raglan sleeve baby cardigan pattern - EU size 56-62

What I like about this pattern I made up is that you can add any pattern, from fair isle to combination of stitches or just simple stripes. You can use the moss-stitch border, a garter stitch border or just ribbing.
It fits sizes 56-62 (tested!) The cardigan is knitted from the bottom up, front, back and sleeves separately, then all the pieces are joined to knit the raglan yoke all in one piece again. You only need to seam the sleeves and sides at the end.

material & sizing:
I used a baby-weight yarn, drops baby merino which I knit with metric size 3 needles. The tension is 26 sts to 10 cm.
Finished measurements (European size 62)

• width measured between underarms: 23 cm (=9 in)
• length from the shoulder down: 24 cm (=9.5 in)
• underarm length: 14 cm (=5.5 in)

You can adjust the size by casting on more rows and adding length before starting the raglan yoke. In that case you need to widen the neck as well.
Of course, using a heavier wool and larger needles is the easiest way to size up!

my basic raglan pattern:

front (make 2):

- cast on for cardigan 37 sts (each half front includes a border of 4 sts!)
- Row 1-6: Work in the border stitch of your choice for 6 rows (ribbing, moss-stitch or garter-stitch) adding the first buttonhole in the 3rd row.
- buttonhole: knit 2, cast off 2. In next row in border cast on 2 stitches and knit 2.
- Row 7-57: continue in stocking-stitch (alternating 1 row knit and 1 row purl) while keeping the first 4 sts (right front) an last 4 stitches (left front) of each row in moss-stitch or garter-stitch.
- add buttonholes in 23-43-53th row as desired (left front border for boys or right front border for girls )
- Row 58: cast off 2 sts opposite to borders for underarms
- Put stitches on holder

back:
- cast on 68 sts
- Row 1-6: Work in the border stitch of your choice for 6 rows (ribbing, moss-stitch or garter-stitch)
- Row 7-56: continue in stocking-stitch (alternating 1 row knit and 1 row purl)
- row 57 + 58: cast off 2 sts at beginning of row for underarms
- Put stitches on holder

sleeves:

- cast on 37 sts in main color
- Row 1-6: Work in the border stitch of your choice for 6 rows (ribbing, moss-stitch or garter-stitch)
- Row 7-50: continue in stocking stitch (alternating 1 row knit and 1 row purl)
- increase 1 st on both ends in row 16 (=39 sts)
- inc. 1 st at both ends of 22nd row (=41 sts)
- inc. 1 st at both ends of 28th row (=43 sts)
- inc. 1 st at both ends of 44th row (=45 sts),
- inc. 1 st at both ends of 46th row  (=47 sts)
- 51 + 52th row cast off 2 sts at begin of row. (fronts: 35 sts, back 64 sts remain)

yoke:

- Continue front and back with sleeves altogether, place stitchmarkers. For each stitch marker on the right side of work:
- last 3 sts before stitchmarker: slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over and knit one.
- first 3 stitches after stitch markers: knit one, knit 2 together
- Purl alternating rows.
Continue until the 84th row (before the 5th buttonhole is made)
shape neck: 
- knit 4 sts of border and put these stitches on holder for neckband
- continue in stocking stitch, decrease at raglan every alternate row as before, at the same time decrease 1 st at neck edge every row until 9 sts remain after knitting right side row.
- put stitches on holder, break wool.

Pick up 3 sts, transfer another stitches on needle, pick up 3 sts in front and transfer the last 6 stitches.

neck band:
- Knit 6 rows in the border stitch of your choice
- in first row (wrong side) decrease once more at stitch markers as described above
- 7th row: cast off

diy: crib sheet with crochet edging - crochet pattern from 1965

I was looking for a pretty crochet edging to decorate one of the sheets for the family-crib. Here in the Netherlands you are supposed to use a well fitted sheet for your matress and a cotton baby blanket in combination with an upper sheet. The upper sheet is 75x100 cm and usually has some type of decoration on one of the edges which you can fold back over the blanket. The decoration can be a printed fabric stroke, embroidery, stripes of satin or lace...



