Sweet Cardigan Knitting Pattern for Kids

I don’t know why I don’t share a lot of kids knitting patterns. I guess my daughter has aged out of them (I still knit for her occasionally but she fits in the smallest of the adult sizes these days) but for the most part they aren’t really on my radar.

(Unless I’m designing them, but that’s usually baby knitting patterns.)

But this cute little kids cardigan caught my eye the other day and I think it would be great to knit for little ones heading into fall. The K? Cardigan by Leila Raven is a top-down, circular yoke cardigan worked in one piece starting with an integrated garter stitch collar, with plenty of stockinette stitch for ease as well as some lacy shale stripes for extra fun. The button band is also garter stitch and worked as you go to make it faster and easier.

The pattern is sized for babies 3-6 months to kids 4-6 years, and it’s based on the Elizabeth Zimmermann Baby Sweater on Two Needles pattern from Knitter’s Almanac, as well as a design used in one of the designer’s other patterns. It’s a fun mashup that’s easy to knit and to wear.

The original design was worked in DK weight yarn, but the designer has expanded the sizing so that you can work the bigger sizes using worsted weight yarn, which makes them a little bigger. There are options for short sleeves and long sleeves, and the lace parts are both written and charted.

I love that it only has buttons at the top, which is great for knitters because you have to make fewer buttonholes, but also easier for kids to wear. It helps keep the sweater on their body but isn’t too constricting (especially when you’re working around a fat little baby belly).

You can get a copy of this pattern from Ravelry.

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Knitwear designers can get inspiration from almost anything when it comes to re-creating a color scheme, an image or a texture in stitches. Sometimes the inspiration isn’t always obvious in the finished project, but sometimes it’s more literal.

That’s the way it is with the Tin Ceiling Blanket from Purl Soho. Not just because the inspiration is in the name, but if you’ve ever seen one of these old ceilings you can see that the design of the blanket is quite similar to the pattern of the tin tiles.

This is also a good example of the idea that you don’t have to use fancy stitch patterns or lots of color to make a big impact with your knits. This single-color blanket (designed by Gianna Mueller and inspired by a washcloth and towel set designed by Sandi Rosner) is made completely with knits and purls, other than slipped stitches at the beginning of rows to make neater edges.

The pattern is written out row by row, but there’s also a chart, which means this project is a great opportunity to practice reading a chart where you can check your work against the written pattern if you need to.

It comes in two sizes, a crib blanket and a throw. The yarn used in the sample is an organic cotton sold by the cone, which is a great way to get a large quantity of yarn and have fewer ends to weave in. In fact, you can knit either size of the blanket with just one cone of yarn, which isn’t inexpensive but makes you a great, sturdy, heirloom quality but still washable blanket you’ll use for years to come. (Of course you can use any sport weight yarn you like to make this blanket.)

Check out all the details and grab the free pattern from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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