I knitted a sweater recently for my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter. It was in a self striping worsted (double knit). The original wool specified in the pattern was like an Aran but I made it in worsted (double knit) because my d-I-l chose the wool. It came out a bit smaller in the thinner wool but that was fine because she is a very slim little girl and slight for her age.
It was such a success that I have been asked to make a matching one for my 9 month old grandson. He in contrast is a big bouncing boy and full weight for his age. The problem is the pattern starts at age 2 so I need to downsize it a bit to 1 year old. I could and will try test pieces but would appreciate some advice.
The original pattern is knitted in Aran weight wool on 5mm needles (US 8) with a tension of 18sts and 24 rows making a 4 inch square. This gave a 28” chest but in the worsted was more like 26”. I am aiming for around 22” chest for the grandson (he will be approaching one by the time I finish it (so many projects so little time) and I want to allow a bit of room to grow.
Any suggestions on what size needles?
Welcome to KnittingHelp!
If you like the knit fabric in your granddaughter’s sweater why not continue with the same for the smaller size version? The thinner yarn will decrease the dimensions of the 2year old size. It may work out to a bit larger than 22inches but a little bigger is pretty good. Babies grow so fast and it would be wonderful to get more than one season’s wear out of a hand knit.
You could try a swatch with the next needle size down and see if you like that too.
Thanks for your reply. I think perhaps I did not explain myself very well. My granddaughter is 2 1/2 and I knitted her the 2-3 years version of the pattern, as that is the smallest size they give instructions for. It knitted up a bit large for her but not too much as she is tall for her age. I doubt that knitting the same size for my grandson who is 2 years younger, is the answer. My d-I-l is going home to Canada for Christmas and wants to take them in matching sweaters… So sending him a size he has to wait several months to wear while he grows big enough to fit into it is not really the solution I need. I am planning to try a swatch I just wondered if there was anyone here with a lot of experience who could comment directly on the best size needles to use to downsize pattern, on this occasion.
What pattern are you using, can you link to it or a picture of it? The right size needles depends totally on your gauge which will vary from my gauge or someone else’s. It might be better to find a very similar pattern and use it or adjust your pattern based on it’s stitch count, etc.
Ah, yes, making the same size won’t work for your grandson. Dropping down one or even two needles size may not be enough and the knit fabric may become so tight that you won’t like it.
You could look for a lighter weight yarn and still knit the 2year old size or you can downsize the pattern. Depending on how complicated the pattern is, you can decrease the number of sts on the sides of the front and back. If there are pattern sts, cables, etc. you may have to eliminate some of them and substitute stockinette or seed stitch. Do the same on the sleeves to make them slightly less wide. Sleeve length isn’t such a problem but you may want to make the body of the sweater shorter.
Here’s a chart of average body measurements that may help.
http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/babysize.html