Pattern: Baby Cardigan

I made this little play jacket for my good friend Shahina’s baby who lives in Denmark. Yay! Something to keep baby warm in the cold Danish winter. I again needed a quick and easy pattern so here’s what I came up with. It’s a pattern from Caron Yarns that I adapted. It took me about 5-6 hours including sewing on the button and weaving in ends. A bonus is it’s completely machine washable and dryable. It’s durable and easy to keep clean. So baby can go nuts with the playing while still looking good. 🙂 And not have to worry about ruining anything! Here is the Baby Hat pattern.

Materials:
1 Ball Red Heart Soft Yarn, 100% Acrylic, Worsted Weight, Wine #4608, 256 yards, $4.69
1 Button + Embroidery Floss + Tapestry Needle (optional)
Stitch Markers

Crochet Hook: Size H8 [5.00mm]

Measurements:
Collar: 6 inches across
Yoke: 11 inches across (including top of shoulders)
Body: 6.5 inches Long, 12 inches Wide
Sleeves: 5 inches Long, 4.25 inches Wide
Collar to Hem: 9.5 inches Long

Special Stitches:
DC: Double Crochet
Eyelet Stitch: [chain 1, skip 1, dc]

Skill Level: Beginner

Pattern:
Yoke:
Begin with the yoke.
Loosely chain 61

Row 1: Dc in fourth ch from hook (counts as dc), dc in next 8 sts, 5 dc in next st, place marker in center st, dc in next 7 sts, 5 dc in next st, pm in center st, dc in next 21 sts, 5 dc in next st, pm in center st, dc in next 7 sts, 5 dc in next chain, pm in center st, dc in last 10 sts, turn. Total 75 stitches.

Row 2: Working in back loop only. Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in next st, *[ Eyelet Stitch 5 times, 5 dc in next (marked) st, dc ]*, repeat *[ … ]* once, Eyelet Stitch 12 times, 5 dc in next st, dc, repeat *[ … ]* once, Eyelet Stitch 5 times, dc in last st; turn. Total 91 stitches.

Row 3: Ch 3, dc in next 13 sts, 5 dc in next st, dc in next 15 sts, 5 dc in next st, dc in next 29 sts, 5 dc in next st, dc in next 15 sts, 5 dc in next st, dc in last 14 sts; turn. Total 107 stitches.

Row 4: Ch 3, dc in next st, Eyelet Stitch 7 times; 5 dc in next st, dc; Eyelet Stitch 9 times; 5 dc in next st, dc; Eyelet Stitch 16 times; 5 dc in next st, dc; Eyelet Stitch 9 times; 5 dc in next st, dc; Eyelet Stitch 7 times, dc in last st; turn. Total 123 stitches.

Row 5: Ch 3, *[ dc in each st across to marked st; 5 dc in marked st ]*, repeat *[ … ]* 4 times, dc in each st until end; turn. Total 139 stitches.

Row 6: Ch 3, dc in next st, *[ Eyelet Stitch until marked st, dc in next st, 5 dc in marked st ]*, repeat *[ … ]* 4 times, Eyelet Stitch to last st, dc in last st; turn. Total 155 stitches.

Body:
Row 1: Working in back loop only. Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in next 21 sts; skip 33 sts; dc in next 45sts; skip 33 sts; dc in last 22 sts; turn. Total 89 stitches.
Row 2-10: Ch 3, dc until end of round; turn.
Row 11: Ch 3, dc, Eyelet Stitch until 2 sts left, dc in last 2 sts. turn.
Row 12: Ch 3, dc until end of round; Fasten off.

Sleeves:
Join yarn through the first and last skipped stitches to join armhole.
Row 1: Working in back loop only. Ch 3, dc until end of around, slip st in top of beginning ch-3 to join;
Row 2-7: Ch 3, dc until end of around, slip st in top of beginning ch-3 to join. Fasten off.

Finish:
Sew button on to top corner of collar. No need to crochet a button loop on the opposite side. Use eyelet hole in opposite side as a button loop hole.

Weave in ends.

Notes:
I made a few modifications to the original pattern by Caron Yarns. It made it a one skein sweater and a very quick crochet! I added a few rows to the body to make it longer and an eyelet row at the bottom of the sweater. I also did not do any edging or finishing to the sweater. The edges are raw.

Buttons! – I save all my buttons from my clothing. Many times jackets, sweaters etc will come with an extra button sewn in. I save those for future projects since I never end up using them to replace missing or broken buttons!

If you do not like the button, try a crochet flower instead so there is no hardware on the piece. Or try 2 pompoms – either create a tie at the collar with pompoms for tassels or connect 2 pompoms to a long crochet chain and weave through the first row of eyelets in the collar. This is extra versatile since you can then use the pompoms as a cinch tie giving you an adjustable collar.

Applique – Personalize it with a simple shape like heart or a duckling! And simply stitch on with embroidery floss and a tapestry needle. I wanted to do this but did not have time. Perhaps next time!

For additional sizes, see Caron Yarns original pattern. The original pattern is a hoodie jacket. It also comes with a baby hat pattern.