Someone you love is having a baby, and you want to knit something. The question is what. A blanket feels like the real gift, but it is a lot of knitting. Booties are quick, but are they enough? And what if the shower is in two weeks?
Here are ten patterns for a baby, all free to knit, grouped from fastest to slowest: booties and slippers you can finish in an evening, hats and bonnets for a weekend, and blankets to keep. Every pattern gets the same card, so you can see at a glance who designed it, the skill it asks for, the yarn and how much of it, the sizes, how long the designer says it takes, and one honest thing to watch for before you cast on.
How these cards work. Every figure on a card comes from the designer’s own pattern page. Where a designer doesn’t say something, the card says so rather than guessing. We don’t copy designers’ photos, so click through to see each finished piece on the designer’s own page, which is also where the instructions are.
Quick picks: match the pattern to the time you have
- The shower is this weekend: the bow slippers (about an hour) or the garter booties (about two hours).
- You have a week: the knot hat or the holiday pom-pom hat, plus a pair of booties to go with it.
- The baby is due in a couple of months: any of the blankets.
- You are a new knitter: the garter booties use only the knit stitch, and the Fairyland blanket is a two-row repeat.
- You want a challenge: the heart blanket, which teaches you intarsia.
Before you start: pick a yarn that can go in the washing machine
Baby things get washed a lot. Sheep and Stitch suggests superwash wool, cotton, acrylic or bamboo for baby blankets because they can all go in the washing machine, and several patterns below were designed in soft chenille or cotton for the same reason. Each card names the yarn weight the designer used, and that matters more than the brand. If you want to use a different yarn, our guide to substituting yarn explains how to swap. For anything with a size, check the size line on the card: several of these patterns are made for newborns only.
Little feet: booties and slippers
1. Easy Knitted Baby Booties
Four little garter-stitch rectangles, folded and seamed into moccasin-style booties. Nothing but the knit stitch, and the designer says they are a huge hit at baby showers.
| Designer | Kristen McDonnell, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free printable, with a free video |
| Skill | Experienced beginner |
| Yarn weight | Worsted |
| Yarn | 42 yards in any fibre and colour; the designer used Red Heart Super Saver |
| Size | Not stated by the designer |
| Time | About 2 hours, per the designer |
the shape comes entirely from how the pieces are folded and seamed, so watch the video for that part. The page does not give a baby size, so check the fit against a little foot before you make a second pair.
2. Baby Girl Slippers With Bows
Slippers knit flat in one piece, seamed into shape and finished with two small knitted bows on the toes. The designer says they take about an hour.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Basic beginner |
| Yarn weight | DK (light) |
| Yarn | 1 ball of Sublime Baby Cashmerino plus scraps of a second colour, or any DK |
| Size | Newborn (footbed about 3 in) |
| Time | About 1 hour, per the designer |
they come in newborn size only, and newborns outgrow them fast. The designer says you can swap the bows for a flower or any stitched decoration.
3. Bunny Booties
Booties with bunny ears and little embroidered faces, knit flat on straight needles. The ears are knit separately and sewn on.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy (advanced beginner) |
| Yarn weight | DK (light) |
| Yarn | 1 ball each of two colours (the designer used Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK) plus a little dark brown for the faces |
| Size | Babies 6 to 9 months |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
one size only, and there is more finishing than knitting: ears to attach and faces to embroider. It also uses simple increases and decreases.
Hats and bonnets
4. Simple Stocking Stitch Bonnet
A plain bonnet knit flat, gathered at the back and seamed, with ties at the corners. The designer made it as a newborn photo prop in cherry-red cotton.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free |
| Skill | Easy (basic beginner) |
| Yarn weight | Medium; the designer used a cotton DK |
| Yarn | 1 x 50 g ball; the designer used Rico Essentials Cotton DK |
| Size | Newborn |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the chin ties are a crochet chain made with a 7 mm hook, so you need a hook and a basic chain for that last step. Newborn size only.
