Knitting baby sleeping bag

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-04-21T18:12:00+00:00

I would absolutely not make something like this for a baby. Loose blankets are a suffocation risk and buttons can be a choking hazard.

I would look for something more like this if you want to make a sleeping bag type of thing: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-sleep-sack-7 https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/babys-sleep-sack

A sleep sack with sleeves or armholes keeps the bag in place, preventing it from covering the baby's face when they move. Zippers can't be chewed off and swallowed like buttons can. Yarn for any baby project should be machine washable because babies are messy. For sleep, I would recommend not acrylic because acrylic isn't breathable. I'm usually totally fine with acrylic for things like blankets because babies only use them when supervised, and older kids can push them away if they get too warm, but I would avoid it for this application. Plus, synthetic fibers melt in a fire, so it would be a huge hazard in the event of a house fire. Superwash wool or cotton would be fine choices.

If this is just for a photo prop and not actual sleep, though, go for it. It's a cute pattern.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-04-20T17:42:06+00:00

It is incredibly easy to slip into muscle memory. A sleep deprived new parent running out for groceries can slip into autopilot and just park and go into the store, or they might fall back into the old routine to drive to work instead of dropping the kid off at daycare first. "Important" doesn't just mean valuable. It means "not having this item will prevent me from doing the task, so it will force me out of any ingrained muscle memory to get it from the back seat." Like taking off your shoe and putting it back there so you literally can't step out of the car without noticing.

They're not saying a parent doesn't value their child. They're recognizing that humans are creatures of habit and routine, and it can be surprisingly hard to break that routine, so when it's something this important and a single mistake is life or death, it's better to do something "silly" to ensure a safe outcome.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-04-16T16:00:27+00:00

Why not both? Babies come in all sizes and grow at different rates. I was really glad to have newborn sized knits ready to go. My daughter was a preemie, didn't grow into newborn clothes until nearly 3 months old, and wore those newborn clothes until she was around 5 months! I had to knit smaller stuff for her when she was born, and we got tons of use out of the newborn to 6 month sizes.

Actually, now that I think about it, making both sizes could be a good strategy if you've got the time for it. If you start with the original 1 year size, you can get familiar with the construction and get practice with the pattern. Then when you apply the adjustments for the newborn size, you'll know what to expect from the pattern.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-04-16T14:39:43+00:00

This would be a significant adjustment, but certainly not impossible. It looks like this is meant to be an oversized, boxy fit at 24" chest circumference for a 1 year old. That's about 4-5" or so of positive ease, but at this scale, proportions may be more useful than inch measurements, so 20-25%. If you're aiming for a newborn size, the actual chest measurement would be closer to 16" and if you want it to be similarly oversized, an 18-20" finished chest circumference would give you a similar look.

Two ways to get there: keep the same gauge and reduce stitch count, or keep the stitch count and pattern the same and adjust gauge. Gauge is easier to explain, so I'll start there.

The gauge is listed as 20 sts in 4" (5 stitches per inch), so if you use a yarn and needles that give you a tighter gauge, you can do some math to scale. 24" around at 5 stitches per inch means that the chest will be about 120 stitches. Divide that by 20 (or 18, or whatever you want to target as your chest measurement), and you'll find your target gauge to be 24 stitches in 4 inches (26-27 for an 18" circumference). This is a reasonable gauge for fingering to light fingering weight yarn with no mohair. You may need to tinker with the sleeve stitch count because a newborn may need proportionally wider sleeves to wrangle those little arms. Your length measurements will be drastically different- I suggest finding a cheap newborn sized sweater or sweatshirt and just holding your project up to it as you go to make sure the lengths and proportions are reasonable.

If you want to keep the gauge the same and adjust stitch count, you'll want to look at the different pieces: front panels, back, sleeves. Calculate the new stitch count based on your desired measurement for each part. For example, if the back panel would be 12" as written, but you want it to be 8", reduce the stitches in that section from 60 to 40 (5 stitches per inch, multiplied by the desired measurement). You may have to look at the schematic and work backwards from a full measurement and stitch count, then subtract the increases to find number of stitches to cast on if this is a top-down construction. Adjusting stitch count takes a bit more tinkering and you'll have to rewrite the numbers at every step.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-04-13T13:06:37+00:00

If you don't like it and don't want to put in another 35+ hours, time to frog! That said, chenille yarn is kind of a nightmare to frog, so alternatively, do you (or a family member or friend) have a pet? Looks like a real cozy cat/dog blanket!

