Simple & Sweet Baby Sweaters

Each day we see customers in the shop searching for sweater patterns for newborn babies. It's no wonder - don't you always get the urge to knit a little sweater for a close friend or family member when you hear she's expecting? I know I do!

And as yarn shop employees, we've handled this many, many times, so we're always prepared to recommend a good assortment of patterns.

Like the Wee One Welcome Set from Knitting at Knoon.

This pattern is simply adorable. It calls for 400 yards of DK weight yarn. In our shop sample (above) we chose Sirdar Snuggle Crofter DK that knits up with a fair isle striping effect. This yarn is reasonably priced (it costs just $21 to make the set), comes in really sweet colors and is soft and machine washable.

We've got other great DK weight yarns that work really well for this little set. Berroco Comfort DK now has really fun variegated colors, and Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend is also a popular choice.

The Puerperium Baby Cardigan is precious! And it's easy and fun to make. This sweater is pretty hard to resist, once you see the (and feel!) the shop sample (shown below). We used Misti Alpaca Pima Silk and this yarn is just the perfect choice for a newborn. The color choice is spectacular, and it's heavenly to knit.

Another pattern that's been getting a lot of attention is brand new from Yankee Knitter. The Baby Sweaters, Hats & Blankets Pattern #31 is a great addition to the Yankee Knitter offering. The sweaters and hats are sized from preemie to 6-12 months and the blanket is a generous 33"x35". And they knit up quickly in heavy worsted weight.

Our top recommendations for this pattern are Plymouth Encore, Berroco Comfort Worsted, Berroco Vintage and if you'd like a soft wool, then Dream in Color Classy or Classic Elite Liberty Print.

And finally, one last recommendation for a great newborn sweater. We came across this one a few months ago and thought it was beautiful in its simplicity. It is more suited for little girls, but it's a top choice on our list for newborns.

In Threes: A Baby Cardigan is a pattern that's available on Ravelry. We also sell it in the shop through Ravelry. It's the sweetest little sweater. All worked from the top down, in one piece. It's absolutely precious!

We had some Putty colored Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece laying around and I knew it would be perfect for this sweater. It just needs buttons now, but the best part about using such a neutral color is that you can really be creative with your button selection!

Beautiful yoke detail

One summer project down, one to go

We've made some great progress on our 2 samples in Sirdar Summer Stripes. The adult sweater is finished - and I love it! It's an easy sweater with a really cute collar. I would wear this myself, but I would make it longer. It's meant to be a cropped sweater, and I am not really in a "cropped" phase in my life right now. I love how the sweater fits, and the collar is flattering - it's made with wraps and turns so it is shaped nicely. I think the striping of this yarn is just beautiful!

I am almost finished the child's sweater sample. I've completed the back, the fronts, the shoulder seaming, the front bands and the neckband. All that's left are two short sleeves and choosing a button. It's a simple pattern, and really the only minor difficulty that I foresee people experiencing with this sweater is the neck decreases and keeping the feather & fan pattern going properly. It definitely made me have to use my brain a little more than I sometimes like to at night! But if I managed it, you can manage it. You just have to count out your increases and decreases in the feather and fan pattern, and then make sure you are working the proper number of neck shaping decreases in addition.

Summer Stripes

My mom flew up from Florida yesterday and she's here to spend a week with me and the girls. Marc just left for an extended trip to Finland, and she thought we'd enjoy some company.

Anyway, I put together a bunch of new sample knitting packs the other day, and I grabbed one for myself. I think with my mom's upcoming trip, I had Florida and warm temps on my mind, because the project I picked for myself is certainly a color scheme that fits right in to a tropical locale!The yarn is called Sirdar Summer Stripes and we just received it last week. It's a machine washable blend of cotton and acrylic, with a long color repeat. We used to carry Berroco Love it, which was slightly heavier and more elastic. We loved Love It, and even though the Summer Stripes is not an exact replacement, it is close enough, so it has a special spot on our shelves.