Nicely decorated and better quality baby crib sheets costs around 20-25 euro's. My crib sheets are made out of a new, fine sateen-woven cotton 'GASPA' sheet from IKEA which was the wrong size for our bed (160x200cm). It was a little less than 20 euro's. The standard size is 75x100 cm, I've cut 4 of mine.
The crochet edging pattern I used is from an 1965 Australian Women's Weekly.
What I like about it is that you crochet one half circle at the time, so you can adjust the length as you go. There is no need to start with an certain amount of chains.

I used a metric size 2.5 needle, since I wanted a bit of structure instead of a really fine lace. 

the original pattern:

When crocheting it seems like every other half-circle turns upside down, like one is facing the right and every other facing the wrong side of the work. when blocking/steaming you need to turn them back in the normal position and everything will look right.

After finishing crocheting the right length I added an extra row at the top to make easier to sew it to the sheet. I used a simple pattern I made up:

- turn at the end with 4 ch (this will replace the first dc and 1 chain),

3 dc into space below, 1 ch, 3 dc into space below, 1 ch, 1 dc between two half circles *1 ch, 3 dc into space below, 1 ch, 3 dc into space below, 1 ch, 1 dc between two half circles*

- repeat between **

quick embroidery fix

Sometimes you find great quality second hand items, like this little shirt my mom sent me. The text says 'born in 2010', which is a message that expired 5 years ago...

My quick fix to change the message involves embroidery yarn:

Most used baby knits of the past months!

The wool baby items I knitted get a lot of use during the winter months and the cool spring days. For our daily walks I use my nice and warm baby blankets in the stroller.

currently we use on a daily basis:

• 'Vasarely cubes' baby blanket click here
• daschund baby cardi click here

(both: picture above)

during our walks in the winter months:

• easy baby hat click here
• 'simple blocks' baby blanket click here

(both: picture below, you can just see the edge of the blanket!)

easy baby hat (fits newborn to 2 months old) - free knitting pattern

Are you tired of all baby things yet?
This is a basic baby hat pattern I knitted a few months ago. It took me one evening. I didn't use a particular pattern and just a sewn, knit fabric baby hat to measure against. I think the most important thing is the right shape of the crown. Often patterns end up with too pointy crowns which don't look very flattering. This pattern has a nicely rounded crown and a double brim for softness. It has stocking stitch on the inside of the brim and K2, P2 border on the outside. The stocking stitch edge is folded back and secured with catch stitch to provide elasticity. You could add colorwork to it if you wished or use different stitches for the stocking stitch part.

material & sizing:
I used my favorite, fingering weight drops baby merino yarn and metric size 3 needles (size 2.5 for the brim)
gauge: 26 sts per 10 cm (approx.4 in)
Finished size will fit approx. 36-38 cm head circumference, height measured from brim to top approx. 12 cm.


measurements:
Not all baby-heads are the same! To make sure your hat fits well you need the following measurements:
1. head circumference, right above the ears
2. to calculate the height you need measure from ear to ear (imagine an old fashioned headphone) and divide by two

For a larger size you could add a multiple of 10 to the amount of stitches (for larger circumference) an add extra rows to the brim and to the first, straight part before starting to decrease (for more height)
Using sport weight yarn with larger needles is another option.

the pattern:


abbrevations: 
K = knit
P = purl
K2TOG = knit two together

- Cast on 80 sts
- Knit 10 rows in stocking stitch (K on right side and P on wrong side)
- knit 10 rows K2 P2

start row counting after knitting the brim:
- row 1-10 continue in stocking stitch (you can add a colorwork pattern here or for a larger size you can add extra rows here!)
- row 11 *K8, K2TOG* repeat between ** (72 sts)
- row 19 *K7, K2TOG* repeat between ** (64 sts)
- row 23 *K6, K2TOG* repeat between ** (56 sts)
- row 27 *K5, K2TOG* repeat between ** (48 sts)
- row 29 *K4, K2TOG* repeat between ** (40 sts)
- row 31 *K3, K2TOG* repeat between ** (32 sts)
- row 33 *K2, K2TOG* repeat between ** (24 sts)
- row 35 *K2TOG* repeat between ** (12 sts)
- row 36 *K2TOG* repeat between ** (6 sts)

- Cut yarn leaving about 30 cm in length.
- Pull yarn through final 6 stitches and make a knot to pull together the top of the hat. Pull the yarn to the inside and use it to sew up the sides.
take a look here for the flat seam method
- Fold brim lining (stocking stitch part) towards inside and secure with catch stitch.

