'Autumn leaves and the grass is jewelled...'*, autumn is here! A friend has recently had a new baby and I wanted to make a small, quick gift to celebrate the arrival. Right back at the start of my design career, I designed a couple of cute hats: a pumpkin and an apple, both of which are perfect as gifts for an autumn baby. They aren't the only autumnal designs I've created though, so why don't we take a look at all of them?
These were some of my earliest designs, designed explicitly as a gift for new babies, but sized to go from baby to adult, which makes them perfect for matchy-matchy family photos! The hats mostly use orange (pumpkin) and red (apple) yarn, with little accents in green and brown, making them excellent patterns for using up leftovers from other projects.
Fantastical Fox Hat and Mitts**
This hat and mitt set was so much fun to knit. The pattern uses intarsia in the round, which is a bit of a challenge, but so rewarding when you see the end result! I had a lot of fun taking the photos for these patterns, and they're sure to generate a smile from anyone who sees you wearing them.
I love cardigans as a layer in the autumn: they extend the life of kids' summer dresses with layering, and if the sun makes a sudden reappearance you can undo the buttons to let a little air in. The Barley Twist Cardigan is a simple top-down raglan with a cable detail along the increase lines; because the cardigan is knitted top down, you can adjust the length easily, and if your child has a growth spurt, you can always unpick the cast off edges and add a little extra length. This is another item that would make a great baby gift as it starts at size 0-3 months. If matching sibling clothing is your thing, you're in luck as the pattern goes right up to 12 years.
Knitted socks are one of my passions, and these toe-up beauties are perfect for autumn as they feature a wheat ear pattern up the front of the foot and leg and a textured grass stitch pattern on the back of the leg. The sock pattern uses lots of fun techniques to create the perfect sock: toe-up heel flap and gusset, a slipped stitch heel and short rows to avoid the pattern bunching where it meets the toe and cuff. If you're a fan of knitting socks, why not make the most of the evenings drawing in and sit down to knit these?
Another perfect baby gift, the Hedgehog and Hoglets blanket uses intarsia to create a family of hedgehogs walking across a stocking stitch background. This blanket would be ideal for parents that have a woodland themed nursery, and its neutral palette also makes it ideal for parents who don't know the sex before the baby arrives (when you're desperate to cast something one before the baby makes their arrival!).
Which one would you cast on first?
Remember, all single patterns in my Ravelry store are buy 3, get 1 free. Add the 4 patterns you would like to purchse to your basket and, when you check out, the cheapest will be deducted from the total.
*I can't just be me that remembers this song from school assemblies?
**Note: All links are Ravelry links. Ravelry may cause issues for people that have photosentivity, proceed with caution. All my patterns are also available on LoveCrafts (affiliante link).
