By Jo Black
There are some wonderful baby yarns on the market – Rowan, Debbie Bliss, and Lion Brand are some of my favorites and there are some gorgeous organic and bamboo ones coming onto the market too. Because they are all designed to be extra soft and snuggly, they tend to be quite stretchy – be aware of this when you are working as they can stretch out of shape pretty quickly if you’re not careful!
Because of this, you may also find that you have to knit at a tighter tension than you normally would. A tip I have found really helpful is to knit into the back of the stitch on collars and cuffs – that way you will get a nice tight finish.
If you are knitting as a gift why not put the ball band in with the garment when you give it to the new Mum – that way they will know the washing instructions.
Stockinette (stocking) stitch is my preferred stitch to use when knitting baby garments as it washes brilliantly forms a nice, tight fabric with no holes or loops for tiny fingers to get caught.
I am a big fan of using bamboo needles for much of my knitting, but I find that metal needles are best for baby knits – they are smoother and so help the yarn to slip off easily, creating an even tension.
It is absolutely vital that buttons and beads on garments for babies and children are sewn on securely – they can be choking hazards if they come off. In fact, I would limit the use of using any hard embellishments are baby garments – try felt flowers or animal shapes instead.
I always knit garments a size bigger than the baby needs now – they grow so fast that you want to make sure they can get the most wear out of it. For newborns I always knit a 3-6 months size. I find that most of my friends who have babies are given so many clothes in the newborn size that it is nice to have some things for when the baby is a few weeks old. Plus, so many babies are born around the 9 pounds plus size – sometimes the newborn clothes don’t even fit to begin with!
Have a favorite sweater that your baby is growing out of? Have no fear – babies tend to grow upwards (or lengthways!) at a much faster rate than they do outwards. This is great news because it means you can always add a couple of inches as the baby grows. Simply unravel it at the waist and cuffs and pick up the stitches to add a few inches.
Babies hate having anything pulled over their heads so make sure neck openings are large enough so that this can be done quickly and easily. Many designs have buttons on the neck edges to make this easier.
Got some yarn left over? Why not knit some booties? Believe me, there is NOTHING cuter and make perfect accompaniments to any knitted gift. When knitting booties, go for ones with ribbing ties – babies have very wriggly feed and anything too loose will just keep coming off!
Jo Black has a passion for knitting and craft and believes that everyone can find their bliss through knitting. She’s a working Mum living in England with her son, partner, and a rather large stash of knitting yarn! For more knitting tips and to read a longer version of this article, go to: http://www.blissedoutknitting.com/.
Article Source: Jo Black / Top Tips When Knitting for Babies
