Jacket, Bonnet, Mittens, Bootees & Blanket in King Cole DK - 4946 - Downloadable PDF

King Cole DK 4946 – Knitted Baby Jacket, Bonnet, Mittens, Bootees & Blanket Pattern Summary

King Cole pattern 4946 is a comprehensive baby knitting pattern that covers five coordinating pieces: a raglan sleeve jacket, a bonnet, mittens, bootees, and a blanket. Designed to fit chest sizes ranging from 31 cm to 51 cm (12 to 20 inches), this pattern is rated advanced and is available as a downloadable PDF. It is an ideal project for knitters who want to create a complete, beautifully coordinated layette set for a newborn or young baby. As with all King Cole patterns, a donation is made to the Pink Ribbon Foundation with every purchase.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a full set of five baby items, each designed to complement one another as a cohesive collection:

• Jacket: A classic baby jacket featuring raglan sleeves, a construction method in which the sleeve extends in one diagonal line to the neckline, eliminating a traditional shoulder seam. This creates a comfortable, flexible fit that is particularly well suited to baby garments.
• Bonnet: A snug-fitting baby bonnet to keep a newborn's head warm, worked to match the jacket's design aesthetic.
• Mittens: Small, practical mittens sized for a baby, designed to coordinate with the rest of the set.
• Bootees: Knitted baby bootees to complete the outfit, providing warmth for tiny feet.
• Blanket: A knitted baby blanket, offering a larger project within the same pattern booklet and using the same yarn and tension throughout.

Yarn and Materials

All five pieces are knitted in King Cole DK (double knit weight) yarn. DK is one of the most popular yarn weights for baby knitting, offering a balance between fine detail and a satisfying speed of progress. It is light enough to create soft, comfortable baby garments without being as delicate or time-consuming as 4-ply or fingering weight yarn.

The recommended needle size is 4mm, or whichever size is required to achieve the correct tension. The pattern strongly emphasises the importance of achieving the stated tension before beginning any of the five projects.

Tension

The stated tension is 22 stitches and 28 rows to 10 cm (4 inches) measured over pattern using 4mm needles. The pattern includes a clear tension note stressing that achieving this exact tension is essential to ensure success. If a knitter finds fewer stitches and rows to 10 cm, they are advised to switch to finer needles; if more stitches and rows are achieved, larger needles should be used. Working a tension swatch before casting on is strongly recommended, particularly given the advanced difficulty rating of this pattern.

Techniques Used

• Raglan sleeve construction – used in the jacket, this is a key structural technique where sleeve shaping runs diagonally from the underarm to the neckline, requiring careful decrease management on both the body and sleeve sections simultaneously.
• Increasing and decreasing – shaping throughout all garment pieces relies on standard knitting increase and decrease methods.
• Working in pattern – all pieces are worked to a defined stitch pattern, requiring the knitter to maintain pattern continuity while simultaneously working shaping rows.
• Slip stitch techniques – the abbreviation list references slipping stitches knitways and passing slipped stitches over, indicating the use of these methods in shaping or decorative detailing.
• Working through the back of the loop (tbl) – referenced in the abbreviations, this technique is used to create twisted stitches or to tighten decreases for a neater finish.
• Yarn forward (yfwd) – this technique is listed in the abbreviations, suggesting the use of decorative eyelets or lace-effect detailing, which is common in traditional baby knitting patterns for fastenings or decorative borders.

Stitches Used

• Knit (K) – the fundamental knitting stitch, used throughout all five pieces.