If you're handy with a pair of needles and are looking for a great baby gift, use free baby knitting patterns to make your gift. From simple booties and baby blankets to intricately patterned sweaters, you're sure to find the perfect pattern to create a thoughtful handmade item.
Options for Free Baby Knitting Patterns
The sources for free knitting patterns abound these days. Visit your local library and look for knitting books and magazines, which you can borrow at no charge. You can also swap patterns with friends and relatives who are knitters.
Another option is to look beyond the editorial copy in magazines for patterns. Often the yarn companies advertise in these magazines and show a finished project but don't publish the instructions. You can then go online and look for the pattern from the manufacturer.
Knitting Patterns from Yarn Companies
Scouting out yarn company websites is a great way to find free patterns. The companies, after all, know the most about their yarn and will produce really beautiful projects that best showcase their fibers. If you have a particular yarn or type of fiber that you really want to work with, this is a great option for finding a pattern.
Explore these company websites:
- Lion Brand - This site offers a huge list of patterns for babies, organized by type of item.
- Plymouth Yarn - Search available patterns by yarn variety, pattern type, pattern number, or collection.
- Caron and Bernat - Scroll through the photos of finished items to choose the pattern you want.
- Crystal Palace Yarns - While the list here is rather crude looking, there are plenty of different patterns available, with the yarn used for each one listed beside the pattern name.
Other Great Sources for Free Knitting Patterns
There are also many place you can find free baby knitting patterns that aren't yarn companies. Try these:
- Bev's Country Cottage has knitting, sewing and crochet baby patterns, including patterns for preemies, in the categories of hats, mittens, booties, blankets, bibs, sweaters and more.
- Knitting-Crochet has a smaller selection of high-quality patterns including socks, a christening robe, baby sets and booties that they claim will really stay on baby's feet.
- Knitting on the Net has a smallish but good collection of blankets, booties, hats, sweaters and more.
- Knitting Help has a marvelous collection of pretty patterns arranged by level of difficulty. Some of these are for older babies and come from other sites on the web.
Knitting Baby Gifts
Babies come in all sizes. You don't want to spend all that time making something beautiful for a baby to wear and then have the baby be born too big to enjoy it. On the other hand, a baby might be incredibly small and thus unable to use your baby gift for some time to come. Rather than cause yourself extra stress worrying whether your gift will fit, choose something one-size for gift giving before the baby is born. Babies grow so fast that a gift the family can use for more than a few months is more practical. Ideas for these items include:
- Hats
- Socks
- Blankets
- Bibs
- Small toys
Choose your fiber carefully. New moms don't have a lot of time to hand wash alpaca or other fancy fibers. If you really want the child to get to use your knitted item, consider making it out of something machine washable.
Simplify Your Pattern Search
When you're knitting baby items, you don't want to spend a lot of time deciding on the patterns you plan to use. It's much more fun to shop for pretty yarn and get down to the job of actually knitting! Simplify your search by browsing free patterns online from the comfort of your home. Once you decide on the perfect pattern, write down all of the supplies you'll need so you're ready to get started.
