Knitting a Baby Sweater - Making clothes for the littlest ones yourself is the best thing ever. Knit this beautiful baby sweater for your own little one or create a unique baby shower gift. Choose cheerful, soft, or even bright colors and make a perfect piece for any baby. Read on for the free Knitting Pattern!
Petra knitted this baby sweater using the soft, lustrous Rico Essentials Cotton DK yarn. This 100% cotton yarn comes in a variety of colors, allowing you to create lots of beautiful color combinations. Petra made the sweater in fresh shades of blue, but why not go for green, yellow, or purple? For the smallest sizes, you’ll only need one ball of each color!
The striped sweater is knitted almost entirely in stockinette stitch. The soft colors and the continuous front panel create a playful look with the various striped patterns. In the instructional video at the bottom of the page, Petra shows how to knit the sleeves and how to attach them to the front and back panels.
Baby Sweater Sizes:
1) 0 months
2) 3 months
3) 6 months
Materials used:
- For sizes 0 and 3 months: 1 ball of Rico Essentials Cotton DK in colors 27 light blue, 35 Pigeon blue, and 80 white.
- For size 6 months: 1 ball of Rico Essentials Cotton DK in color 27 (light blue), 80 (white), and 2 balls in color 35 (pigeon blue).
- Lana Grossa 20 cm Bamboo Double-Pointed Needles, 3.5 mm.
- Prym transparent 10mm snaps
Stitches used:
- Knit stitch and purl stitch.
Color Scheme A - Front and Back Panels:
Knit 1 purl stitch and 1 knit stitch in color 27
6 rows stockinette stitch with color 35
8 rows of stockinette stitch in color 80
Color Scheme B - sleeves and front panel:
2 straight needles in color 35 pigeon blue, 2 straight needles in color 27 light blue.
Gauge swatch 10 x 10 cm = 22 stitches x 36 rows
Knitting a Baby Sweater - Free Knitting Pattern
The sweater is knitted in the round up to the armhole, after which the front and back are knitted separately.
The front panel is knitted on 2 needles.
The sleeves are also knitted in the round until the decreases at the sleeve cap. The sleeve cap is then knitted on 2 needles.
Front and back panels: cast on 1) 100, 2) 104, 3) 112 stitches, distributed over 4 needles using color 27, and continue knitting in the round. Knit 1 row with color 27, then 6 rows in color 35, and 8 rows in color 35. Continue knitting according to color chart A until the armhole measures 1) 13 cm, 2) 15 cm, 3) 17 cm. Now continue to knit the back piece on 2 needles across 1) 50 sts, 2) 52 sts, 3) 56 sts. Decrease 1x3 stitches on each side, then on every 2nd row decrease 1x2 stitches and 1x1 stitch. Continue knitting with 1) 38 sts, 2) 40 sts, 3) 44 sts.
At a height of 1) 20 cm, 2) 23 cm, 3) 26 cm, bind off the middle 1) 2) 16 stitches 3) 18 stitches; continue to knit the shoulders separately for 1) 11 stitches, 2) 12 stitches, 3) 13 stitches, and bind them off at 1) 1) 23 cm, 2) 26 cm, 3) 29 cm.
The front piece is knitted the same way as the back piece; for decreases, cast off at the following total heights: 1) 17.5 cm, 2) 19.5 cm, 3) 21.5 cm—38 sts at 1), 40 sts at 2), and 44 sts at 3).
Front panel (knit across):
Cast on 1) 12 sts, 2) 13 sts, 3) 15 sts and knit in color pattern B until the piece measures 4.5 cm in height. On the return row (= the 2nd row of a stripe), bind off the first 7 stitches and continue knitting with the remaining stitches until the total length is 1) 12.5 cm, 2) 13.5 cm, 3) 15.5 cm.
On the first row after the color change, increase 7 stitches at the end of the row, and knit as follows: 1) 12 sts, 2) 13 sts, 3) 15 sts, until the piece measures a total of 1) 17 cm, 2) 18 cm, 3) 20 cm.
Sleeves:
Using color 35 (Pigeon bleu), cast on 1) 32 sts, 2) 34 sts, 3) 36 sts, distribute them over 4 needles, and knit in the round using stripe pattern B.
Increase on both sides: 1) 4 times 1 st in every 8th row, 2) 5 times 1 st in every 10th row, 3) 7 times 1 st in every 8th row. Total number of stitches: 1) 40 sts, 2) 44 sts, 3) 50 sts.
At a total height of 1) 9 cm, 2) 14 cm, 3) 16 cm, bind off for the sleeve cap. From this point on, continue to knit on 2 needles.
Bind off on both sides as follows: 1) 1x3 sts, then on every 2nd row: 1x2 sts, 5x1 st, 1x3 sts, 1x4 sts, and bind off the remaining 6 stitches.
2) 1 x 3 sts, then on every 2nd row: 1 x 2 sts and 5 x 1 st, 1 x 3 sts, 1 x 2 sts, and bind off the remaining 10 sts.
3) 1 x 3 sts, then on every 2nd row: 1 x 2 sts, 5 x 1 st, 1 x 3 sts, 1 x 4 sts, and bind off the remaining 10 stitches.
Finish:
Sew the yoke to the front piece using a hidden seam.
Close the shoulder seam; the front piece overlaps the back piece by 1 cm. Single crochet it on the outside.
Sew the sleeve into the armhole and sew on 2 snaps per shoulder.
Share your results:
What colors are you using to knit this baby sweater? We can't wait to see how it turns out! Share a photo on Facebook or Instagram with #Yarnplaza. Or send an email with a photo to Customer Service@Yarnplaza.com. That would be great!
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