Hooded Baby Cardigan in Novita Baby Wool - 34 - Downloadable PDF

Hooded Baby Cardigan in Novita Baby Wool – Pattern Summary

Designed by Susanna Mertsalmi and published by Novita, this Hooded Baby Cardigan is a charming, practical knitted garment sized for babies and toddlers. Available as a free downloadable PDF, the pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty and produces a cozy, fully fashioned cardigan complete with a hood, raglan shaping, a button band, and sweet embroidered details. It is an ideal project for knitters who are comfortable with increases, working in the round, and basic garment construction techniques.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a hooded cardigan for babies, knitted in three sizes to fit babies and toddlers with the following chest circumferences and finished measurements:

• Size 60 cm (23½ in) – body circumference 50 cm / 19¾ in, back length 24 cm / 9½ in, inner sleeve length 17 cm / 6¾ in
• Size 70 cm (27½ in) – body circumference 54 cm / 21¼ in, back length 27 cm / 10¾ in, inner sleeve length 20 cm / 7¾ in
• Size 80 cm (31½ in) – body circumference 58 cm / 22¾ in, back length 30 cm / 11¾ in, inner sleeve length 23 cm / 9 in

The finished garment features a front button band with four buttonholes, fastened with five buttons, and is finished with embroidered details in white and pink for a delicate, decorative touch perfectly suited to a baby garment.

Construction Method

This cardigan is constructed using a top-down raglan method, a popular and highly practical approach for baby garments because it allows for easy size adjustments and eliminates the need for sewing seams at the raglan lines. The knitter begins at the yoke and works downward, simultaneously shaping the front pieces, back, and sleeves through raglan increases worked on every other row and every fourth row at regular intervals.

Once the yoke shaping is complete, the sleeve stitches are placed on hold and underarm stitches are cast on, separating the body from the sleeves. The body is then worked flat or in the round as a single piece down to the hem, while the sleeves are worked separately on double-pointed needles. The hood is attached at the neckline to complete the garment.

Techniques Used

• Top-down raglan construction – the entire yoke is shaped from the neck downward, with increases worked at four raglan points simultaneously
• Raglan increases (M1 increases) – make-one increases are worked before and after marker stitches to create the characteristic diagonal raglan lines
• Buttonhole construction – a simple yarn over, knit two together buttonhole is worked two stitches from the front edge at measured intervals of 5 to 6 cm
• Sleeve separation and underarm cast-on – sleeve stitches are placed on hold and new stitches are cast on at the underarms to join the body into a single working piece
• Hem shaping with side increases – the body is gradually widened toward the hem with M1 increases worked at both sides every 1 cm, then once more after 2 cm, for a total of five increase rounds
• Embroidery – small decorative motifs are worked in white and pink yarn after knitting is complete
• Working in the round on circular needles for the body and on double-pointed needles for the sleeves

Stitches Used

• Stockinette stitch – the main fabric of the body, yoke, sleeves, and hood; worked as knit all rows when knitting in the round
• Garter stitch – used for the button bands (4 stitches at both ends of the front edges) and likely for hem and cuff borders, providing a neat, non-curling edge
• Yarn over (YO)