Tag: Tin Can Knits

Knitting the “Beloved” Baby Bonnet

This cute little baby bonnet knitting pattern is offered by Tin Can Knits and it’s called “Beloved“.

That link will take you to the Ravelry site where you can buy the pattern for $5.00US (at time of this writing).

Knitting the Bonnet

This unique pattern begins on one side of the bonnet where an i-cord “tie” is made. Then you knit up and over and down the other side of the hat!

The written directions are easy to follow. Short rows are made to shape the hat and excellent directions are given to make those rows. I’m not sure a beginner knitter would be able to handle this pattern. If you can knit, purl, knit front and back, make short rows (or follow the directions) and do the i-cord (directions are included for that as well) you can knit this cute little baby hat. Or, knit it larger to fit anyone!

baby bonnet hat beloved knitting pattern
Knitting the bonnet

The pink yarn (Bubblegum) I am using is CoBaSi (link goes to Yarn(dot)com) and I’ve never knit with it before. There is no wool in it, which makes it perfect for anyone who dislikes wool, or for babies who could be allergic to wool. It is made up of cotton, bamboo and silk – hence the name.

This yarn can be machine washed and dried!

Knitter’s reviews call this yarn “splitty” which I could see. I’m not having trouble with that but the strand is a little strange. I think the yarn would be perfect when knitting for babies and small projects. One reviewer used it to line a wool hat, which sounds like an excellent idea.

I’ll see how much yarn is leftover after knitting the bonnet and maybe I will make some booties to match.

  • baby bonnet knitting
    Would be cuter on a baby’s head!
  • baby hat bonnet ties CoBaSi knit
    Front of bonnet
  • Beloved, baby bonnet, knitting pattern, pink
    Back with short row shaping
pink baby bonnet pattern knitting

Once the cute baby hat was done, I knit a pair of little socks (a free pattern). See that post here: Perfect Newborn Socks.

More Knitting For Babies Fun

Although I have no grandchildren, I wanted to try to knit some baby things. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that because the items are small they will be easier to knit, but they do require less yarn and knit up quickly.

I knit some simple baby hats and sent them to a friend. Booties are a bit more challenging but I’ve made a few of those. The Polliwog Popover came out a little weird, but I enjoyed knitting the Playdate Cardigan (see below).

This baby set of hat and booties was something I knit just for fun. I really don’t like the colors, but the yarn is machine washable. It would work for a boy, but I don’t know anyone who has a new baby boy!

Finding the right yarn when knitting for babies and children can be a chore! It should be washable, and maybe even able to go into the dryer. Personally, I don’t like acrylic yarn so I wrote a whole page on washable yarn that would work for knitting for kids, and anyone who will not hand-wash their garments.

Baby booties and hat free knitting patterns
Baby set

The Playdate Cardigan by Tin Can Knits

Just for fun, I chose to knit this cute little sweater pattern by Tin Can Knits. I used a sock yarn, which I didn’t end up liking much for a cardigan, but the design was such fun to knit. I learned how to make pockets and kitchener stitch the shoulders. I would love to knit this one again with a pretty merino wool yarn.

Fox buttons on baby sweater
Fox buttons on the Playdate cardigan

Three Little Baby Hats

Three little hand-knit baby hats
Baby size hats

Knitting Baby Booties

two different baby booties
Knit and crochet

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Knitters and Our Many Projects

How many projects do you have on your needles? It is not uncommon to find that fellow knitters have many things going at once.

Knitting a Bohemian Version of the Marshland Sweater

This is my bohemian version of the Marshland sweater pattern by Tin Can Knits. The pattern is in their book “Strange Brew”.

Once again I am knitting with yarn I really don’t like all that much. I purchased this yellow Arranmore yarn when the color was on sale because it is / was discontinued. I planned to use it to make a different sweater (Big Love) and when that never happened, I had all these skeins of yellow yarn hanging around.

Body of Marshland completed and on to the sleeves

Since I am not crazy about this yarn, and generally I don’t like a pullover, I was knitting this for practice and to use up some yarn.

The Marshland is knit top down, with the ribbing at the neck added last. There is a long colorwork area on the yoke and chest that carries over to the sleeves. I changed it up a bit and tried to use up some stash yarn.

Picking up stitches is not something I am all that good at and when it came to doing so for the sleeves, I had to pick up and knit in pattern! I had changed the colorwork pattern, so had to follow my own changes to continue onto the sleeves.

  • Marshland in yellow
  • Colorwork pullover sweater Marshland pattern
    Before washing
  • Marshland sweater in yellow Arranmore yarn

What I Learned From Knitting the Marshland Pattern

This pattern is fairly easy to follow, but it needs short rows to raise the back. It seems there really is no front or back. The design seems to be meant as a knit for men. For that reason it is not super comfortable. I may add onto the neck.

