round.
- Hood Shaping: The hood has a unique shaping method, with an initial bind-off for the face opening, followed by decreases at both ends. The back of the hood is further shaped with centered double decreases.
- Raglan Increases: The pattern uses “m1” (make one) increases for the raglan shaping. It specifies knitting the strand of yarn between stitches through the back loop, which creates a nearly invisible increase.
- Hem Shaping: The hem is slightly flared, with increases worked along the sides.
- Buttonholes: Buttonholes are created using a standard yarn-over, k2tog combination. The pattern calls for 5 buttonholes, with 4 spaced along the button band and the 5th worked into the hood edging.
- Embroidery: The pattern suggests embroidering a nose and eyes on the hood, but this is optional.
- Clarity Some areas could be written more clearly.
- Sizing While sizes in cm are given (60, 70, 80), these usually correspond more directly to the height of the baby, not an age.
- Abbreviations Are standard, mostly, but:
- skp – slip, knit, pass.