Vasarely inspired 'building blocks' baby blanket finished

This was truly a labor of love! It took 'forever' to knit this blanket on size 3 needles! Then again, it took forever to was and block it but now it is ready to use! I'm not complaining, started to knit merely 3 weeks before our little guy was born, so that's why it really took so long to finish.
I used drops Karisma yarn, just like for the other blanket I've made. It is a superwash treated yarn. After blocking the blanket grew slightly in size, but this is just because of flattening the 3d pattern. You can see below how 'wobbly' it is before blocking, due to the knit/purl stitches next to each other:


pattern: 
Again, it is a pattern consisting my favorite combination: only knit and purl stitches and it is surprisingly easy to memorize though it looks quite intricate with the 3-d blocks which remind me of the work of Victor Vasarely:


The pattern is available through Ravelry (click here) though I must say I figured it out myself, just by looking at pictures and counting stitches. After drawing a pattern chart I decided that it wouldn't be easy to keep track on it while knitting. I wrote the stitches down and then knitted a sample. While knitting made the necessary corrections and now have the pattern to work with!


material & sizing:


The yarn I used is the drops 'Karisma'. It is a 4-strands, sport weight, superwash-treated, 100% wool yarn. It comes in a lot of different colors. I choose a dark, greyish-blue hue: nr.65 'denim blue' which is not so baby-ish anymore.

I used 10 skeins of 50g (strangely my blanket weighs 525 g)

I always use smaller needles than recommended to prevent stretching after blocking and have no issues with 'growing' items after washing.

Using metric size 3.5 needles my gauge is 21 sts per 10 cm.

Size after washing/blocking approx. 90x100 cm

I haven't waisted more than a meter of the yarn. What I did was marking the beginning of a skein and the end of a skein with a piece of contrasting color wool at one side. This helped me to estimate where to start knitting the finishing edge pattern.

diy: diaper changing mat & diaper kit

I've got a second hand diaper bag. I didn't really use it at first, only put my handbag into it. Then I realized that it was easy to stuff my groceries in the diaper bag, then I started to realize that I might start to carry baby-stuff around...
My second hand diaper bag, handed down by a friend came without the original changing mat, so I decided to make one. Browsing the internet I came up with the idea of a diaper kit to carry a few diapers and wet towels. The ones you can buy are way too expensive.


diaper kit:
You know my love for IKEA stuff by now. I love this plastified 'Lialotta' fabric. It is water resistant with an acrylic finish. The diaper kit is made to hold 3-4 diapers and a bag of wet towels. I lined it with water resistant lining (IKEA plastic sheet I used to have in my bed by the end of the pregnancy) I used light blue bias tape to finish the edges and added simple velcro tape.


diaper changing mat:
 

The mat is waterproof and wipeable. It is large and to add some softness it is padded with two layers of thin jacket padding. The folding lines are stitched down which makes it easy to fold up.
It has a pocket to hold one old fashioned cloth diaper to cover for comfort when used. The pocket has a waterproof lining just in case the cloth diaper gets wet (with little boys you never know...)

diy: fitted changing pad cover 'Koeka Amsterdam' knock-off aankleedkussenhoes

Here is my third Koeka knock-off project!
For the changing pad I used their 'Amsterdam' changing pad cover as inspiration. They use a cotton waffle fabric in combination with a cotton bath-towel fabric for the middle section. These sell for about 45 euro's a piece!
Below the original version:


this is my knock-off:


...with a way better fit at the sides and corners!


material:
- cotton waffle fabric (prewashed and -shrunk)
- bath towel 70x100 cm (enough for two changing pad tops. I ripped our the side seams for the seam allowances)
- elastics
- embroidery thread
optional: fabric dye to match the colors

costs: 
My costs were for two changing pads less than 15 euro's!
About 6 euro's for 85 cm of cotton waffle fabric, 3.99 euro's for one IKEA Haren bath towel (70x100cm), about 1 euro of elastics and 1 euro of embroidery thread.