Marshland pullover
Wearing my Marshland on a cool Florida day

I chose this pattern because of my yarn weight, but it’s not the prettiest pattern in the book – it’s manly. That is one reason I changed the colorwork.

The Arranmore yarn is also very strange. I have washed the sweater and I think it will take days to dry. I would not buy this yarn again, and it is discontinued I believe. No wonder.

In the end, the sweater fits, but I don’t like the bottom ribbing or the fact that the colorwork at the bottom of the body tends to pull in. It may block out.

I had trouble with the yoke increases and they still seem to be creating a lumpy row of stitches. That could block out too. On my first try, I added too many increases and had to rip out many rows.

This one is a “never knit again” but it’s mostly due to my yarn and the masculine look. I did not enjoy knitting three colors in one round either. I love Tin Can Knits and will try another pattern from the book one day.

First Time Ripping Out Many Rows of Knitting

I’ve begun knitting the Marshland pullover sweater by Tin Can Knits – see the pattern link at the end of this page. The pattern is in the “Strange Brew” book. I chose this pattern because I had worsted weight yarn to use.

Something is wrong
I have too many stitches

Because the pattern colorwork looks to me like it was meant more for a man – it’s a unisex design, I decided to change up the knitting with other color patterns. The pink rows and the last yellow and green rows are different from the suggested pattern. However, all that was ripped back and I didn’t re-do it the same way.

The yellow Arranmore yarn was purchased to knit “Big Love” – a cardigan. That pattern was confusing, so I never knit it. I’m using other stash yarn, and some is not exactly the same weight as the Arranmore, but oh well.

How to unravel knitting mistakes
First time doing this – pick up right hand side of each knit stitch, all the way around. This will be the new starting row.

The “Make One” Rows

The pattern calls for places where M1 is needed – that is “make one” – and a stitch must be added. There is no suggestion about how to make a stitch, so you’d better have a favorite way! (HINT: Use the backwards loop method.)

On the very last increase row of the yoke, I somehow added too many M1’s and ended up with way too many stitches. I didn’t realize this, and kept knitting…. HINT / NOTE TO SELF: Count your stitches right after that last M1 row…!!!!!

In my photo above, my mistake row was in the brown section just below the pink. So I picked up stitches above the pink rows to start again. Everything below the needle was removed.

How to Rip Back Many Rows

I’ve never had to fix a knitting mistake as big as this one. I could not simply un-knit some stitches. I needed to rip many rows out. So I watched a couple of really bad videos, but the gist of it was to use a needle to pick up the right side of each V knit stitch. This has to be done slowly so none are missed. Also be sure you stay on the correct / same row!

But first, I pulled out the 32 inch needle I’d been knitting with – that gave me the ability to try on my sweater (very first photo). I used the same needle I’d been using to pick up the new stitches. I did this on a non-colorwork row because it was easiest. I began at the BOR marker and continued to the end. Now I had all new stitches on my needle.

Then I had to unravel all that previous knitting and rewind the balls. I was left with this (photo below) and ready to begin again. When I got to that M1 row where my error occurred, I used stitch markers to help me count.

Mistake removed and ready to knit again
Ready to try again

Below is the same yoke on my second knit. This time I followed the pattern’s suggested colorwork design. The sleeve stitches have been put on holders and all counts are perfect. So onward I knit!

Marshland yoke colorwork second try
This time I counted stitches

Stranded colorwork knitting is fun to do, and keeps a project interesting. Katie’s Kep, the Turkish Watchcap, and the Triple Patterned Watchcap were hats I enjoyed doing in Fair Isle, aka stranded colorwork. The only other sweater I knit like this is the Umpqua and it was my first sweater.

I’ve come across one row in the Marshland design where three colors were used, but all the others are two color strands.

Click here for the Marshland sweater pattern download at Ravelry.

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Knitting the Playdate Cardigan For Kids

The little Playdate cardigan by Tin Can Knits is a wonderful pattern with excellent directions that will broaden a beginner knitter’s horizons!

The Playdate Cardigan pattern comes from Tin Can Knits. I bought and printed out the pattern a few days ago and have since been working my way through this cute sweater. The pattern has size adjustments from 0-3 months to 4XL…. so you can knit it for just about anyone.

I chose to knit the 6-12 months size. I’m using a 16-inch circular and 5 double-points in the same size. Another smaller needle (with same size dpn’s) is needed for the ribbing. My yarn is Emma’s Yarn, fingering weight, Super Silky in “Malibu”. I would not have chosen silky yarn if I was buying a skein to knit a sweater, but I wanted to use stash yarn for this first attempt. I would choose a favorite baby sweater yarn next time.

Creating Pockets

This is a bottom up pattern, but it begins with pocket sections. As I read through the pattern, the pockets were confusing to me. I’ve never done pockets. HINT: To knit a 2-color sweater begin the ribbing with the contrast color. But the pre-made pocket sections will be behind the work, so the main color can be used.