5. Newborn Knot Hat
A hat knit in the round with a long crown that you tie into a knot. Four sizes, so it works beyond the newborn photo shoot it was designed for.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free |
| Skill | Easy (advanced beginner) |
| Yarn weight | Worsted or aran held double, or one strand of super bulky |
| Yarn | 2 balls of Rico Baby So Soft held together, per the designer |
| Sizes | 0-3, 3-6, 6-12 and 18-24 months |
| Time | About 3 hours, per the designer |
you knit with two strands held together, on a short 16-inch circular needle, and you may need double-pointed needles for the crown.
6. Holiday Newborn Hat With a Pom-Pom
A chunky hat with a pom-pom, made for Christmas card photos and newborn shoots. Knit it now and it is ready for December.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy (advanced beginner) |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 1 x 100 g ball of super bulky plus 1 x 50 g of cream; the designer suggests Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick or similar |
| Sizes | 0-3, 3-6, 6-12 and 18-24 months (head 14 to 19 in) |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
every baby is different, and the designer asks you to measure the head and go up or down a size if needed. You also need a pom-pom maker and double-pointed needles for the decreases.
Blankets to keep
7. Fairyland Snuggles Baby Blanket
A stroller-size blanket in one ball of self-striping yarn: stockinette in the middle, seed stitch around the edge, and a two-row repeat you will memorise in minutes. The yarn makes the stripes, not you.
| Designer | Kristen McDonnell, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free printable |
| Skill | Experienced beginner |
| Yarn weight | Worsted |
| Yarn | 246 yards, any fibre; the designer used one ball of Queensland Collection Fair Isle |
| Size | Stroller size, 17.25 x 23 in |
| Time | About 18 hours 40 minutes in total, per the designer |
blocking is not optional. The designer says to wet-block it flat or the borders will curl in. The free printable is for the stroller size only.
8. Baby Bobble Blanket
Stockinette dotted with bobbles in a staggered pattern, framed with a garter border. There is a full video showing how to make the bobbles and how to change the size.
| Designer | Davina, Sheep and Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free, with a free video (a paid printable PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy |
| Yarn weight | Aran / worsted |
| Yarn | 8 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran |
| Size | 29 x 36 in after blocking |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
eight balls means a lot of joins, and the designer links her favourite joining methods. You also need a 40-inch circular needle to hold all the stitches.
9. Chunky Cable Knit Baby Blanket
A soft chenille blanket with one easy cable on an 8-row repeat. The designer says it looks more complicated than it is, and calls it a good first cable project.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Bulky / chunky |
| Yarn | 5 skeins (655 yards) of Himalaya Dolphin Baby chenille; the designer lists several substitutes |
| Size | 36 x 36 in |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
you need a cable needle and a 40-inch circular needle. The circular needle is only there to hold all the stitches; you knit back and forth.
10. Heart Baby Blanket
Rows of pink hearts on a white chenille blanket, with a garter border. The designer suggests it for a baby shower or as a stroller or car seat blanket, and it machine-washes at 40 degrees.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Bulky / chunky |
| Yarn | 4 balls of Himalaya Dolphin Baby chenille (1 pink, 3 white), or a listed substitute |
| Size | About 30 x 35 in (the designer's centimetre figures don't match, so measure as you go) |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the hearts are knit with intarsia from a chart, so this is the hardest pattern on the list. The designer says advanced beginners can use it to learn intarsia.
What you’ll need
Most of these use ordinary needles and a ball or two of yarn. The extras that come up again and again:
- A 40-inch circular needle for the bobble, cable and heart blankets
- A pom-pom maker for the holiday hat
- A cable needle for the cable blanket
- Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, one of the yarns the designer suggests for the holiday hat
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More to knit from what you have
- Need a gift for a grown-up too? These are quick knitted gifts you can finish in a weekend.
- Got one skein and no plan? Here is what to knit with one skein of yarn, including a baby pom scarf.
- Half-balls left over from the booties? Try what to knit with leftover yarn.
- Browse every project sorted by who it’s for, or see all our baby knits.
- Crochet as well as knit? Our sister site has a whole shelf of knitting patterns at Daily Crochet.
