LIFESTYLE: Knitting for baby

Are you keen on trying  your hand at knitting something for baby?? Then the below are foolproof advice and patterns even for the beginner... 😃

Baby knitting projects are great for even impatient crafters like myself - I knitted this set in a few hours spread over a week. As baby items are very small projects there is smaller chance you will get fed up from any seeming lack of progress!

Where do I get patterns?
As I am an avid knitter, I am already using the Ravelry platform to get patterns, it is also a good way you can see what other knitters rate each pattern in actual difficulty. It is a free community platform. YouTube is a treasure trove of video tutorials for both patterns and individual stitches. Of course your local yarn store will have a plethora of patterns, but I always find they are far too advanced for my patience/skills! Choose something you feel comfortable tackling or you will end up with a half-finished project, especially when those pregnancy hormones set in and you get pi**ed off counting stitches...

Yarn
I will list below what I used for this particular set! In terms of yarn, you should always seek to use a baby yarn. Craft stores usually have a specific section for these. A premium acrylic is also good. You don't want to use anything wooly - babies skin is delicate and won't like it. Cotton yarn is good if you are having a summer baby. It is worth looking for a yarn which will also take a 40 C wash, and perhaps even tumble dry on low setting! The only bad thing about baby specific yarn is that the colour range can be rather disappointing - usually pale pink/blue/yellow/cream only.

The yarn I have used for this set is Premium Acrylic from Women's Institute, which you can buy from Hobbycraft. I used the colours "Cream" and "Yellow". It is a DK yarn which usually knits on a 4mm needle however for baby projects, to get a tighter fabric, you would usually use a smaller needle. I used 3mm (normal stitches) and 2.75mm needles (ribbing). This yarn washes at 40 C.

Patterns used;
Hat
Basic baby hat from Stitcheryprojects.com
Mittens
Mittens Newborn to 3 months
Booties
0-3 months booties

Washing you baby knits
So you made something! Before using it on baby you should wash it. Check the ball band for instructions. For washing hand knits, many people use a special delicates wash for wools. You shouldn't need to do this, as baby yarns are often made for taking a normal wash (due to those spit-ups, sick and poop issues). Just pop it in the washing machine on a 40 C cycle, using a good non-bio detergent and a non-fragranced softener. Always try knitted items flat on a drying rack, and don't be tempted to stretch or re-shape them before drying.

Top tip when you knit something is to keep the ball band - this will let you know what the washing instructions are! If you are giving knitted items away, always include the ball band(s) in the gift so that the recipient knows how it can be washed.

Have you knitted anything for baby, yours or someone elses?