First thing to do was to knit two little rectangles which would become part of the pockets. I almost decided not to add pockets just in case I couldn’t figure it out, but I’m glad I used them. Because first, they are easy to add, and second, they make the sweater look cute!

Baby sweater
Getting started on “Playdate” baby sweater

Once the bottom of the sweater is begun, the little rectangles will be added to the long needles and create the backing. The top stitches will be knit into the regular line of knitting.

Adding the pocket to the Playdate cardigan
Placing stitches of pocket onto long needles

The K1P1 ribbing for the top front of the pockets is created first, then bound off. See the back of the pocket above and the front below. The little rectangular backs will later need to be sewn down to actually create the pocket.

Playdate sweater pocket knitting
Ribbed edge of pocket with backing added to needles

The Back and Shoulders

Once the front is knit to length, the back stitches and one shoulder will go on hold. I used some metal stitch-holders (they were my grandmothers) which work well for holding small amounts of stitches. I always have trouble picking up my stitches when I hold them using yarn. From here, each shoulder area will be knit, along with the back – separately.

Knitting stitches on hold
Shoulder and back stitches on hold while knitting other shoulder stitches

I used DPNs to hold the shoulder stitches because my sweater is so small. The pattern directions say to work the stitches, ending with a RS row and then “break the yarn leaving a long tail”. I guess they figure you will know enough to keep those stitches on hold, but you need an extra needle for that (or yarn). So it helps to have double-points handy with good stitch stoppers (Mine are by Cocoknits and they work great). The same thing happens for the neck and I left my stitches on the main circular needle for that longer section of knitting. I used 2 double-points for straight knitting the first shoulder section.

Top edges of sweater on hold
Shoulder parts of Playdate on hold using three needles

Once the back and shoulders are the correct length, they will be stitched together. I tried 2 different methods here, and decided I liked the Kitchener stitch – as shown in slow motion by Very Pink Knits – which came out pretty smooth. I sat in front of the computer while I did it so I could watch her video.

Playdate sweater knitting in progress
Ready to connect at shoulder seams
Shoulder seam in kitchener stitch
Kitchener stitch joining back and front at shoulder
Ridge on wrong side of kitchener stitch
Shoulder seem, wrong side of kitchener

All the edges are curling up badly, which is par for the course when knitting stockinette. I had the same problem on the Fine Sand sweater, but after washing and blocking it looked great.

Baby sweater with pockets
My front and back knitted sections are now attached at the shoulders

On To The Sleeves

As I went around the armholes picking up stitches, I picked up a few more than was suggested just so there would be no holes. On the next couple of rows I decreased back to the correct number. I was able to knit one sleeve within a few hours time. I think I like making this little sweater. It’s finishing up fast and looking pretty cute!

Playdate with button band started
Getting there!

A long, circular #3 needle was used to pick up the required stitches around the sweater front opening. A #3 was suggested for the bottom ribbing and sleeve cuffs, but I used a #4. The rest was knit on a #5. I didn’t check gauge because the end size did not matter to me.

Knitting a Button Band and Doing Buttons

This is my first attempt at doing a button band around a cardigan. It means placing the buttonholes evenly and making each hole the correct size for a button. Thanks so much to Tin Can Knits and their excellent page all about knitting a button band. I will definitely be referencing it during this phase of knitting. My buttons are on order from an Etsy shop (Ginger Mint Collection) because I have no place local (that I know of) to buy buttons.

In the meantime, I decided to knit a little swatch and try out a couple of buttonhole sizes. Once my buttons come from Australia I can see which of the sizes to knit on this cardigan. I’m not sure which set of buttons I will use, but hopefully one of the button designs will match well.

I’ll keep this swatch for reference and have added a tag with info as a reminder. I did the 2-stitch buttonholes because a good size button will fit through.

Buttonhole knitting practice
Measuring buttons

Until my buttons come, and I’m sure they will fit the size holes I make, this sweater will be on hold…. changed my mind. I decided to add 5 buttonholes and continue to finish the band. Today I washed the sweater and when the buttons arrive I will pick the ones I like and add them. *Update: chose the fox buttons!

Playdate cardigan in size 6-12 months
My experience knitting the Playdate cardigan
Fox buttons on baby sweater
Fox buttons on the Playdate cardigan

Finished! My Thoughts on Knitting the Playdate

This was a fun sweater to knit and I got it done quickly. Here is a link to the pattern once again: Playdate by Tin Can Knits. I learned to make buttonholes and pockets, so that was nice. It’s good to learn new things. I would love to knit this one again – and in October / November 2022 I am, using blue yarn this time.

Tin Can Knits has a book out called Strange Brew with loads of options for knitting pullovers and maybe other things. I just found it for sale at Jimmy Beans Wool and ordered a copy.

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