Babies Cardigan and Hat in Bergere de France Merinos 2,5 - 60376-08 - Downloadable PDF

Babies Cardigan and Hat in Bergere de France Merinos 2,5 – Pattern 60376-08

This downloadable PDF knitting pattern from Bergere de France provides instructions for a classic baby cardigan (gilet) and matching hat (bonnet), both worked entirely in the brand's own Mérinos 2,5 yarn. The set is rated easy (facile), making it an excellent choice for beginner knitters who want to create a beautifully coordinated outfit for a newborn or young infant. The pattern covers four sizes: 0 months, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months, giving it a generous range of use across the earliest months of a baby's life.

Materials and Yarn

Both the cardigan and the hat are knitted using Bergere de France Mérinos 2,5 yarn, a fine 4-ply weight yarn. A distinctive feature of this pattern is that the yarn is worked double throughout — that is, two strands are held together at all times — which creates a fabric with greater warmth, body, and stitch definition than a single strand would produce at this weight. The colourway specified in the pattern is Beige bébé 20046, a soft, neutral tone perfectly suited to babywear.

• Yarn required: 3 balls for sizes 0, 1, and 3 months; 4 balls for size 6 months
• Needles: 4.5 mm (no. 4,5) knitting needles throughout
• Accessories: Stitch markers (ref. 68395, pack of 48); six ladybird boxwood buttons (ref. 67918, pack of 6)

Tension and Gauge

Achieving the correct tension is emphasised as essential to the success of the finished garments. Two separate tension squares are required, as the pattern uses two different stitch patterns:

• Garter stitch tension: 18 stitches and 34 rows to 10 cm square
• Stocking stitch tension: 18 stitches and 24 rows to 10 cm square

Because the row counts differ significantly between the two stitch patterns, knitters are encouraged to check both swatches carefully before casting on.

The Baby Cardigan (Gilet)

The cardigan is a neat, button-front baby jacket worked in a combination of garter stitch (point mousse) and stocking stitch (jersey endroit) on 4.5 mm needles. The interplay of these two textures gives the garment visual interest while keeping the construction straightforward for a beginner.

Stitch Techniques Used

• Garter stitch (point mousse): Every row is knitted, producing a squishy, reversible fabric with horizontal ridges. This stitch is used for borders, button bands, and structural sections of the cardigan.
• Stocking stitch (jersey endroit): Knit on right-side rows and purl on wrong-side rows, creating the smooth, classic fabric used for the main body panels.
• Eyelet buttonhole row: A decorative and functional row is worked using a sequence of k2tog, yarn over repeats to create the buttonhole band. The exact repeat varies slightly by size, ensuring the buttonholes are evenly spaced regardless of the size being knitted.
• Armhole shaping: Armholes are shaped using markers to define the transition point, after which garter stitch continues to frame the armhole edge neatly.

Construction Details

The cardigan body is worked in sections. At a total height of 15–16–17–19 cm (corresponding to 52–56–58–66 rows depending on size), four rows of stocking stitch are introduced before the eyelet buttonhole sequence is worked. The neckline is shaped at 21–23–25–28 cm total height (66–72–76–86 rows), where the central 8–10–12–14 stitches are cast off and each shoulder is then continued separately. The front bands incorporate a neat six-stitch garter stitch border running alongside the main stocking stitch fabric, keeping the button and button