(I used dylon to dye both fabrics in the same color. The fabric dye was the most expensive, about 10 euro's but used for other projects as well)

step-by-step:
1. Prewash and iron your fabrics before starting!
It is better to let the fabric shrink before the first use instead of the second one... I prewas my cotton fabrics at a normal temperature, but then put them in the dryer with fairly hot air.

Cotton waffle fabric tends to 'bobble' after washing. After prewashing I ironed my big piece of fabric and after cutting the rectangular pieces I ironed them again, making sure that the stripes run horizontally and vertically.

2. Take the measurements and make your pattern

Making the cover requires a bit of 3 dimensional thinking. You need to 'translate' a 3-dimensional shape into flat, 2d pieces.
The cover is made out of one rectangular upper part (consisting of two pieces of waffle cotton with a piece of bath towel in between) and 2 contoured parts for the short sides.
First, measure your changing pad. Use a standard seam allowance you are used to work with. For me it is 5/8" or 1,5 cm. I used my handy parallel tracing wheel to do this.




You can either measure and draw directly on your fabric, or choose to make a paper pattern first. You can choose how wide you like to have the bath towel section. The original one goes  up quite high at the sides.

If you assemble the top part from different fabrics don't forget to add extra seam allowances where the two fabrics meet!(= at both long sides of the bath towel and at one side of the side sections of the waffle fabric.)

3. Cut the pieces:
- 1  upper middle section (bath towel)
- 2x upper side sections (waffle fabric)
- 2x the contoured sides (waffle fabric)

4. Sew the waffle fabrics at the sides to fill up to the desired (measured) width according to pattern  Pin and sew.


5. Finish seam allowance (I used a simple zigzag stitch) and fold the seams under the waffle cotton layer. Press. I used a really small top stitching on the waffle cotton to keep the seam allowances nicely in place. The topstitching will be practically invisible when you embroider next to it.

6. Attach the contoured sides:
Since it is easier to sew a straight line simply clip and open up the seam allowance (basically straighten the shaped part). Place the pieces with right sides together, pin and sew. Clip the other layer as well.
As you can see my seams don't match up here. I decided to make the center part just a little bit shorter for a nice, tight fit.


Topstitching and clipping the corners:


7. Fit the cover on the changing pad: fold the short sides under and mark the corners. You can measure it too, but there is somehow always a certain amount of 'unexpected' stretch in the fabric which you can spot and correct this way:



8. If it is needed, open up the seams in the corners up to the marking on the inside and pin the seams in a downwards vertical direction. Stitch, reinforce corners by running 3-4 times through it. Finish seam allowances and press:


9. Now it's time for a lot of relaxing handsewing!
Embroider the edges of the bathtowel-layer with blanket-stitch in a contrasting color before putting in the elastics:

This is the best time to add the little appliques too. Of course, you are free to skip them or to use a Koeka-style applique. Those are made out of felt and secured with a simple cross-stitch (like an X) with embroidery thread.
I didn't liked the flower appliques of the original cover, and made really simple and cute crochet bunnies instead. I used this tutorial. 

10. Last step!
Make the elastic casing at the bottom. I used about 2 cm to do this, first folded back 0.5 cm and then 1.5 cm. Pinned and pressed before sewing.
To prevent bulking the elastics only go around the corners: 10 cm at the short sides and 15 cm at the long sides, measured from the corner seam. The mid-sections remain straight for a better fit.



Ready! ...and now make one more...
I have made two covers, and planning to make a light grey one too. Just for fun!