Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Lillie Baby Cardigan - Free Pattern!


Edited Jan 2011: I added stitch count and hopefully clarified the sleeve/body transition.
Here it is! This sweet little baby cardi is exactly how I envisioned it. I'm disappointed I can't offer a picture of it on a sweet baby yet, but I'm working on that. I made a few adjustments from the original blue one, barely noticeable, but more structurally sound and appealing. The final pattern is the three button version pictured in orange. It is worked top down seamlessly (because, really, who likes sewing seams?) and uses only 4 basic stitches! If you need, Knitty has a great stitch index.
In all versions, I used Berroco Comfort because it's very soft, machine washable and dryable, inexpensive, comes in MANY colors, and one skein is enough. I imagine it would be adorable with ribbon yarn and the pattern would work just fine with any similar weight yarn.
Happy knitting for a little one in your life!

Size 0-3 months

What you'll need:

Approximately 200 yd/190m worsted-heavy worsted yarn
Size 9 (5.5mm) needles, one set of straight or a circular and a set of DPNs or a long circular for magic loop
Stitch markers
Scrap yarn
Yarn needle
Three buttons, one-half to one inch size

Gauge: 17 sts and 24 rows in 4 inches flat stockinette

Neck and Sleeve Shaping:
Using straight or circular needle, cast on 44 sts
Rows 1-3: K all sts
Row 4: K9, PM, K6, PM, K14, PM, K6, PM, K9
Row 5 (Right Side): K2, YO, K2tog, *K to 1 st before next marker, YO, K1, Sl M, K1, YO, repeat from * to end [52 sts]
Row 6 (Wrong Side) and all even rows through 24: K4, P to last 4 sts, K4
Rows 7, 9 and 11: *K to one st before marker, YO, K1, Sl M, K1, YO, repeat from * to end [Row 7 - 60 sts, Row 9 - 68 sts, Row 11 - 76 sts]
Row 13: Work as for row 5 (button hole row) [84 sts]
Rows 15, 17 and 19: Work as for rows 7, 9 and 11 [Row 15 - 92 sts, Row 17 - 100 sts, Row 19 - 108 sts]
Row 21: Work as for row 5 [116 sts]
Row 23: K all sts
Row 25: (remove all stitch markers as you get to them) K18, transfer next 24 sts to scrap yarn, K32, transfer next 24 sts to scrap yarn, K18 [68 sts on needles, 24 sts for each sleeve on scrap]
Row 26 (Wrong Side): K all sts, joining under-arms

Body:
The rest of the body is worked in a modified feather and fan pattern with edging worked in:

Pattern Row 1 (RS): K all sts
Pattern Row 2 (WS): K4, P to last 4 sts, K4
Pattern Row 3 (RS): K4 *[K2tog] twice, [YO, K1] four times, [K2tog] twice, repeat from * to last 4 sts, K4
Pattern Row 4 (WS): K all sts

Repeat these 4 rows ten times, less for a cropped version, more for a duster.
When desired length is reached, K 2 rows and BO loosely.

Sleeve:
Remove 24 sts from scrap yarn and divide evenly over DPNs or longer circular for magic loop.
Begin knitting at underarm.
Sleeve rounds 1-15: K all sts
Rnd 16: P all sts
Work feather and fan in the round (below) three times
Knit one rnd, purl one rnd, BO loosely.

Feather and fan pattern in the round:

Rnds 1 & 2: K all sts
Rnd 3: *[K2tog] twice, [YO, K1] four times, [K2tog] twice
Rnd 4: P all sts

Weave in all loose ends. Attach buttons. DONE!

As usual, if you notice any errors in this pattern or have any questions, please contact me!

28 comments:

jess said...

beautiful- thanks for the pattern!

Mary Kay said...

How darling. It looks like fun to knit. Thanks for the pattern

Cheri said...

This is adorable! I am due in May with my first little girl and cant wait to cast on. Now to just choose the yarn. Thank you so much for the pattern :)

mdeb50 said...

This is really cute! I can't wait to make it. Deb in CA

Sharon in CA said...

Absolutely adorable sweater and love the colors you chose!