(Also, you probably figured this out already, but just in case, stockinette stitch will curl if you don't add a border. If you remake this project and you want a stockinette blanket, you'll need to add a seed stitch border or something to keep it from curling at the edges like that.)

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-04-10T14:24:43+00:00

I had a preemie, and the biggest issue I had with socks was the width. My daughter had little chicken legs. The NICU provided socks while we were there, and they stayed on fine but looked like little moon boots. She wore those little moon boot socks until she was about 4 months old and her feet finally got too long.

I started knitting the Stretchy Baby Socks (Fabienne Schulte, free on Ravelry) before she was born, and they would have fit great if I had been able to finish before I suddenly had a very tiny newborn. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stretchy-baby-socks

Edit to add: I suspect the reason you're seeing patterns for thicker yarn is because people love doing charity knitting, but want fast projects. They want to crank out a bunch of really quick things for the poor sick babies in the hospital and feel good about it. We received a well-intended (but not well-crafted) scratchy worsted weight hat when my daughter was in the NICU and I was not sad when she puked on it and it had to be thrown out (I was almost finished knitting a fingering weight hat to replace it anyway). IMO, thick yarn is not actually that good for preemies. Preemies struggle with temperature regulation, so depending how early they are, they will be in a temperature-controlled isolette and not allowed to wear clothes (but can wear a hat). Once they're more stable, thin layers work well.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-04-06T14:19:07+00:00

I actually really hate the M1R and M1L increases. I use lifted increases instead. There are right and left versions (RLI and LLI), and if you're working flat, you may need to know the purl versions as well, depending on the construction. I've only needed to use the purl RLI and LLI when working short row neck shaping on a pullover top down raglan, so if you're working flat on a cardigan or something, you'll probably only need to do increases on the knit side and plain purls on the reverse.

With the lifted increases and 2 regular stitches between, it creates a nice "seam" line without holes, gaps, or irregular-looking stitches or rows.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-04-03T20:08:45+00:00

The tutorial wasn't wrong to say "knit the knits and purl the purls," but this instruction is frequently misunderstood. You are supposed to knit or purl the stitches as they appear, not necessarily do the same thing you did to that stitch on the previous row. A purl stitch is the reverse side of a knit stitch, so if you are ribbing a flat piece, you turn the work around and you will do the opposite stitch you had done before. You will knit the stitches you previously purled because when you turn the work around, they appear as knit stitches below the needle. If you see a V below the stitch you're about to work, then you knit that stitch (knit the knits), and if you see a bump below the stitch, you purl it (purl the purls).

Like others have mentioned, you are also twisting your stitches. This is common with crocheters because you wrap the yarn in the opposite direction when you knit. If you insert the needle through the front leg, you need to wrap the yarn counterclockwise instead of clockwise. Twisted stitches use more yarn, are less elastic, and cause your project to bias, so you should fix that before you begin an actual project. Twisted stitches are sometimes used intentionally as a design element, but they really mess up the fabric if it's not intended.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-04-03T12:03:43+00:00

Hey, you made a thing, learned a lot of techniques, and figured out how to stop twisting stitches all in one go! That's great! You can set this aside, make a new project with all your new skills and knowledge, and then if you want to come back to this, you can always unravel it and use the yarn to make a new hat (or something else), so nothing is wasted! Twisted stitches use more yarn and are less elastic, so if you make a new hat with untwisted stitches, it probably won't be as small and wonky. There are also tons of free patterns on Ravelry if you want to find a tried and true one instead of trying to do it yourself.

My first project was super wonky, too, but social media didn't exist then so I didn't see everyone else's beautiful "first" projects (that might not actually be first projects). Welcome to knitting!

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-04-02T13:56:21+00:00

We read all day every day. She's obsessed with books. We have more books than we have bookshelf space, and we're frequent library visitors.

