Four baby knitting patterns, starting with a sprout

One leaf, grown from the stem

The hat's sprout is the part worth describing. The first plan had two leaves to sew on. The finished design has one, knitted straight up from the stem, so nothing is stitched on and nothing can be pulled off a small head.

The stem is six rounds of i-cord on four stitches, about ¾ in (2 cm): short and firm rather than a dangling cord. Then you work the leaf flat in garter stitch on those same four stitches. Yarn overs widen it to eight, paired decreases bring it back to one, and the yarn goes through the last loop. Twelve rows, and it looks like a leaf.

Below the sprout the hat is plain. Eight rounds of knitting make a brim that rolls up by itself, then four markers divide the crown into equal sections and you decrease at each one every other round. The round numbers are the same in every size. Only the number of repeats changes.

The hat is Easy. Finished circumference is 13 [14½, 16] in (33 [37, 40.5] cm), for heads of 14–15 [15½–16½, 17–18] in (35.5–38 [39.5–42, 43–45.5] cm). Plan on about 100 [120, 150] yd of DK yarn and US 6 (4 mm) needles: a 12 in (30 cm) circular plus double-pointed needles, or one long circular for magic loop.

How the booties get their toe

The booties are knitted flat, in one piece, starting at the sole. You cast on 41 [47, 53] stitches, which is roughly twice the foot length at 24 stitches to 4 in, because the cast-on edge folds in half at the toe and becomes the seam under the foot. The odd number is for the seed stitch.

Then comes the toe. On Row 5 you knit across, decrease and turn, leaving the last 14 [17, 19] stitches waiting on the needle. From there every turn joins one side stitch to the toe stitches, so the toe stays 11 [11, 13] wide while the sides shorten. After five [six, seven] repeats of the two-row turn you are down to 29 [33, 37] stitches, and those become the ankle: a deep 1×1 rib cuff, about 2 [2¼, 2½] in (5 [5.5, 6.5] cm), worn straight up or folded down.

Seam the sole from toe to heel, then up the back with mattress stitch. If you plan to fold the cuff down, sew its top half from the other side so the join doesn't show.

Level sits between Easy and Intermediate. Foot length is about 3½ [4, 4½] in (9 [10, 11.5] cm). A pair takes about 95 [125, 155] yd of DK yarn and a pair of US 5 (3.75 mm) straight needles. Aim for a firm fabric so the booties keep their shape.

A cardigan with four buttonholes and no seams to sew

The cardigan is the long project of the set and the only Intermediate one. You start at the neck with 56 [58, 58] stitches and a garter neckband, then increase at four raglan markers on every right-side row until the yoke holds 160 [170, 186] stitches.

Row 15 is the pivot. Each sleeve's 32 [34, 38] stitches go onto waste yarn, 4 [5, 6] stitches are cast on under each arm, and the count falls to 104 [112, 122]. If you follow this one in Row & Round, Row 15 is the row to mark before the sleeves are parked, because the drop from 160 stitches is easy to lose track of mid-row. The body then runs on between 5-stitch garter bands, and the sleeves are picked up and worked in the round down to a garter cuff.

Buttonholes (a yarn over and k2tog) fall on Rows 3, 9, 13 and 19, spaced so they land outside the repeated rows. Below the last one the fronts hang open, as on many baby cardigans. Four flat buttons, about ½ in (12–13 mm), are sewn to the left band opposite them.

• Chest, buttoned: 18 [19½, 21¼] in (45.5 [49.5, 54] cm), to fit a chest of 16 [17, 18] in (40.5 [43, 45.5] cm)
• Length from the back of the neck: about 9½ [10, 11¼] in (24 [25.5, 28.5] cm)
• About 350 [410, 495] yd of DK yarn
• US 6 (4 mm): a 24 in (60 cm) circular, plus double-pointed needles or one long circular for magic loop

Making the bib strap fit

The bib is the quickest of the four and the sensible one to start with. It is garter stitch at 20 stitches and 40 rows to 4 in, with a seed-stitch border along the lower edge and two seed stitches down each side.

After the body you bind off 13 [15, 15] stitches for the neck and work the two sides one at a time. The long strap comes first, in seed stitch, with a yarn-over buttonhole near its end. The short tab on the other side takes the button, so nothing needs tying.

The strap runs about 6 [6½, 7½] in (15 [16.5, 19] cm) from the neck, but treat that as a starting point. Buttoned, the neck should let two fingers slide underneath. If it doesn't, work more or fewer repeats of Rows 11–12 before the buttonhole.

The bib is Easy and about 6½ [7½, 8¼] in (16.5 [19, 21] cm) wide and 4¾ [5½, 6] in (12 [14, 15] cm) long. Use about 75 [95, 115] yd of washable DK cotton or cotton blend, US 6 (4 mm) straight needles and one flat button of about ½ in (12–13 mm).

Gauge, yarn and where to begin

All four patterns use DK-weight (#3) yarn that survives a machine wash. Soft wool or a wool blend suits the hat, booties and cardigan, the hat also takes a cotton blend, and the bib is written for cotton. Yardage figures are about numbers, so buy a little over.

The hat and cardigan share a gauge, so one swatch covers both. Swatch before the first stitch of the garment: the fit of a baby piece depends on it more than you might expect.

If these are your first baby knitting patterns, begin with the hat or the bib. Both are Easy, and the only new move in either is a six-round i-cord or a single buttonhole.

• Hat and cardigan: 22 stitches and 30 rows or rounds to 4 in (10 cm) in stockinette
• Booties: 24 stitches and 32 rows to 4 in (10 cm) in stockinette
• Bib: 20 stitches and 40 rows to 4 in (10 cm) in garter stitch

Buttons, ends and nothing to pull off

Nothing in this set ties. The hat's leaf is knitted on, the booties stay put by their rib cuff, and the cardigan and bib close with buttons. Keep to that rule when you finish them: no ties, cords, ribbons or long loops, and no small trims a baby could pull off.

Sew every button on very firmly and check it before each wear.

• Hat: weave the ends in well, check the stem is firm before each wear, and take the hat off for sleep.
• Booties: weave the ends in inside the bootie, away from the toes.
• Cardigan: sew the buttons through the band with doubled yarn or strong thread.
• Bib: take it off after feeding and before sleep, and never leave a baby alone in a bib.