Sugar & Spice

Sugar & Spice

We love to indulge the little ones in our lives, and making something by hand is a way for us to give that love in something tangible.  Whether our project is big or small, we no doubt spent hours stitching and thinking about the lifetime of love we’ve had or will have for the recipient of this piece.  That said, making tiny sweaters is so incredibly satisfying, because they are absolutely adorable and beautiful and the knit up in fraction of the time as an adult version.  And so I bring you the second installment of this little blog series, with lots of ideas of things to knit for your favorite littles.

For the girls, my go to favorite has been (for years) the Toddler + Baby Tiered Coat and Jacket.  This piece is once again by Lisa Chemery.  I’ve made this again and again for little girls who enter the world.  The pattern was originally written for Cascade 128, but over the years I’ve decided I like it best in HiKoo’s SimpliWorsted.  I usually make the tiny versions in the jacket length, because the crawlers don’t really appreciate a long coat for their knees to trip on.  

Chemery has designed a few of my other favorites, including Wee Foxes.  I’ve been super interested in stranded color work lately, and this is a great project for anyone wanting to dabble in the technique without committing too much time.  Plus, the outcome is an adorable sweater covered in wee foxes.  And, it’s also wonderful for the boys and the girls.  Wee Foxes is written for a sport weight yarn, so once again, look to Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino or HiKoo’s Sueno.  One could also look at Baah’s La Jolla or Madeline Tosh Tosh Merino Light, as you could absolutely get gauge with these beautiful hand dyed fingering weight yarns.

Chemery has a couple of adorable shrugs, including Miss Daisy (with a little shawl collar and a button closure) and Entrechat (which happens to come in three weights).  My grandmother made Entrechat for my daughter when she was a baby, and it was an easy layer to throw on over the cutest dresses when there was a hint of chill in the air.  Entrechat in particular adds the most adorable feminine flounce to your little ones look.  

Flight by Dani Sunshine the sort of vest I loved for my daughter when she was young.  In the same way the little vests seemed to repel baby drool and spit up for my son, this sort of layer did the same for my daughter.  I also loved that these pieces could be worn as a dress at first, a tunic and then a tank.  We wore these pieces to bits – which is especially satisfying to say about baby sweaters which notoriously don’t get a ton of wear.  Flight is a simple sleeveless tunic with a hint of lace around the hem.  Written for a fingering weight, I think it’d be gorgeous in something like TML or La Jolla, or be a lovely summer piece in a cotton like Shibui’s Fern or even Tutti Frutti, a wonderful self-patterning cotton sock yarn. By the way, Dani Sunshine has a number of great patterns for little ones, particularly the girls.  Her Bella cardigan is one of my favorites, that I made for a special set of sisters a few years back.  

Speaking of sock yarns, I’m loving Little Sock Arms by Stephanie Lotven.  The idea is to use a self-pattern sock yarn for the sleeves of this sweater, and I absolutely love the irreverent and whimsical attitude of this sweater.  I love how it’s pictured, with a tonal, hand-dyed body and bright/crazy sleeves!  I especially think this project is cute for a slightly older girl (ahem, like my 7-year-old daughter).  Also, this sweater could easily be made for a little boy!  I can see a couple balls of Ambiente making up a super cute version of this sweater for a little guy.

I’ve said this many times before, but I love making sweaters for kids because you learn new techniques on a smaller scale.  Plus, you get to make something for a tiny person that you love, and you make something that will be treasured by them and many other children in the years to come!  All of the designers mentioned in these posts have tons of adorable patterns for little ones, so I urge you to check them out and find something inspiring for yourself!