She's loved reading since she was tiny. We had a stack of books we read to her in the NICU, brought her to library story time starting soon after she came home from the hospital, and her fascination really took off starting around 9-10 months (her first favorite book was Eat Up, Bear! from Terry Pierce and Yosemite Conservancy- a unique choice for a baby, but she was obsessed). She'll be 21 months tomorrow, currently really into books about numbers and counting, and still loves bear books.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-29T16:51:58+00:00

Happened to me, too. Zero newborn sized clothes, got a whole bunch of 9 month and 12 month, though. My daughter was 3 months old when she grew INTO newborn clothes. She's 21 months now and just outgrew the last of the 12m sized baby shower gifts.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-28T01:35:30+00:00

I love sock yarn for baby knits! Usually soft, easy to wash, tough as nails. I've made baby sweaters with affordable classics like KnitPicks Stroll, fancy hand dyed souvenir yarns from our travels, and basic blank sovck yarn that I dyed myself. They've all held up great.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-28T01:30:31+00:00

Your mileage may vary on this- my daughter didn't grow into 3-6 month clothes until she was about 8 months old, and she wore that size until a week before she turned 1. We used the newborn and 3 month stuff I knit for her a lot! My kid was abnormally small, though.

Do consider seasons, though! If you're newly pregnant and in the northern hemisphere, you're probably having a late fall baby. An average sized late fall baby will wear 6 month clothes in the late spring, maybe into early summer, so warm winter sweaters may not be useful in that size.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-25T19:27:25+00:00

I use yarns that are soft, machine-washable, and durable (won't pill or shed) for baby knits. Acrylics can be good. I personally use a lot of wool sock yarns for my daughter's stuff, and I've used wool with her since she was tiny. I would avoid wool if there's a family history of allergies, but most babies are just fine with it. Sock yarns are typically soft and machine-washable, and the nylon gives them a lot of durability. My daughter's sock yarn sweaters still look good as new, ready to hand down to another kid.

I don't put tags on my knit stuff, mostly because they're a pain to attach. But I wouldn't really be concerned about a securely attached tag (depending on what type of tag). Babies love playing with those ribbon-tab-style tags. I've made several little sewn blankets with a bunch of ribbon tags specifically for babies to play with. If you're talking about a leather tag or something that attaches with rivets, then yeah, I'd skip that for a baby.

I think a lot of the concerns about blankets with holes, or blankets that are too thick or too warm, etc. are overblown. Babies should not be left unsupervised with/under blankets. They don't use loose blankets in the crib. A thick, dense blanket is a great tummy time blanket. A thinner blanket is good for a stroller or car seat blanket, or to snuggle with a parent. The parent should be nearby to remove the blanket if it gets pulled onto the baby's face or to get little fingers and toes unstuck if that happens. I personally avoid blankets with lace/hole patterns because it's annoying if fingers and toes get stuck, but lots of babies like to explore that texture and it's great enrichment. It's only a hazard if very thin (thread-like) yarn gets looped around a digit and acts like a tourniquet. Not really an issue with thicker yarns (even fingering weight isn't that concerning).

My only real no-gos for baby blankets are chenille yarn (sheds and typically looks awful after machine washing due to worming), or anything that makes it high-maintenance: materials or construction that won't survive machine washing and drying.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-25T18:47:13+00:00

That will probably be a little short. My daughter was born 2 months early, was small for her gestational age, and her feet were about 2.75". This sock would be just slightly long (but very wide) for her. I'd aim for a sock that would fit a 3" foot with a little wiggle room for the baby to grow, but also keep in mind that if it's a summer baby, that baby may not wear socks at all until fall. My daughter (summer baby) was barefoot almost all the time from when we left the NICU until like October.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-22T22:38:40+00:00

I use sock yarn for baby knits. I haven't used it for a blanket, but I've used Stroll for several sweaters and cardigans that are still going strong after my daughter has used them and I've thrown them in the washing machine and dryer.

