What to Knit When Knitting for Baby?

You can knit for your own baby, either one you are about to have or one you just had. You can knit for someone else's baby, again coming or already here. You can knit for baby a gift for the shower or for the homecoming. You can knit for baby of a stranger or a friend, a family member or the family of a friend. You see my point. There is no excuse for not knitting for baby, anybody's baby!

If you are new to knitting, you might want to start with a simple item. I would recommend a washcloth, or bath blanket or a crib blanket. They are straight and no curves or twists. You would knit them on straight single point needles and you can start out with a simple pattern, while you get your feet wet with knitting for baby.

This very simple and quite elegant Baby Bonnet Pattern is from Mary (Cinders47) Enjoy Knitting this great pattern

Main body of bonnet: Brim

C.O. 62sts. K 2 rows garter stitch.

Feather and Fan pattern:

Row 1: knit

Row 2: purl

Row 3: K3 [garter st. border]K1, *K2tog 3 times, [K1, YO] 6 times, Repeat from * until last 4 sts K1, K3 [garter st border]

Row 4: knit.

Repeat the four pattern rows 8 times more.

Crown:

Row1: K1, *K8 K2tog, repeat from * to last st K1,

Row 2 and every even row: knit.

Row 3:K1, *K7 K2tog, repeat from * to last st K1.

Continue thus until you are K2tog across the row. [8 sts]

Break yarn and thread through sts and pull up.

Sew crown seam.

Neck band: Pick up and knit 43 sts around bottom of bonnet - 21 sts either side and 1 st in centre back seam.

K3 rows.

Eyelet row: K1 *YO K2tog, repeat from * to end of row.

K3 rows and cast off loosely.

If you are an experienced knitter, you could go wild with texture, cables, yarn overs, knit 2together etc. The sky is the limit. But the really great thing about knitting for baby is that there is no end to the amount of colors and textures to choose from. You have soft fuzzy and interesting tweeds, and super soft cottons. Let your heart be the judge.

One word of caution, I would avoid real animal yarns, such as rabbit, goat, sheep's wool etc. They are more harsh and you have no idea if the baby will be sensitive or even allergic to it. So stick with the processed yarns. They are so gorgeous you are not missing out on anything.

Another great reason for knitting for baby is that the project can be completed so quickly. You could even make something, not like it and turn around and knit another one, with plenty of time to spare.

So I hope I have convinced you that knitting for baby is one of the most wonderful crafting quests that you can undertake. And I hope you have great fun with your projects.