Tenderly Set, Play Rug & Bonnet and Booties in Adriafil Avantgarde and Happy - Downloadable PDF

Tenderly Set: Play Rug, Bonnet, Booties, Jacket, and Shorts – Free Knitting PDF Pattern by Adriafil

The Tenderly Set is a charming and comprehensive baby knitting collection from Adriafil, available as a free downloadable PDF. The set encompasses five coordinating pieces designed for babies aged 3 to 6 months: a play rug, a bonnet, booties, a jacket, and shorts. Each piece is worked in a soft, coordinating palette using Adriafil Avantgarde and Adriafil Happy Train yarns, making this an ideal project for knitters who want to create a complete, gift-ready layette set.

Yarns and Materials Overview

The Tenderly Set makes use of two distinct Adriafil yarn weights, giving each piece its own character and texture:

• Adriafil Avantgarde – a 4-ply weight yarn used across the jacket, shorts, bonnet, and booties. Colourways referenced in the pattern include blue no. 71 and white no. 02.
• Adriafil Happy Train colour no. 70 – a super chunky weight yarn used for the play rug, creating a thick, cosy texture ideal for floor play.

Needles, hooks, and notions vary by garment and are detailed below within each section. General notions across the set include a tapestry needle for finishing, buttons, a crochet hook, and a length of elastic band.

The Tenderly Play Rug

The play rug is a generously sized piece measuring 65 x 70 cm, not including the fringes, making it a practical and decorative addition to any nursery or play space. It is worked using Adriafil Happy Train colour no. 70, with 600 g of yarn required. The super chunky weight of this yarn means the rug works up quickly and produces a dense, padded fabric that is both soft underfoot and visually striking.

Techniques and Stitches – Play Rug

• Knitting needles size 7 are used to accommodate the super chunky yarn weight.
• A crochet hook is also required, likely for adding the decorative fringe detail around the edges.
• The primary stitch used is garter stitch, which creates a ridged, reversible fabric — perfect for a rug that will be viewed and used from both sides.
• Fringes are added as a finishing detail, giving the rug a playful, handcrafted look.

Garter stitch, achieved by knitting every row, is one of the most beginner-friendly stitch patterns in knitting. Its naturally thick, squishy texture makes it especially well-suited to a baby play rug, providing a little cushioning and warmth at floor level.

The Tenderly Jacket

The Tenderly jacket is sized for a baby aged 3 to 6 months and is knitted using Adriafil Avantgarde blue no. 71, with 200 g of yarn required. It is a classic baby garment worked on knitting needles size 3, with an auxiliary knitting needle size 3 also called for — suggesting the use of a cable or held-stitch technique during construction. The jacket fastens with 4 buttons.

Techniques and Stitches – Jacket

• Rib stitch 1/1 – a classic alternating knit and purl rib, commonly used for cuffs, hems, and button bands to provide stretch and a neat finish.
• English rib stitch – a more textured, reversible rib variation. The pattern notes describe it as worked over one stitch, with Row 1 worked in knitted stitch, producing a deeply textured, spongy fabric that is wonderfully soft against a baby's skin.
• Knitted stitch – the basic knit stitch, forming the foundation of the fabric.