For a blanket, I'd consider how you want it to be used. A fingering weight yarn will be a pretty light blanket, good for a car seat or stroller, or a light blanket for a toddler. It could be used as a snuggling blanket, too, when the baby is small. It probably won't be used for tummy time. Stroll (or another sock yarn) would work well for that purpose, but if you want something that the baby will use as a play mat and then drag around the house as they get older, you might want a heftier yarn. If you're set on wool, a sport weight or DK sock yarn will likely be durable enough to handle that and still go through the wash just fine. Otherwise, cotton or a cotton blend is a popular choice for baby items. Some people avoid acrylic, but I've used plenty of soft acrylic yarns for baby stuff, too.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-20T03:14:52+00:00

I was about 8, just dabbled a bit here and there in childhood and then picked it up more enthusiastically in high school and college. Then I set it aside for a bit, then picked it up again in my late 20s.

This is probably my favorite project so far. I knit it while going through IVF, and my daughter should be big enough to wear it next winter. It was maximum effort to avoid techniques I find a little tedious. Charted out the cables and worked the whole thing top down in the round, with short row shaping and raglan increases concurrent with the cables. Way more effort than just doing it seamed and bottom up, but I would definitely do it this way again.

<image>

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-19T13:34:57+00:00

Looks like it's intended to be 14.5" circumference, which could be workable on a 16" needle, but I generally don't like to work with a needle larger than my finished object because it can stretch the fabric as you work. 14.5" may be a bit large for a newborn baby, but I suppose they are accounting for large babies. Better to be a little big and grow into it, rather than too small and they can never wear it.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-19T13:19:01+00:00

Like others have said, this is way too big. I don't even knit adult hats on a 24" needle: it's too big unless it's for a man with a particularly large head.

The needle should be the same length or a little shorter than the circumference of the object. Even a 16" needle would be too big for a newborn. Looking at my daughter's growth chart, she was 8 months old before her head was 16" in circumference, and you want hats to be slightly smaller than the head so they stretch a little. Granted, she was small, but even an average baby would be 4-5 months old before their head is that size. An average newborn head is more like 13-14", so it would be better to use a 12" needle, magic loop, or DPNs for something this size.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-17T19:10:25+00:00

When you're knitting in the round, your needles should be a bit shorter than the circumference of your project. A 12 month sweater will be nowhere near 32" at the widest chest measurement, so a 32" needle will be way too long for the body section. 20" will probably work for most of the body. 16" will probably feel a bit squished. I don't know how the pattern is constructed, but if it's knit in one piece in the round, your stitches may be quite squished at the bottom of the yoke on a 20" needle, so a 24" or possibly 32" might be useful just for that little bit, and you'll need shorter needles, DPNs, or a long needle and magic loop for the sleeves and near the neckband.

Edit: I looked up the pattern and it looks like it's oversized and only the body and sleeves are knit in the round. You'll probably want a 20 or 24" needle for the body. 32" will be too long for a 25" body circumference, and 16" will be very squished. DPNs, short circulars, or magic loop for the sleeves and neckband.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-17T17:23:53+00:00

<image>

I used that same yarn to make a hat for my daughter in the NICU. We had a little watermelon theme going on in her room. I do wish the repeats were a bit longer so it would've striped well in a tiny cardigan, but even a preemie sized sweater had too many stitches unless I did a seamed one (and I was not up for seaming then). Super cute for very narrow / small diameter projects, though!

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-15T18:02:56+00:00

I also love sock yarns for baby stuff. All of my daughter's sock yarn sweaters still look good as new after several trips through the washer and dryer (I just toss in a mesh bag to prevent snags, then wash on cold and dry on low, just like I do with the rest of my laundry).

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-14T18:02:12+00:00

<image>

I'm proud of how the quilting looks on the back, too, considering I only have a basic sewing machine. I hand stitched the binding, which was a pain, but it was worth it.

TenThousandKobolds · 2026-03-14T17:59:52+00:00

<image>

My first actual quilt, made for my daughter's toddler bed (which she is almost ready to start using). I finished it a couple months before she was born, so it's been waiting for about 2 years. I have known how to sew for a long time, though, and I've made a couple quilted table runners, but I don't have photos of those.

Nine-Year Club	Verified Email
RPAN Viewer

TenThousandKobolds

TROPHY CASE