The colors are fun and there are some really cute patterns for sweaters! A couple of the patterns are sized for both woman and girls. Of course this yarn would also be just perfect for a baby blanket.

I decided to make the smallest size of pattern #9419 (above, center) which is a cropped cardigan with a feather & fan stitch. The color I grabbed appeared to be mostly pinks, but I knew as I started knitting there would be a fun surprise for me. Because I am making the smallest size (28" chest) and the color repeat is so long, I had to go a full 3" before the yarn changed. But look at it now: Pink to green to... I see yellow coming! It's really fun, and I can't wait until I get to work on it again tonight.

Spotlight on Sirdar

I recently added some new Sirdar patterns to the website, and thought I'd share some of them here, since they are WAY too cute. I don't know what it is about these patterns... the styles, the yarns the models? But there a some really cute ones and they're not all just for babies!

How about hats for babies? Pattern 1711 has 6 styles all in one leaflet! That's a great bargain.

Want a sweater for a little girl? You'll certainly have a hard time making a decision. I love patterns 1723 and 1761 for baby gifts - because they both have a sweater, hat & booties. Pattern 1752 is adorable with an I-cord flower on the front. I love the matching sweater and beret in pattern 1760.
For boys, there are great Aran sweater options. Try the beautifully cabled & hooded pattern 1733, or pattern 1759, or pattern 1887. Pattern 1807 is a simple, yet sweet pullover and has a matching blanket. Speaking of baby blankets, pattern 1903 has 2 fun options.There are some nice patterns for accessories that use the fair isle Crofter DK. You want legwarmers, wrist warmers or socks? Then pattern 9135 is perfect. Or try your hand at one of four great hats in pattern 9189.There are some great patterns for adults as well. Like the vest for women in pattern 9248 or for men in pattern 9130. This is just a small sampling!

Project for a wee one

We've always loved the Wee One Welcome Set pattern, from Knitting at Knoon. Over the years, it's been reprinted, and has always included a photograph that has been - in our opinion - less that fortunate. We KNEW it was a great pattern, but we also knew we weren't going to sell even ONE pattern if we didn't knit it up as a sample.

The first sample we had was made with Koigu Kersti. Loved it! So did our customers, and boy did that pattern fly out the door. The customers would grab the sample and ask us "Where can I find this pattern?" When we pulled the pattern out for them, they'd say, "No, that's not the right one!" because the picture on the pattern was so... different. But it was the right one, and they left happy.

When we stopped carrying Kersti, we knew we had to make another Wee One. So for the second Wee One, we chose Colinette Cadenza, and once again, it was beautiful. We had many a repeat of the "Can you get me this pattern?" followed by, "Are you SURE this is the pattern?" And followed by the need to re-do the sample, since we no longer carry Colinette yarns.

This time, after having the sweater price start at around $35 (Kersti) and then go to around $30 (Cadenza), we thought we'd whip one up in a fun new yarn that would be super affordable. We chose the Sirdar Snuggly Crofter which works up into a fair isle effect. It's adorable! And there are 6 great color choices that work really well for babies - both girls AND boys. These 2 just arrived today, and are a bit more mature than the other 4 colors. All are so cute.
And the price of the Wee One Welcome Set in this yarn, is an affordable $21 (took just 3 skeins!) Pattern price not included.

New DK Self-Patterning Yarn!

We had one of our sample knitters take one of the new DK yarns home the new Sirdar Snuggly Crofter yarn and she brought back the cutest Wee One Welcome Set (Knitting at Knoon pattern) that I've ever seen!

Not only does this look incredibly impressive with the self-patterning yarn but it is a super soft washable yarn that's great for any little one.

The yarn must have made an impression on our sample knitter, because she immediately purchased her own Crofter skeins for another of her personal projects! Crofter comes in great colors for any baby project - see them here.