Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Free Patterns: Baby Cocoons and Hats

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baby cocoon brooke kellyA big trend in baby photography right now uses knit props such as these little sacks known as baby cocoons. They’re basically just like really big hats that you can slide a baby into for adorable sleeping baby pictures. Add a little hat on the kiddo’s head and you’ve upped the “aww” factor considerably.

I’ve never bothered to knit one of these because it’s a project with such limited use, but I must admit they are pretty darn cute.

Lion Brand Yarn has two new patterns for these cuties, along with matching hats. The Sweet Dreams Cocoon is a spring delight in pastel colors, while the Lullaby and Goodnight version is pretty in dreamy blues. Both versions use Tweed Stripes yarn and a bit of Luxe Fur for trimming. Too cute!

[Photo by Brooke Kelly/Lion Brand Yarn.]

Looking for more Cocoons? Check out these patterns we found on Etsy.

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Knit Back at AI Patterns with the AIlephant

Lots of craft designers are understandably frustrated about the proliferation of AI “designed” patterns and photos of projects that have no basis in reality. People who don’t know how to tell if a project is AI are often also frustrated when they see a picture for something but there’s no pattern because it’s not real, or they buy a pattern that doesn’t actually explain how to make the thing or ends up looking totally different from the picture. 

Some designers have taken it upon themselves to try to make some of those AI patterns that we see online, often with hilarious results. 

Katherine Foster was inspired by a famous AI elephant to make what she calls “AIlephant,” which is now a free knitting pattern on Ravelry. 

Her prototype uses worsted weight yarn, but you can use whatever yarn you like to make different sizes of elephants. 

The elephant features a cable running down the trunk and a different cable pattern on the back. It’s worked in pieces that are joined and stuffed as you go. It uses German short row shaping on the body and includes written instructions as well as a chart for the cable patterns. 

Reading through the pattern, it sounds a little fiddly, which makes sense because it was designed to look like a pattern that isn’t real. But it’s doable, as evidenced by the handful of projects you can find on Ravelry. The ears on her version aren’t quite as big and round or maybe don’t sit in quite the same place as the AI version (which if you haven’t seen it there’s a photo of that on the projects page, too). But it’s a pretty honest replica of a dishonest photo, and a really cute elephant in its own right. 

If you make this one I would love to hear about it!

You can grab the free pattern on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Katherine Foster]