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King Cole Pulls Patterns for Hooded Baby Sleep Bags

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Recent guidance from the UK Government Product Safety board called our various sleep bags, swaddles and hooded sleep sacks for being hazardous to babies. The report says “The sleep bag presents a serious risk of suffocation, overheating and death as it has a head covering.”

It notes that babies can overheat in the sleep bags, which is associated with SIDS, and the hood can cover their face and lead to suffocation. Products have been removed from Amazon listings in the UK as being in violation of the 2005 General Product Safety Regulations, and they have advised parents who own these types of products to stop using them. (They are still for sale in the United States and I assume elsewhere.)

Yarn company King Cole has responded to this report by announcing it is removing its knitting and crochet patterns for similar style bags from circulation and calling on yarn stores that might have printed patterns to destroy them.

King Cole said on Instagram that the patterns being recalled include 5766, 2766, 2823, 5000, 4534, 5945, 5603, 5972, and Aran Book 2. Some older patterns (such as 4672) may also be in circulation and should not be used. (One of the patterns is shown above; there are pictures of all of them in the Instagram post linked above.)

The company advises knitters and crocheters who have these patterns not to use them. If patterns were purchased, they can be returned to a King Cole stockist for a replacement pattern.

If you knit or crochet for babies (in the UK or anywhere else) it’s helpful to be aware of this guidance and consider it when making projects for little ones. If you want to knit a swaddle for a baby, make a sleep sack that slides over the body but doesn’t cover the head for safety. Likewise, if you have a little one in your household you might want to consider discontinuing use of these sorts of products to ensure your little one doesn’t get too hot at night.

[Photo: King Cole via Instagram]

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Comments

  1. If the sleep bags are used when you take baby out in the cold! Then I don’t see the problem as you would put a hat on!
    I would not use this type of sleep bag in the house it’s more for out door use.
    Most countries I know would use this for out door use. It all comes down to common sense and warning labels.

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Knit a Great Button Down Shirt

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting. 

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of. 

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams. 

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs. 

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty. 

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this). 

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry. 

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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