Whilst trying to find baby clothes for our first child, we really struggled to find a simple cardigan for a newborn summer baby. And everything was either white, pink, or blue – what happened to the rest of the rainbow!?

So I decided to create my own. It needed to be quick, simple, and look good in any colour. One piece. No seams. Finished in a day – I’d heard babies go through a lot of clothes so speed was going to be vital!

The Sweetpea Cardigan is named after my father’s nickname for me when I was little. Starting with the collar at the top, increases are added to make the shoulders and short sleeves. The sleeves are then cast off and the front and back sections joined together all the way to the hem at the very end.

For the fingering weight version please see the Sweetpea Cardigan Lite pattern.

Materials:
~ Worsted or Aran Weight Yarn x 1 skein - Suggestions: Cascade 220 (200m/ 100g) or Fated Yarns Battle (166m/ 100g)
~ 5.5mm knitting needles
~ Stitch Markers
~ 5 buttons for cropped length or 6 buttons for full length
~ Darning Needle

Difficulty: Beginner
Skills Used:
~ Knit & Purl
~ Increases & Decreases
~ Selvedge Edge

Sizing:
~ Gauge: 23 rows x 17 sts
Over 10cm x 10cm of stocking stitch
~ Finished Measurements:
46cm chest – up to 1 month – 10 lbs