Knitting for Baby

Somehow we all seem to love to knit for babies.  Maybe it's because it feels so nice to know that there's a new little someone entering a family.  Or maybe it's because we knitters like to make things that will keep a new little someone warm and cozy.  Or maybe it's just because baby knits are so darn cute!

Baby hats/beanies are probably the easiest thing in the world to knit.  Well, that is if you enjoy knitting in the round like I do.  One of the nice things about baby hats is that they don't really need a pattern.  You cast on somewhere between 60 - 80 stitches (if using size 5 - 7 needles and DK weight yarn), join in the round, making sure not to twist, and knit away.  A simple roll-brim stockinette stitch hat can be knit up in practically one sitting. 

But then there are times when you want to add just a little something different, something out of the ordinary, and that's when patterns do come in handy.  A colleague of Mark's recently had a baby, and I thought it would be nice to knit her baby a hat since weather has gotten cool.  I turned to this set of patterns from LOOP, a great LYS in Philadelphia that I blogged about visiting in the summer.

I still kept the hat simple -- 2x rib brim, stockinette stitch, and decreases at the crown until an inch to the top where I then threaded the yarn through the remaining 25 stitches and pulled the top closed.  Another way to jazz up a simple baby hat is to choose a yarn that will do the design for you.  I love the way this Ella Rae Classic Wool yarn made this swirly pattern and changed hues of blue throughout.  I hope this little knit keeps the baby warm and smiling.