Do you remember Petite Purls? Petite Purls is a now-defunct children’s knitting pattern website that was similar in style to Knitty.com, but focused on baby and kid knits. I think many of us have felt the lack since Petite Purls ended, since it was a great place to see fresh, seasonal knits for the little ones. Andrea Sanchez has stepped in to create Knittin’ Little, which just started with it’s fall 2015 collection, 6 patterns that feature an assortment of garments and accessories, most of which are easily made for either boys or girls. I’ll pick my fave 3 from the collection to review here, but if you ever knit for kids, it’s worth checking out the site- they also have a book club that features kids books with knitting themes, and the blog often features round ups like this free kids sock pattern round up. It’s nice to see a site focusing on kid knits going the extra mile to provide more than just patterns that way.
Grove Pullover – by Kate Oates
A textured worsted-weight pullover featuring added leather details (with links to templates for the patches), and has sizes from 2 to 12 years. It seems like this could only be for boys, but imagine it in a feminine shade and instead of leather details, knitted ones- maybe in a rainbow striping yarn, or light purple? You can check out more info on Ravelry here.
You Should Totally Knit This for a Little One If: You love textured knits, and especially if you have two littles of the same gender- because with a sweater this awesome, you want to know that more than one kiddo will get to enjoy the effort of the beautiful zipper and great accent details.
You Should Definitely Not Knit This for a Little One If: There’s no way anyone could ever convince you to put a zipper into a hand knit.
Polka Dot Tunic – by Annie Rowden
If you haven’t knit with two colours before, this is a nice, gentle way to try it out. The solid stripe at the bottom is added by a provisional cast on, working the polka dot half, then undoing the provisional cast on and knitting down int he solid colour until the right length has been achieved (which means you could also make it more into a dress, as and she grows, let it turn into a tunic). The Polka Dot Tunic comes in a size range from 6 months – 12 years, More information on the Ravelry pattern page, here.
You Should Totally Knit This for a Little One If: You want to try stranded knitting, or just love polka dots- and imagine how cute those polka dots would be in a gradient yarn!
You Should Definitely Not Knit This for a Little One If: If you aren’t interested in trying stranded knitting, or you aren’t a fan of solid bands on tops/tunics, although you could leave it off and just do a classic polka dot sweater.
Dapper really is the perfect name for this pattern, isn’t it? I love how it has all sorts of blazer style, but would still be an excellent cardigan or coat. The squishy garter stitch means it would be nice and cozy, too. The Dapper jacket comes in a size range of 2-12 years of age, and additional info can be found on the Ravelry pattern page, here.
You Should Totally Knit This for a Little One If: You love it when people swoon over kids in hand knits, especially mad stylish ones; and if you love picking out buttons for knits.
You Should Definitely Not Knit This for a Little One If: You aren’t a fan of garter stitch or pockets. Although pocket linings do make great gauge swatches.
If you enjoy knitting for kids, it’s worth bookmarking Knittin’ Little to see what they will have on offer, season after season. And if you like to design for kids, here is their submission information!
