Cherry Bomb Skirt

Cherry Bomb Skirt by Taiga Hilliard Designs

What Is Being Made

The Cherry Bomb Skirt is a knitted skirt designed for infants and children, ranging from newborn through 9-10 years old. This garment features a distinctive sweet ruffle hem with textured detailing, making it both visually appealing and technically interesting. The skirt is constructed entirely in the round, which eliminates the need for seaming and creates a seamless, professional finish. The design includes a hidden elastic waist for comfort and secure fit, with the option to use elastic or ribbon for the waistband closure.

Techniques Used

The Cherry Bomb Skirt employs several fundamental and intermediate knitting techniques suitable for knitters with some experience. The garment is knit entirely in the round, requiring circular needles or double-pointed needles and familiarity with working in circular construction. The pattern incorporates increases and decreases to shape the skirt and create the textured ruffle hem. A simple knitted hem is used rather than a sewn hem, streamlining the finishing process. The hidden elastic waist is integrated directly into the knitting, eliminating the need for additional sewing steps. The design is easily adjustable in length, allowing knitters to customize the finished garment to their preferences.

Stitches Used

The pattern utilizes essential knitting stitches and abbreviations including:

• K – Knit stitch, the foundational knit stitch
• P – Purl stitch for textural variation
• KFB – Knit into the front and back of the same stitch, used for increases
• K2tog – Knit two stitches together, a right-leaning decrease
• SSK – Slip, slip, knit together, a left-leaning decrease
• YO – Yarn over, creating decorative eyelets or lace elements
• Ktbl – Knit into the back of the stitch for textural effects

Materials

The Cherry Bomb Skirt is designed to work with DK or worsted weight yarn. The pattern specifies Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Serrano as the featured yarn choice. Yardage requirements range from 150 to 800 yards depending on the child's size, with newborn sizes requiring less yardage and larger sizes requiring more. Two needle sizes are specified: US size 7 (4.50 mm) for the main fabric and US size 8 (5.00 mm) for gauge swatching or alternative sizing. The pattern calls for gauge of 18.0 stitches and 26 rows per 4 inches on the smaller needles. Optional materials include 19 to 28 inches of elastic or 24 to 36 inches of ribbon for the waistband, depending on the finished waist measurement.

Size Range and Specifications

The Cherry Bomb Skirt is available in nine sizes spanning from newborn through 9-10 years old, with waist measurements ranging from 14 inches for newborns to 25 inches for the largest size. Cast-on stitch counts vary from 64 stitches for the newborn size to accommodate the increasing waist measurements. Recommended finished lengths range from 5 inches for the newborn size to longer lengths for older children, with the pattern allowing for easy customization to achieve desired finished length.