Sharon in CA

Anonymous said...

Simple, easy and lovely!
Stella Machado
Brasil

Perdi1309 said...

That is the sweetest little thing!

Anonymous said...

Just picked up knitting again (my Grama taught me to knit rectangles when I was young) and came across your Socktopus pattern on knitty.com. Loved and it and found your blog here with this lovely pattern. It is great! So cute and fairly easy for a newbie like me. Thanks so much for sharing, can't wait to hit the baby shower circuit with these as gifts!

Rachel said...

I LOVE this pattern! Its so easy to memorize and looks adorable! Thanks for posting the pattern!

roberta said...

Thank you for this pattern. I have knit about 4 dozen and donated to charity.The pattern just flows off the needles.

Christine said...

Expecting my first grandbaby-a girl! Haven't knitted little things in 20yrs. & rediscovering the "instant gratification" of baby knits. Since I had all boys, this is most exciting for me to be knitting for a baby girl. I don't think I would find a sweeter pattern than this one! After I make it, I know I am going to want to make larger sizes as well. I haven't ventured off the beaten path of using patterns, so don't know how to size them up. Can you tell me how to do that-say 6 mos. to 12 mos. sizes? THANK YOU! (thanks so much for sharing; am new to online knitting sites and it's wonderful!)

Anonymous said...

What to do at the end of the row was unclear, since there wasn't a marker at the end (i.e. Pattern Row 5, 7, 9, 11, etc). Unless I was misunderstanding something simple...it seemed like something was missing.

Ellisen said...

This pattern is gorgeous! Perfect for knitting for charity. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Mike said...

I love the buttons. They are really different then what I usually see.

Missy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Missy said...

Such a beautiful sweater!! I just finished writing a review of the pattern on my blog: http://knittingpatternreview.blogspot.com/2013/03/knit-for-you-lifes-lillie-baby-cardigan.html

Diane said...

Love this pattern and am currently making it -thank you for sharing it! When I move the sleeve stitches from the scrap yarn to dpns, am I also supposed to pick up any stitches at the underarm before I begin knitting? If I don't, it seems like there may be a small hole at the underarm. But will it mess up the fan and feather pattern if I pick up stitches?

JenP said...

Thank you SO much for this pattern - I love that it's one skein, it's so quick and pretty, and the instructions are written very clearly. It's one of the only patterns where I made it start to finish without having to make a bunch of modifications. It's also the only knitting pattern I've ever done more than once. :) Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

Hi there,
I've been looking for a perfect lil cardi and here it is, would love to attempt this..
Could you please tell me what sl m is?
I'm just a beginner but I am determined!!

Anonymous said...

sl m is slip marker.

Beautiful sweater, fun knit.

Trish Le Comte said...

you are a lifesaver. thought it would be easy to find pattern online for babys feather and fan
took AGES so pleased to find this
Trish NZ

MsWarped said...

How do you do the purl stitch on the sleeve without leaving a jog?

Anonymous said...

I must have knitted about ten of these. I make them bigger by using thicker yarn and a bigger needle. Thank you so much for this pattern, so simple and beautiful. Love it!

Unknown said...

Hi can you tell me how i can make this cardigan for my 7 year old neice can you please email me the pattern my email is Inhispalms@yahoo.com tyvm hope to hear from you soon

Unknown said...

This pattern is really great. Thank you ☀🍀

Unknown said...

beautiful, to my surprise it looks even better in person. Had a small hiccup in the feather and fan because i read it wrong and had to rip it out but its working wonderfully now. Making for a friends great grandbaby number two.Going to do the sleaves plain I think, not sure yet.

Corene said...

Is there any chance you could transpose this pattern to 12-18 month size? I really want to make it; thought I could maybe figure it out myself, but I'm still a pretty beginning knitter and after looking it over, don't trust that I can get it right! :-) Thank you so much!

The Manse Hen said...

I know it's been forever since you posted this pattern but as I am going back to make my second one of it, I just wanted to say, it was my first ever sweater knit, and I loved the pattern and directions. Thank you for writing it and sharing it!
Susan